Slavery Bondage & Dependency in Southeast Asia - Anthony Reid

by Anthony Reid

$64 · Offered by eBay

Anthony Reid’s Slavery, Bondage, and Dependency in Southeast Asia (1983) is a seminal collection of essays. It argues that unlike the European-Atlantic model, Southeast Asian slavery prior to the 20th century was largely indigenous and focused on controlling manpower rather than land, primarily serving to integrate peripheral societies with centralized states Key themes and historical dynamics explored in the book include: Manpower as Wealth: Because capital and legal institutions were limited, a powerful patron's greatest security and the measure of a rich man's wealth were his dependents. Warfare and raids were frequently conducted to capture people rather than territory. Pathways into Bondage: Enslavement typically occurred via four primary avenues: capture in war, hereditary descent, judicial punishment (instead of fines), and debt bondage. The Continuum of Dependency: Reid emphasizes moving away from rigid "free" vs. "unfree" European paradigms. Southeast Asia featured a spectrum of dependency, ranging from outright chattel slavery to various forms of debt bondage, where labor was traded for debt resolution. State vs. Private Power: A constant tension existed between centralized states and powerful aristocrats. In kingdoms like Burma and Thailand, state authority was threatened when too many individuals became privately owned bondsmen who could not be taxed or conscripted by the crown. The Slave Trade: Peripheral, decentralized, and highland societies (such as the Batak,

• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

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