The following three contracts come from the register of a notary named Benedetto Bianco, priest of the parish of St. Euphemia in Venice. As a notary, Bianco’s job was to draw up legal documents and contracts in the correct form. The parties to these three transactions could request full copies of the contract, and Bianco would copy a heavily abbreviated version into his register for reference in case of later disputes. The first two contracts are typical for the sale of slaves. The third contract is not a slave sale, but it creates a situation which might later result in enslavement.

Although Benedetto Bianco was a resident of Venice, he spent the years 1359-1363 working in the Venetian community in Tana, a major port in the Black Sea region. Tana was located on the coast of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Don River. It was governed by the Golden Horde, the Mongol state located in what is now Ukraine and southern Russia. Slaves traded through Tana ended up in households throughout the Mediterranean, but the ways in which they became enslaved in the first place have not always been clear. Contemporary sources, mostly written by slave owners, alleged that parents in the Black Sea region sold their own children into slavery because of their greed, barbarism, or desperate poverty. Although such allegations might be interpreted as slave owners’ attempts to justify their slave ownership, these documents show that at least a few children in Tana were sold or pledged by their own relatives.

Translated from the Latin by Hannah Barker. Venice, Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Cancelleria inferiore, Notai, b.19, N.7, reg. 2, fols. 21v, 23r-v, items 125, 135, 141. This translation CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

On the same day [Wednesday, the 3rd of June, 1360]

Lady Ocholinato, wife of the late Dimitri, from the casale[1] of Iusbeymamat from Russia, with her successors, asked that a manifest charter of promise and security be made with Ser Bartholino Magnamosto of the neighborhood of St. Mauricio in Venice, of one of her daughters likewise of the race of the Russians, about 15 years old, Christina by name, present and consenting, for a price of 300[2] good aspers[3] of Tana, promising to warrant her to him, in everything as above, with a penalty of 10 gold libri.

Completed and given. Witnesses Ser Bartholomeus Fantineli, Symon de Osmo.

[1] A Mongol administrative unit.

[2] The notary began writing the number five, then crossed it out.

[3] Aspers were silver coins commonly used around the Black Sea. In the late 1360s, a Venetian ducat was worth about 32 aspers.

On Monday the penultimate of June [1360]

Apanas[1], son of the late Costa, from the casale of Bosonzi of the Empire of Gazaria, presently an inhabitant of Tana, asked that a manifest charter of promise and security be made of one of his sisters with the noble man Lord Marco Contareno, son of the late Lord Fantino [of the parish] of the Holy Apostles, born from the race of Tatars as above, about 13[2] years old, Nasca by name, present and consenting, along with Fredericho son of the late Limon from the said place of Bosonzi in the Empire of Gazaria, with full power and ability to keep the aforementioned at work in everything as a slave, yet he may not presume or be able to sell her, promising to warrant her to him in everything as above, for a price of 200 good ducats of Tana, with a penalty of 5 libri of gold.

Completed and given. Witnesses Ser Guilelmus Bon, interpreter of the Venetian court, and Michael de Porzilus.

[1] The notary wrote the name Fredericus and then crossed it out.

[2] The notary began writing the number twelve, then crossed it out.

On Monday the 6th [of July, 1360]

Elya son of the late I…a Ravars of the Alans from the casale of Zescibey in the district of Tana asked that a manifest charter be made for Ser Andrea Armino son of the late Georgius of Tana, citizen of Venice, concerning 300 good aspers of Tana of which he acknowledged that he had taken complete possession from him because of a loan (mutuum). Truly he assigned to him as his pledge for the aforementioned money a certain son of his, 15 years of age, Basil by name, who ought to stay and remain with him in the house while he repays the money to him prelibatam and to be a familiar to him in all things, with a penalty of 5 gold libri.

Completed and given. Witnesses Ser Guilelmus Bon, interpreter of the Venetian court, and Benedictus de Romagna.

Discussion Questions

  1. The first document states that the girl being sold into slavery, Christina, was “present and consenting” when she was sold. Do you think Christina really consented to become a slave? If so, why? If not, why was this clause included in the document? Who wrote the document, and who would benefit from this clause if there were any kind of dispute about the validity of the sale?
  2. In the second document, what is the relationship between Apanas, Nasca, and Frederico? Why does the document include a clause to prevent Nasca’s owner from reselling her?
  3. The third document is a record of a pledge, not a slave sale. What is a pledge? Under what circumstances would Basil become a slave instead of a pledge?
  4. Two of the three documents are witnessed by an interpreter of the Venetian court. Why do you think an interpreter was present at these events? Does the presence of an interpreter affect the way that you analyze the documents?

Related Primary Sources

Related Secondary Sources

  • Barker, Hannah. That Most Precious Merchandise: The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019.
  • Biran, Michal. “Encounters Among Enemies: Preliminary Remarks on Captives in Mongol Eurasia.” Archivum Eurasia Medii Aevi, 21 (2015): 27-42.

Themes

Children, Law, Property, Trade