Slavery Trivia

1. Which Emperor of China, when usurping the throne in 09 CE, attempted to abolish slavery (a decision he was forced to reverse a few years later)?

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Wang Mang

Wang Mang's rule (09-23 CE), the Xia Dynasty, broke the Han Dynasty into a former period and a latter period. Before claiming the throne for himself, he had served as regent for more than one infant Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Described as China's first "socialist" leader, Wang Mang's abolishment of slavery (through a extremely high tax on slave owners) was part of a broader program of social and economic reform that included government appropriation of "excessive" land from wealthy landowners and redistribution of the land poorer peasants. Historians' opinions are mixed on whether Wang Mang acted more from a concern for the less fortunate or a desire to enrich imperial coffers. Slaves during the Han and Xia Dynasties made up about 1% of the population of China, a lower percentage than many other ancient societies. In ancient China, there were both privately owned slaves and government owned slaves. Due to a high-level of pushback, Wang Mang reinstated slavery in 12 CE. Discontent among the peasants with his policies led to rebellion breaking out in 17 CE, culminating in Wang Mang's overthrow and execution in 23 CE. Although Shi Huangdi, Han Feizi, and Pu Yi were all Chinese Emperors, none of the three ruled or even were living during the first century CE.

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: Miguel de Cervantes

Cervantes was captured by Ottoman pirates in 1575 and held for five years in Algiers until his family ransomed him. The experience gave him much material for his future writings, particularly the Captive's tale in "Don Quixote".

From Quiz Famous Slaves

Answer: Emily West

Also known as Emily West Morgan, she was brought to the colony of Texas by James Morgan. To circumvent the fact that slaves were forbidden there, Morgan turned all of his slaves into 99-year indentured servants. In April 1836 after warning Houston of General Santa Ana's approach, Emily was able to charm the General and help Houston gain a tactical advantage. She was eventually manumitted and died a free woman.

From Quiz Slavery Today

Answer: National Geographic

The September 2003 "National Geographic" had a huge pictorial story based on this sensitive issue. Many of the facts and statements in this quiz are based on that publication.

From Quiz 10 Famous People Who Were Slaves

Answer: Aesop

Aesop, a Thracian, lived during the 6th century BC and according to Herodotus became a slave of Iadmon of Samos. Some people doubt whether or not he actually wrote all of the charming fables assigned to him...but I prefer to think of them as his!

From Quiz Roman Slavery

Answer: Manumission

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Helots

In Laconia (the Greek city-state that included Sparta), a very large majority of the population were Helots. According to Herodotus, in the Fifth Century BCE, the ration was about seven Helots for each free citizen. Because of past rebellions by the Helots and fear of future rebellions, Spartan culture and society evolved in a very military direction. All free Spartan males were trained to be warriors and Spartan girls were raised to bear future warriors. The Helots were assigned the non-military tasks. Metics was a term that described foreign-born residents of Athens (Attica). Plebians were the non-patrician portion of the Roman Republic. The Philistines were a people in the ancient Middle East.

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: Frederick Douglass

Douglass wrote and spoke mostly against slavery but also in favor of women's rights, temperance and a free education. Many people had a difficult time believing that such eloquence could come from a former slave.

From Quiz Famous Slaves

Answer: Abram Petrovich Gannibal

Born about 1696, Gannibal was brought by Peter I from his native Africa to Russia. His intellect earned him an education in Paris and the occupation of military engineer where he attained the rank of Major-General. He spent some time in a Siberian gulag after Peter's death, but the Empress Elizabeth returned him to favor and he became a prominent figure in her court. His children by his second wife Christina Regina Sioberg would become ancestors of some British aristocrats as well as the renowned Puskin.

From Quiz Slavery Today

Answer: 27 million

The "National Geographic" says that slavery is different in form from the slavery of, for example, 200 hundred years ago. What makes a slave today is someone "working hard for lousy money [on an involuntary basis, other than as a punishment imposed by a court of law]". 27 million people worldwide are estimated to be bought, sold, held against their will, badly brutalised and heavily exploited for money.

From Quiz Roman Slavery

Answer: Martial

Martial wrote witty little paragraphs called 'epigrams'.

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Janissaries

Established in the late 14th century CE, the Janissaries were disbanded in the early 19th century CE. The original Janissaries were kidnapped Christians who were converted to Islam and trained as soldiers. Atypically for slaves, the Janissaries were paid a salary. However, other rights were restricted such as the ability to marry or engage in trade. Over time, the Janissaries became corrupt and participated in the overthrow and/or execution of more than one Sultan. The Janissaries underwent years of training, at first in archery, and later in firearms. The Cossacks are a people in southern Russia who were known as skilled horsemen. The Carpathians are a mountain range in Eastern Europe. The Immortals were an elite military unit in ancient Persia.

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: Dred Scott

Scott was born in 1799 in Virginia and was sold several times, eventually ending up in Missouri. After attempting to purchase his and his family's freedom and being refused he filed suit, saying that having resided in free states and territories they should be granted freedom. It eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court where Scott's claim was denied because Scott's freedom would "improperly deprive Scott's owner of his legal property". The verdict only inflamed tensions between North and South and possibly hastened the start of the U.S. Civil War.

From Quiz Famous Slaves

Answer: Callixtus I

While a slave of the banker Carpophorus, Callixtus fell into disfavor after losing some of his master's money and fled. After his re-capture, he was discovered to be a Christian and sentenced to the mines. Through the intercession of the mistress of Emperor Commodus, he was freed and rose rapidly through the church ranks until he was elected Pope in 217. According to tradition, he was martyred in 222 and subsequently canonized as a saint.

From Quiz Slavery Today

Answer: Milorad Milakovic

Milakovic was a name familar to Bosnians as their countries prime trafficker of slaves. He had numerous brothels spread across Europe and dealt in lucrative business ventures which employed women from all over the poorer regions of Eastern Europe. Milakovic was quoted stating "Is it a crime to sell women? They sell footballers, don't they ?" by a female activist for human rights who had questioned his morals in buying women for his brotels in Prijedor, Bosnia. He was later raided in the autumn of 2000 and has since been charged with trafficking in humans and possessing slaves.

From Quiz 10 Famous People Who Were Slaves

Answer: Spartacus

The Spartacan revolt began in 73 BC in Capua. It was eventually put down and Spartacus captured and crucified by Crassus in 71 BC, despite his Hollywoodish good looks (and cleft chin!)...

From Quiz Roman Slavery

Answer: Vilicus

He oversaw all the slaves in the familia rustica (rural family).

From Quiz The Great Slave Revolt

Answer: Great Britain

Great Britain, always at the ready to exploit French weaknesses, sent a force to seize Saint-Domingue from the French. Upon the arrival of British forces, the French decided to emancipate all the slaves in order to maintain colonial rule. After a series of defeats by l'Ouverture's forces, the British abandoned the campaign in 1798.

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Brazil

An exact number of enslaved people moved across the Atlantic in the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries is hard to determine--the opinion of historians suggest somewhere between 12 and 18 million. It is estimated that approximately five million went to Brazil. It is also thought a majority of all immigrants to Brazil at this time were enslaved people (involuntary immigrants). Enslaved workers were an important part of several areas of the Brazilian economy at different times including sugar plantations in the seventeenth century and coffee plantations in the nineteenth century. Interestingly, the impetus for the end of slavery in Brazil in 1888 came from the top down with Emperor Dom Pedro II playing a leading role. Soon after, this very popular ruler was overthrown in a palace coup. Although many Brazilians (including soon the members of the coup itself) wanted Dom Pedro returned to the throne, the ex-Emperor himself had no interest in this and instead died in exile in 1891. While the other three countries all had enslaved populations, all received smaller numbers of enslaved people through the Middle Passage than Brazil.

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: St. Patrick

The dates of Patrick's birth and death aren't known for sure but he became a Christian missionary in the second half of the fifth century, after returning to his family following his enslavement. He converted the Irish from a polytheistic Celtic religion to Christianity. The stories of his chasing snakes into the sea are considered apocryphal. March 17th is observed as the possible date of his death. It has become a day of note in Ireland and around the world.

From Quiz Famous Slaves

Answer: Dred Scott

The case of Dred Scott vs Sandford occurred in 1856. The court's decision that no person of African ancestry could claim U.S. citizenship and could not bring suit to federal court increased tensions between North and South since it allowed slave owners to bring their slaves to non-slave states without jeopardizing their ownership. Dred Scott and his wife Harriet were freed 26 May 1857 and he died of tuberculosis in St. Louis in 1858.

From Quiz Slavery Today

Answer: none

Not one country on earth had slavery legalised. NOT ONE. However, according to the 2003 U.S Department of State report on Trafficking the following countries showed high levels of slave trade. Albania, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritus, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arabs Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

From Quiz 10 Famous People Who Were Slaves

Answer: India

The Slave Dynasty was founded in India in 1206 AD by Qutbuddin, a Turkish slave. His slave, Iltutmish, became Sultan in 1211 and reigned until 1236, when his daughter Raziyah became the first female ruler of a Muslim country and the only Sultana of Delhi.

From Quiz Roman Slavery

Answer: 90 percent

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Thrall

One could become a thrall in several ways: by being a prisoner of war, by being in debt and unable to pay, or by being born the child of a thrall. Though thralls were the lowest level on the social hierarchy, it was possible to the thrall to gain his/her freedom through manumission or sometimes purchasing his/her freedom. Thralls could be bought or sold, but did enjoy some legal protection from improper treatment. If a thrall gained his/her freedom, he/she would be considered a freedman/woman. Thralldom became less common in the Eleventh Century CE and was finally abolished in the fourteenth century CE. In Scandinavian society, a Jarl or Eorl was a chieftan or nobleman (the English word "Earl" comes from this) and a Karl or Ceorl was a freeborn commoner. Daryl is a male name (one use is the character Daryl from "The Walking Dead" television series).

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: Olaudah Equiano

Equiano was of the Ibo people of present-day Benin. He was kidnapped at age 11 and brought to America. After being sold several times he was bought by Robert King, a Quaker merchant in Philadelphia, who set him to work in his business. King told Equiano he could purchase his freedom for the £40 (about £6000 today) King paid for him. Equiano did so in 1767 and decided to move to England. In 1789 he wrote his memoirs "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African". It was very popular and aided in gathering support of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished the slave trade in the British Empire.

From Quiz Famous Slaves

Answer: Aesop

According to what little documented information has been found, Aesop was a slave of Iadmon of Samos who at some point gave him his freedom. He was with Periander at Corinth when he met with the Seven Sages and the reason that he was killed by the inhabitants of Delphi is not known. Most experts believe that Aesop's fables are ultimately a collection of stories from many sources, but his name has survived many generations because of their popularity.

From Quiz Roman Slavery

Answer: Vernae

They were the most valuable sort of slave because they could be taught specialised skills at an early age.

From Quiz Life in Slavery

Answer: Maroons

The Spanish word "cimarron" (meaning wild or unruly) is thought by some to be the origin of the English word maroon. In some cases, maroons were newly enslaved people who were able to escape soon after arrival in the Caribbean from Africa. In other cases, maroons were descendants of African-born enslaved people. In both cases, they lived in interior areas of the islands that were difficult to reach and often had limited resources such as water. In many cases, people of African descent would intermarry with indigenous populations. While areas on smaller islands have been broken up, maroon communities still exist on larger islands even after the end of slavery.

From Quiz You Don't Own Me

Answer: Egyptians

At a time when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and the pharaoh had ordered all male Israelite babies killed, Moses' mother put him in a basket on the edge of the Nile river. The pharaoh's daughter found him and took him into the royal family, where he grew up. After killing an Egyptian Moses fled but was told by an angel to return and free the Israelites in Egypt. This he did by getting divine assistance in delivering ten plagues to Egypt and then parting the Red Sea as the Israelites escaped the country. He was said to later have been given the Ten Commandments by God on Mount Sinai.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:50 AM

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