⚖️ White Slavery: The Barbary slave trade (16th–18th centuries) saw 1 to 1.25 million Europeans enslaved by North African pirates.
🚢 Coastal Raids: European coastal towns were frequently raided, and people were captured for forced labor in North Africa.
📊 Comparative Scale: Some historians argue that, at certain times, the Barbary slave trade rivaled or even exceeded the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
🌍 Beyond Race: This history complicates racial narratives of slavery, highlighting the role of geopolitical and religious conflicts in enslavement.
🏴☠️ Barbary Pirates: These North African privateers operated with the support of local rulers, targeting European ships and settlements.
🏛️ Lesser-Known History: This aspect of slavery is often overshadowed but is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of global slavery.
Sources:
🔗 Ohio State University Research
https://news.osu.edu/when-europeans-were-slaves--research-suggests-white-slavery-was-much-more-common-than-previously-believed/
🔗 Wikipedia - Barbary Slave Trade
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_slave_trade
Great post and series by Dom Documents
https://x.com/domdocuments_/status/1878603381733802463?s=46&t=U3UkfG2C9QsrDGCkDql1uA
