[BANESTORM] Ending slavery in the Evil Empire

[Apollonian]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I don't think Megalos' legal system will be very supportive of that idea for slaves.

I could see the reformist Emperor founding some kind of slave-holding guild or enterprise owned by abolitionists or whatnot as a long-game means of creating an abolitionist-minded monopoly on slave ownership that will lead to soft abolition. It is, of course, the kind of thing that can go wrong quickly in ways that make for interesting gaming.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

I recall someone's suggestion for Transhuman Space, where one class of AIs were not legally people in one country, and the workaround was to have the AI owned by a corporation which owns nothing else and is controlled by the AI.

Not sure if that would work in the Banestorm setting, given that the THS workaround only really works because the governments of Transhuman Earth respect the rights of the foreign owner not to destroy/repossess their property at will. I find it questionable that Megalos would respect the laws of a foreign nation enough to make that a plausible solution.

Originally Posted by ericthered

The majority of farm labor in Megalos is done by serfs, not slaves, as far as I can tell.

I suppose it could change over time, depending on the prices of slave labour, the ability of lords of the manor to extract payment alternative to corvee (i.e. cash), and the ability of lords to evict serfs (or serfs to flee on their own). Slavery is more advantageous to the lord, as they collected all the produce of the land a slave worked.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Slaves by Law are excommunicated criminals. They are owned by the crown, so "you can't free them" usually won't apply, because it sounds like the emperor usually doesn't sell them. They're also the defacto prison system.

Well if it's anything like the system of penal labour in the late 19th century United States, it's probable the crown would be renting them out to somebody else. Given the size of Megalos, local officials would probably have a great deal of latitude in sentencing and disposal of penal labour.

Using murderers and traitors for penal labour doesn't make much sense though.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Using murderers and traitors for penal labour doesn't make much sense though.

Using them for jobs that are going to kill you (such as low tech salt mining) has been used historically.