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User:Andrewa/Concubinage within slavery

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Concubinage has existed in most parts of the world and often involves a relationship of a wealthy man with a socially inferior woman.[1] Concubinage is an alternative to marriage, often entered into when social circumstances would prohibit legal marriage.[2] Most concubines were slaves, but not all.[1] The feature about concubinage that made it attractive to certain men was that the concubine was dependent on the man - she could be sold or punished at the master's will.[1]

In places like China and the Muslim world, the concubine of a king could achieve power, especially if her son also became a monarch.[1]

Many societies automatically freed the concubine after she had a child. According to one study, this was the case in about one-third of slave-holding societies, the most prominent being case of the Muslim world.[3] Among societies that did not legally require the manumission of concubines, it was usually done anyway.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Martin A. Klein. "Concubines and Concubinage". Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 122. CONCUBINES AND CONCUBINAGE. In almost all slave-using societies, the highest prices are paid for beautiful young women. Some became high-priced prostitutes or companions, but most became concubines...Not all concubines were slaves but most were.
  2. ^ Judith Wozniak. "Concubinage". The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery. ABC-CLIO. p. 182.
  3. ^ a b Orlando Peterson. Slavery and Social Death. Harvard University Press. p. 230. Many societies in addition to those advocating Islam automatically freed the concubine, especially after she had had a child. About a third of all non-Islamic societies fall into this category. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 88 (help)
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