A History of Slavery in Feredar
Feb. 14th, 2012 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feredarA HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN FEREDAR
The practice of slavery in Feredar dates back to roughly the time of the Blood War. In its earliest days, it was exclusively used as a means for citizens to work off their debt without having to resort to thievery or other violent crimes. If a debt went unpaid for over three years, the creditor could take the case to a magistrate, who would value the debt and determine what period of time the debtor would serve. Alternatively, a debtor could appeal for this solution, if he or she lacked the means to repay the debt on top of other living expenses.
By the time of the Magelord, the practice of punitive slavery was also being used as a punishment for nonviolent felonies as an alternative to prison sentences. This was viewed as better for the city's economy. Important public projects could then be completed, without having to divert funds to both that and upkeep of prisoners. Sentences of this kind were generally shorter than prison terms.
Shortly before the Magelord's Fall, the system was being blatantly abused by repeat offenders, and he applied restrictions to the previous law--a third conviction, if served as property in lieu of prisoner, would be the same length of time. A fourth conviction was ineligible for change.
After the Fall, when the Free Years began, impressions of the practice of slavery in the city began to change. As attitudes towards mages became more and more negative, it became shameful for a non-mage to serve a period of slavery--either penal or debt-related, whether or not the master was a mage. (Other strictures were placed on mages over the centuries as a result of this same shift in attitude, but this overview is more narrowly focused and will not discuss those in detail.) By the time of King Sorell, close to a thousand years later, it was illegal for a nonmage to serve as a slave, and illegal for a mage to own one.
At least some of Sorell's changes to the slavery laws were likely due to an attempted coup, wherein two members of his father's council used their personal slave-bodyguards as weapons. Sorell's parents and four brothers were all killed in the assault. He was fifteen at the time, and this undoubtedly had a massive impact on his view of mages, and of the entire practice of slavery. As soon as he came of age, his first direct act was to make all enslaved mages, including debt-slaves, property of the state. Creditors would be reimbursed by the crown.
Sorell, over the course of his reign, refined the law further. First, he expanded the practice to include any crime committed by a mage, for the duration of the sentence. The exception to this was violent felonies--i.e., murder, assault--for which the mage was executed. As he viewed mages as less than human, a mage would almost never have a formal trial. Whether or not the crime involved magic had very little impact on the sentencing process, other than to make execution a possibility in non-violent thefts.
He made two further changes to the law, in response to two mage revolts in the later part of his reign. In 970 FY, a formerly enslaved earth-mage and a metal-mage he had befriended in captivity attempted to tear down the office of the magistrate who had condemned them. While no one was in the building at the time of their assault (and, therefore, no one was injured), the King reacted with alarm. Both mages were executed and he revised the law so that any mage who committed any non-capital crime would be enslaved for the rest of his or her natural life.
The second, more drastic revision occurred in 980 FY. A group of six earth-mages--four enslaved, two free--managed to get into their palace with the aim of killing the King and his family. Roughly three dozen members of the palace staff were killed, as well as Sorell's wife, Queen Nida. Crown Prince Kellom was seriously injured, but all other members of the royal family were unharmed. Following this attack, Sorell ordered all mages, regardless of their cooperation with the law, be enslaved.
Following the Feredar War, beginning in 986 FY, all forms of slavery were abolished in the city.
A Brief Note on Collars
The practice of collaring slaves first began when the practice to the penal system with simple red and green collars. Green collars identified the Unfortunate--debt-slaves--and red identified the Malicious--penal slaves.
Later, the color list expanded to indicate what the crime was for penal slave, who the owner was for debt slaves, how long the term of service was intended to be, whether the slave was a mage, and, if a mage, what thread, an so on. The mage-specific collars, designed to provide negative reinforcement against magic outside of what was necessary for their assignment, were developed in the late second century FY, and remained in use--with some modifications for specific threads, relative permanence of wear, ease in deactivation, etc--until the end of the Feredar War.
The practice of slavery in Feredar dates back to roughly the time of the Blood War. In its earliest days, it was exclusively used as a means for citizens to work off their debt without having to resort to thievery or other violent crimes. If a debt went unpaid for over three years, the creditor could take the case to a magistrate, who would value the debt and determine what period of time the debtor would serve. Alternatively, a debtor could appeal for this solution, if he or she lacked the means to repay the debt on top of other living expenses.
By the time of the Magelord, the practice of punitive slavery was also being used as a punishment for nonviolent felonies as an alternative to prison sentences. This was viewed as better for the city's economy. Important public projects could then be completed, without having to divert funds to both that and upkeep of prisoners. Sentences of this kind were generally shorter than prison terms.
Shortly before the Magelord's Fall, the system was being blatantly abused by repeat offenders, and he applied restrictions to the previous law--a third conviction, if served as property in lieu of prisoner, would be the same length of time. A fourth conviction was ineligible for change.
After the Fall, when the Free Years began, impressions of the practice of slavery in the city began to change. As attitudes towards mages became more and more negative, it became shameful for a non-mage to serve a period of slavery--either penal or debt-related, whether or not the master was a mage. (Other strictures were placed on mages over the centuries as a result of this same shift in attitude, but this overview is more narrowly focused and will not discuss those in detail.) By the time of King Sorell, close to a thousand years later, it was illegal for a nonmage to serve as a slave, and illegal for a mage to own one.
At least some of Sorell's changes to the slavery laws were likely due to an attempted coup, wherein two members of his father's council used their personal slave-bodyguards as weapons. Sorell's parents and four brothers were all killed in the assault. He was fifteen at the time, and this undoubtedly had a massive impact on his view of mages, and of the entire practice of slavery. As soon as he came of age, his first direct act was to make all enslaved mages, including debt-slaves, property of the state. Creditors would be reimbursed by the crown.
Sorell, over the course of his reign, refined the law further. First, he expanded the practice to include any crime committed by a mage, for the duration of the sentence. The exception to this was violent felonies--i.e., murder, assault--for which the mage was executed. As he viewed mages as less than human, a mage would almost never have a formal trial. Whether or not the crime involved magic had very little impact on the sentencing process, other than to make execution a possibility in non-violent thefts.
He made two further changes to the law, in response to two mage revolts in the later part of his reign. In 970 FY, a formerly enslaved earth-mage and a metal-mage he had befriended in captivity attempted to tear down the office of the magistrate who had condemned them. While no one was in the building at the time of their assault (and, therefore, no one was injured), the King reacted with alarm. Both mages were executed and he revised the law so that any mage who committed any non-capital crime would be enslaved for the rest of his or her natural life.
The second, more drastic revision occurred in 980 FY. A group of six earth-mages--four enslaved, two free--managed to get into their palace with the aim of killing the King and his family. Roughly three dozen members of the palace staff were killed, as well as Sorell's wife, Queen Nida. Crown Prince Kellom was seriously injured, but all other members of the royal family were unharmed. Following this attack, Sorell ordered all mages, regardless of their cooperation with the law, be enslaved.
Following the Feredar War, beginning in 986 FY, all forms of slavery were abolished in the city.
A Brief Note on Collars
The practice of collaring slaves first began when the practice to the penal system with simple red and green collars. Green collars identified the Unfortunate--debt-slaves--and red identified the Malicious--penal slaves.
Later, the color list expanded to indicate what the crime was for penal slave, who the owner was for debt slaves, how long the term of service was intended to be, whether the slave was a mage, and, if a mage, what thread, an so on. The mage-specific collars, designed to provide negative reinforcement against magic outside of what was necessary for their assignment, were developed in the late second century FY, and remained in use--with some modifications for specific threads, relative permanence of wear, ease in deactivation, etc--until the end of the Feredar War.