What is slavery? This is a system of production relations in which one person is allowed to be the property of another person - the master. The economies of the most ancient states were built on the basis of slavery: gentlemen leading an idle lifestyle, enriched themselves through the use of virtually free labor of slaves. The unfortunate slaves, men and women, labored from morning until night and were subjected to brutal corporal punishment for insufficient diligence. Few of those who fell into slavery managed to live up to forty years. For thousands of years, slavery was considered the norm and it seemed that it would exist forever. Initially, slavery was considered the norm not only by the slave owners, but also by the slaves themselves. Slaves recognized their humiliating position in society as absolutely natural and did not want to fight for their liberation. In such conditions, it was impossible to effectively fight for the abolition of slavery. But not everyone wanted to put up with this situation. There were people who called slavery inhuman and began a fierce struggle against it. At first it had the character of a dream about a new, more just world order. Unfortunately, not all the names of the fighters against slavery have survived in the historical chronicles, for the slave owners tried to destroy even the memory that they once existed. Nowadays, the most famous are such fighters against slavery as:for the slave-owners tried to destroy even the memory that they once existed. Nowadays, the most famous are such fighters against slavery as:for the slave-owners tried to destroy even the memory that they once existed. Nowadays, the most famous are such fighters against slavery as:
1. Eun. Eun is a slave from Syria who revolted in 131 BC. Thanks to his outstanding oratory skills, Eunus managed to quickly assemble a gigantic army of former slaves and take control of a quarter of the territory of Sicily. Despite this, after a series of hard battles, the uprising was suppressed by the Roman troops.
2. Spartacus. Spartacus was a gladiator slave. Together with his comrades in misfortune, participants in gladiatorial duels, he raised a rebellion in 73 BC. Spartacus led a huge multinational army of slaves, which even some of the citizens of Rome joined, and for several years successfully resisted the Roman legions. Unfortunately, in the end, the army, led by the brave gladiator, was defeated, and he himself died. The captured wives and children of the rebellious slaves were crucified on crosses.
Despite the seeming hopelessness of the situation, as a result, with the development of productive forces, slavery ceased to exist. Humanity has moved to a new stage in its development - slavery was replaced by feudalism. Production relations based on slavery were replaced by production relations based on estates. Over time, society was divided into individuals of blue blood - the nobility, and the rabble serving their interests - the peasants. And again there were people who called the class division of society inhuman and began to fight against it. Many of them paid with their lives for their beliefs. Peasant uprisings periodically broke out in different parts of the world, but were brutally suppressed. The following peasant uprisings are best known today:
1. Peasant uprising in Germany. In 1500, a peasant uprising, led by Wulf Isebrand, began in the German region of Dietmarschen. The uniqueness of this uprising lies in the fact that it was not suppressed. The peasants defended their right to freedom and created their own state, in which society was not divided into classes. It was a voluntary union of free people. The state of Dithmarschen existed for 59 years until it was absorbed by the Danish kingdom.
2. The peasant war in Germany. The Peasant War in Germany was the largest popular uprising in Europe before the French Revolution. The conflict, which took place mainly in the southern, western and central regions of modern Germany, also affected neighboring Alsace, Austria and Switzerland, reaching a peak in the spring and summer of 1525, when about 300,000 rebel peasants participated in the events. According to modern estimates, the death toll was around 100,000. The rebels demanded the abolition of the division of society into estates.
3. Peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin. In 1670, an uprising of the Cossacks began in the Russian Empire under the leadership of the ataman Stepan Razin. The insurgents demanded the abolition of the division of Russian society into estates and the immediate abolition of serfdom. In the spring of 1670, the second period of the uprising began, that is, the actual war. From that moment, and not from 1667, the beginning of the uprising is usually counted. The Razins captured Tsaritsyn and approached Astrakhan, which the townspeople surrendered to them. There they executed the governor and nobles, organized their own government headed by Vasily Us and Fyodor Sheludyak. Despite initial successes, Stepan Razin's uprising was suppressed. The rebels failed to achieve their goals.
4. Peasant uprising led by Pugachev. In 1773, a Cossack uprising began in the Russian Empire, which quickly grew into a large-scale peasant war under the leadership of Ataman Yemelyan Pugachev. The uprising covered the lands of the Yaitsky army, the Orenburg region, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkiria, part of Western Siberia, the Middle and Lower Volga regions. In the course of the uprising, the Bashkirs, Tatars, Kazakhs, Chuvashs, Mokshans, Erzans, Ural factory workers and numerous serfs from all provinces where military operations were unfolding, joined the Cossacks. Emelyan Pugachev proclaimed himself tsar, but despite this he always emphasized that after the victory he intends to forever end the class division of Russian society and grant the people of Russian will. Unfortunately, the uprising was suppressed in 1774. Its leader was arrested and executed by order of Empress Catherine II.
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5. Peasant uprising in Romania. In 1784, a peasant uprising began in Romania, led by the peasant Horia. On November 4, Horia, who led the movement, took the rebels' oath to destroy the nobility. In the meantime, the authorities began to play for time and agreed to a truce with the rebels: on November 12 in the Tiber, Kloshka and Colonel Schultz signed a truce for 8 days, on November 16 in Valya Bradului, Krishan agreed on this. On November 21, Krishan made demands to the authorities: to liquidate the nobility as a class, divide its lands and establish equal taxation. The authorities ignored Krishan's demands, since by that time the emperor had an army ready for battle. On December 7, Krishan was defeated at the battle of Mihaileni, and his troops fled. On December 27, Horia and Kloshka were captured,On January 30, 1785, Krishan went there, but on the same day he hanged himself, not wanting to go to court. On February 28, Horia and Kloshka were executed by the wheel in Alba Iulia.
6. Peasant uprising in the Bukhara Emirate. In 1885, a peasant uprising, led by the peasant Vose, began in the Bukhara Emirate. Initially, the rebels opposed the arbitrariness of officials, but then demanded the abolition of the class division of society and the equality of all people before Allah. Soldiers from Hissar were sent to suppress the uprising. This forced Vose to abandon his positions and retreat to the Sarypul village, convenient for defense. However, soon the forces of the rebels were defeated by the Bukhara troops, and their remnants were scattered in the mountains. Vose, with a small number of people, made several more attempts to attack the Bukhara troops, but they did not bring him success. Ultimately, Vose was captured and soon hanged in the city of Shakhrisabz.
Despite a number of defeats, the sacrificial, centuries-old struggle against the class division of society was crowned with success. Humanity has realized the inhuman nature of production relations, built on the class division of society, and again moved to a new stage of its development. Feudalism was replaced by capitalism. Production relations based on the class division of society were replaced by production relations based on the power of capital. The owners of the means of production, the bourgeois, enrich themselves at the expense of the underpaid labor of hired workers - proletarians. The bourgeois practically do not work, they live in luxurious conditions, they travel and are treated in the best medical clinics in the world. And what about the proletarians working for them? The proletarians work for eighttwelve hours a day and lack access to quality education and health care. This state of affairs is fundamentally wrong and unfair. Unfortunately, most of the hired workers consider exploitation to be the norm and do not even know that it can be gotten rid of. There is nothing surprising. Corrupt political scientists, day and night, with the help of the media, drive into the heads of proletarians the idea that production relations based on the exploitation of man by man cannot be abolished. But this is not true. In the past, defenders of slavery have argued that the slave-master relationship is irrevocable. But where is slavery now? It has been destroyed. How the division of society into estates has been destroyed. The entire history of mankind is the evolution of freedom. Each new model of industrial relations gives people a completely new amount of freedom. The change of social formations represents progress. In a historical perspective, exploitation will ultimately end: production relations based on the exploitation of man by man will be replaced by relations of production based on the brotherhood and equality of workers - communism.