Why do people continue to practice slavery? It is true that slavery relies on many, if not hundreds, of factors that persuade people to do it. Slavery is not a simple question: why it came into existence and how people lived to contribute to it. Economics, politics, religions, survival, there is no simple answer to why slavery was so persistent. At the beginning of humanity, there were no slaves. They did not need to enslave others. After all, for farmers and hunter-gatherers, they couldn't afford to keep an extra mouth. It was just simple enough to do the job yourself. Yet, as nature intended, people began to band together, creating a surplus of food and an interest in other means of crafting. Large plantations and farms have a great economic advantage thanks to cheap, reliable labor. A small fee for room and board was worth the extra pair of hands to work with. In almost every ancient civilization, there was at least some form of slavery. It was difficult not to acquire free labor. With war being the main source of production, the weak and fallen were often victims of forced labor. Not to mention that wars in early civilizations were brutal and frequent events. The normal procedure was to take prisoners of war and kill those who were deemed unprofitable, and those who did so became slaves. Of course, war did not always result in slavery. For some, slavery was hereditary, while others could sell themselves for a place to sleep and food. Even parents would give away their children to pay off a debt. In fact, the first slaves in Virginia (1619 AD in Jamestown) were traded by Dutch traders for food. Another form of slavery still widespread today is early and forced marriage. This was a w...... middle of paper ...... However, this only applied to states occupied by the Union Army at this later date; this did not apply to any areas already under Union control. Eventually, the Thirteenth Amendment followed, which sealed the ban on slavery and ratified it in December 1865. Meanwhile, others followed the example of Mexico which abolished it in 1829, from Cuba in 1886 and Brazil, the last country to have abolished it in South America. Again, slaves were still exported from Africa to the Middle East. Eventually, Europeans colonized Africa in the 19th century and ended the slave trade. However, a century later, this practice was still practiced. Without forgetting that slavery still exists today under other names. Unfortunately, it is still thriving after all these centuries. In many places around the world, many are still forced into hard work and/or without control over themselves and their choices...