Year: 1966
Type: article
Abstract: I t is now more than half a century since the publication, in 1900, of the comprehensive study on slavery by the ethnologist H. J.Nieboer.1 Rejecting the then current theories, according to which the institution of slavery arose, of necessity, at a given stage of social evolution, Nieboer attempted to explain the phenomenon in functional terms.2In order to establish the factors determining the occurrence of slavery Nieboer based his research on data relating to 391 tribal societies listed in tables compiled by S. R. Steinmetz.3The authors of the present article have examined Nieboer's hypothesiswhich wil1 be discussed laterin the light of the more extensive and presumably more reliable material now available, and in the following pages give an account of this new appraisal.In addition, an attempt lias been made to place the explanation arrived at by Nieboer within a wider theoretica1 frarnework, a secoad hypothesis being formulated on this basis and tl-ien analyzed.Bath hypotheses furnish a tentative definition specifying the circumstances under which slavery can be .expected in so-called primitive * We are indebted to J. E. Ellemers and P. Kloos for their numerous valuable comments and we are particularly grateful to
Authors: A.T.J. Nooij, J.C. Breman, C. Baks
Language: Dutch
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W1971614822