Nigerian journalist and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes that one of her ancestors sold slaves, but argues that he should not be judged by today’s standards or values.  She said: My great-grandfather, Nwaubani Ogogo Oriaku, was what I prefer to call a businessman, from the Igbo ethnic group of south-eastern Nigeria. He dealt in a number of goods, including tobacco and palm produce. He also sold human beings.

“He had agents who captured slaves from different places and brought them to him,” her father told her….. But what about the slaves from 2,000 years before that?

Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Rome…

2,000 years ago a slave was a person captured in battle and sent back to Rome to be sold. Roman soldiers would bring back captives as part of a reward for their presence in battles. Some of the defeated soldiers were also brought back as slaves and normally brought in a lot of money and this could also serve as an alternative to imprisoning them or killing them. Fathers could also go on and sell their children into slavery if they had a need for money and this was actually lawful. The abandoned children on the streets could also be brought up as slaves. Slaves were brought in from all over Europe and from around the Mediterranean sea. It was against the law to enslave Roman citizens or Italians living in Gallia Cisalpina. New slaves were acquired first by wholesalers who dealt directly with the Roman armies.

Slavery in Greece:……  Slavery was an accepted practice in ancient Greece, as in other societies of the time. Some Ancient Greek writers (including, most notably, Aristotle) described slavery as natural and even necessary.

Slaves were present through the Mycenaean civilization, 3,600 years ago, as documented in numerous tablets unearthed in Pylos 140. Slavery operated in the first civilizations (such as Sumer in Mesopotamia, which dates back as far as 3500 BC) That’s 5,500 years ago, not in the year 1619 as some crazy writers would have us believe.

Slavery In The Bible…

But slavery goes back to ancient Egypt and the time of Moses. Slavery is in the bible… Were Adam and Eve slaves? Someone told God: “Someone’s in the garden with Eve.”.. They were both forbidden from leaving the garden.. How long ago was that?

Adam lived between 120,000 and 156,000 years ago. A comparable mtDNA analysis suggested Eve lived between 99,000 and 148,000 years ago…