“It Was the Poles That Gave Me Most Pain”

This chapter examines the history of the trade in Polish slaves and captives in the Tatar and Ottoman Crimea in early modern times using hitherto unknown archival evidence and rare printed sources. Tatar predatory raids into Polish territory started in 1468 and ended in 1769. According to some estimates, the total number of captives seized in Poland between c.1500 and c.1700 could have been as many as a million; perhaps at least half of them were ethnic Poles. After capture Polish slaves of lowly origin were typically transported to the Crimea, where they were sold on the local slave markets. Unless they had special qualifications, they usually had to fulfil agricultural duties and do heavy manual work. Slaves usually had some limited free time and could attend Christian services in the churches of the Crimea’s large urban centres. Rich Polish captives were treated in accordance with their high social status and were ransomed for a considerable redemption fee. An important role in ransoming such rich captives was played by Jewish, Tatar, and, especially, Armenian merchants. The last Polish slaves left the Crimea after the abolition of the slave trade in the area in 1774

Ancient history · Archaeology · Armenian · Ethnic group · Geography · Judaism · Political science · Tatar · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · History · Law · Soviet and Russian History

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