American Slavery Vs. Russian Serfdom

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Recommended: Native Americans during the colonization of America

American slavery and Russian serfdom were similar in that the laborers were pushed down to the bottom of the social classes, slaves did not have any social mobility, and slaves were tied to the land they worked. In the Americas the Native American slaves were at the very bottom of the social classes. Different mixes of races also caused further denomination of classes between slaves. Similarly, in Russian serfdom, serfs were the lowest of classes and had very limited rights which made them almost like slaves to their landlords. In both the Americas and in Russian serfdom, laborers were born into their social classes. Also, neither the Native American slaves nor the Russian serfs could move from their lowly positions in the social structures. The laborers were also tied to the land that they worked. For a Russian serf, they could never be able to leave the plantation at which they worked. The same went for the Native American slaves; they were forced to work for their slaveholders for the entirety of their lives.

The impact of the Columbian exchange from 1400 to 1700 varied on the regions it came in contact with. In Europe, the Columbian exchange was extremely beneficial since it brought new crops from the Americas. The conquest and explorations to the New World caused new crops and food sources to be found and taken back to Europe. These newfound crops were more efficient when growing and harvesting and also were higher in nutritional context then that of the Old World crops. A continuity that remained in this region was the farming and consuming of Old World crops. Although the New World crops were overall better than that of the Old World, production of Old World crops still continued. Many Europeans feared this new food sou...

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...practicing foot-binding and peasant Japanese women not being secluded to the home but working fields.

The Portuguese empire had advanced technology and good military strategies compared to the lands they conquered and used it to their advantage. The Mughal Indians on the other hand used mostly brute force and military strength to conquer. To maintain their empires the Mughal Indians and the Portuguese were very different. The Portuguese had their capital placed in Portugal and conquered in the New World. The Portuguese monarchy often sent lawyers and officials to the New World to carry out the government there. Unlike Portugal, the Mughal Indians had their capital within their empire and all power went to the sultan. This method proved to be faulty because with the growing empire, the sultan lost contact with his subjects and had a hard time maintaining his empire.

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