L’esclavage pour dettes en Asie orientale

In Southeast Asia, debt bondage has generally been regarded as lawful. This article first emphasizes the methodological necessity to distinguish between several forms of debt bondage and stresses the specific character of true slavery. It then examines slavery as a whole in both traditional kingdoms and pre-state societies of Southeast Asia. Debt slavery clearly pertains to a common eastern Asian cultural background, although several traditions can be distinguished. India, for instance, considered it lawful, whereas China attempted to eradicate it.