Legal Definitions - slave

Definition: A slave is a person who is considered property and can be bought, sold, and owned by another person. In Roman law, a slave was a human being who could be pledged and testated. When a Roman slave was freed, they became a Roman citizen. In history, a slave was a bondman or servant.

• In ancient Rome, slaves were used for labor and were considered the property of their owners.
• During the transatlantic slave trade, Africans were captured and sold as slaves to work on plantations in the Americas.
• In some parts of the world today, people are still forced into slavery and treated as property.

These examples illustrate how a slave is a person who is owned and controlled by another person, and is forced to work without pay or freedom.