Child Labor - History
Were the Serfs & Slaves Happy?
Today, great developed societies have developed in different ways over hundreds of years. This was before human rights, but if you apply that guideline, nearly ALL modern developed economies abused their populations to achieve poverty escape velocity. Before the European Industrial Revolution, the land was populated with serfs (similar to slaves, except they couldn't be traded) and peasants. Children worked, only landowners could vote, and the monarchies and lords reigned supreme. North America was the result of genocidal colonialism, rampant workers' rights abuses, and straight-up imported North Atlantic slavery from West Africa. The Western world was built on the backs of serfs, slaves, and child labor. Those are the facts. Their ancestors paid a terrible price for the 'freedoms' they export around the world today. I am not arguing whether these are good or bad. They just are what they are. When you see old money English...