Serfdom in Poland existed on the territory of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

during the rule of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. It continued to exist in various forms until late in the 14th century when it was supplanted by the institution of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

, which has often been considered a form of modified slavery.

Terminology

Polish literature refers to this group of people as "unfree people" (, ) rather than as slaves (niewolnicy).

History

The institution of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

as practiced in the Polish territories during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

played a lesser economic or cultural role than in other states such as

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

where slavery played a crucial role in keeping its economy alive. It existed on the territory of

during the times of the

; with the number of slaves rising significantly when Polish state was established, as most of the slaves were owned by the king. According to Samuel Augustus Mitchell, non-free people were emancipated in Poland in 1347 under the Statutes of Casimir the Great issued in Wiślica. Although there are indications that some form of slavery, in practice and law, continued at least till the end of the 14th century. Throughout the remaining history of feudal Poland, particularly in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, much of the peasantry was subject to serfdom, which was often likened to slavery. Serfdom was abolished in Poland in the 19th century during the times of the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

Features

The slaves came primarily from the ranks of

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, and were treated as a commodity destined mostly for the largest slave market of its age—the Prague slave trade. Later, between the 11th and 12th century, ransom was popularised due to acceptance of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, but it covered prisoners of prominence mostly. Some people could also become enslaved due to their inability to pay off their debts, and occasionally enslavement was used as substitute to a death sentence. Children of ''niewolni'' was in default categorized as part of the slavery class, since they belonged to the king or knights. ''Niewolni'' owned by the king were organized in units of tens and hundreds. Those who were not owned by the monarch were among the few in the Kingdom of Poland that could not rely on royal justice. ''Niewolni'' had a limited right to relocate themselves, and could own possessions. Over time, their numbers decreased due to various reasons. Some of them were able to escape and some were favored as their owners saw them to be more profitable when they are used as peasants (, ) rather than servants. Czeladź would have their own house, and would be little different from regular peasants or serfs.

Present day

Slavery is illegal in Poland. Poland is part of the European G6 Initiative Against Human Trafficking.

Contemporary slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...

however still persists in Poland, just as it does in the rest of the world. According the Global Slavery Index, there were 128,000 people living in the condition of modern slavery in Poland as of 2019. Types of slavery found in Poland include

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

, forced begging, and forced criminality. Sectors of the Polish economy considered most vulnerable to slavery and other forms of exploitation include agriculture, construction, food processing, housekeeping and cleaning, although problems have also been found in the industrial production and catering sectors. Some of the people subject to forced labour in Poland were from temporary workers from

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. Common techniques for trafficking people into slavery from other countries include false job promises, high fees or alleged debts, rape, and withholding the person's documentation. False offers of employment are usually for sales or agricultural work. Many trafficking victims from Bulgaria and Ukraine are forced into sex slavery.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=33em, refs= Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, ''Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego'' (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.18 Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, ''Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego'' (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, pp.40–41 Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, ''Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego'' (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.75 {{cite book, author1=Stefan Inglot, author2=Jan Borkowski, title=Historia chłopów polskich, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMRJAAAAIAAJ, access-date=2 April 2012, year=1992, publisher=Wydawn. Uniw. Wroc·lawskiego, isbn=978-83-229-0756-6, page=30 {{cite book, author=Anna Klubówna, title=Ostatni z wielkich Piastów, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T9NBAAAAYAAJ, access-date=2 April 2012, year=1982, publisher=Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, isbn=978-83-205-3317-0, page=85 {{cite book, author=Jerzy Lukowski, title=Disorderly liberty: the political culture of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the eighteenth century, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAgRHvulnnUC&pg=PA185, access-date=2 April 2012, date=3 August 2010, publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group, isbn=978-1-4411-4812-4, page=185 {{cite book, author=Samuel Augustus Mitchell, title=A general view of the world: comprising a physical, political, and statistical account of its grand divisions ... with their empires, kingdoms, republics, principalities, &c.: exhibiting the history of geographical science and the progress of discovery to the present time ... Illustrated by upwards of nine hundred engravings ..., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D81JAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA335, access-date=1 April 2012, year=1859, publisher=H. Cowperthwait & Co., page=335 {{cite book, author=Helena Radlińska, title=Z dziejów narodu: wypisy z źródeł i streszczenia z opracowań historycznych, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jO3gAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA212, access-date=2 April 2012, year=1908, publisher=Nakładem i drukiem M. Arcta, page=212 {{cite book, author=Larry Wolff, title=Inventing Eastern Europe: the map of civilization on the mind of the enlightenment, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHm2c1jg2mAC&pg=PA100, access-date=2 April 2012, date=1 June 1996, publisher=Stanford University Press, isbn=978-0-8047-2702-0, page=100 Economic history of Poland Legal history of Poland

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

History of Poland during the Piast dynasty Slavery in Europe Human rights abuses in Poland

Terminology

History

Features

Present day

See also

Further reading

References