Publisher's Synopsis
Officially, slavery is no longer legal anywhere in the world, however, the number of people involved in human trafficking across the globe today could be as many as 12 million. Primarily the prostitution of women and children, it is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world and is even predicted to outgrow drug trafficking by 2015.Dreaming of a better life for their children, unwitting parents sell their children to pay off debts and end up sentencing them to a life of prostitution and crime. Victims are held against their will through acts of violence and coercion and forced to work for their owner. International agents and brokers arrange travel and job placements for women from one country to another. The women are lured by promises of lucrative opportunities unachievable in their native country. However, once they reach their destination, they discover the true nature of the work. By then it is too late and they find themselves trapped in a violent and abusive world of drugs and prostitution from which there is no escape .This book tracks the complex history of human trafficking from its early origins in the slave markets of Rome through the streets of medieval Europe and the plantations of the West Indies to the sweatshops of modern-day Bangkok on a dark, violent journey of human abuse, racism and exploitation. Contents 1. HISTORY OF SLAVERY Greek and Roman Serfdom; Medieval Europe; Slavery and the Crusades; Slavery in Africa; Slavery and the Arab World; The Ottoman Empire 2. ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE The rise of the slave trader; The trans Atlantic trading route; Industrial revolution paid for by slavery; The plantations of the New World; American Civil War; The abolition of slavery; The legacy of racism 3. MODERN DAY SLAVERY Debt bondage; Forced labour; Sex trafficking; Child labour; Child trafficking;People smuggling
