Pre-Hispanic Nahua Slavery

Abstract

Abstract The article deals with pre-Hispanic Nahua slavery. Based upon an examination of Nahua perception of slavery/slaves, Nahua forms of slavery (apart from the slaves destined for sacrifice there were slaves destined for work) and the social and legal position of Nahua slaves (destined for work) the author concludes that the Nahua institution traditionally called “slavery“ is different from its counterparts known from the history of Occident. Except for slaves destined for sacrifice to the gods which are discussed only briefly in the article, the Nahua slaves (i.e. the slaves destined for work) had a certain degree of personal freedom and certain rights. Becoming a slave at birth was possible only exceptionally and the enslavement of persons was in many cases (even if not in all cases) only temporary. The treatment of Nahua slaves – compared to the living conditions of their counterparts in many other world cultures – was significantly better, more humane. This can be seen from the fact that the master was entitled only to his/her slave’s labor and not to slave’s life, health, family members or property, as well as from the fact that the slave could obtain freedom in many ways, not only by the manumission made by his/her master. Although slaves were considered a kind of both physically and mentally “less perfect“ individuals who were “dirtied“, that is, morally tainted and dishonored by their enslavement and its reasons (mainly a delinquent behavior, i.e. non-payment of debts or perpetration of certain crimes), they were not systematically excluded from the wider society formed by free persons and they lived with their families in their houses and neighborhoods.