This word is from the Middle English language and is derived from the Latin term manumittere. The literal meaning of is “to send off by hand,” this is referring to the ceremony performed by the romans where as they would have the master of the slave give a liberating slap and this released the slave from his or her duties. During the middle ages serfs, who were the equivalent to slaves, were freed through a form of this process. This process varied from time to time depending on the lord that was in power at the time. Some of the processes are having high productivity, loyal services, or even allowing them to buy their own freedom, this was not very common then. Although manumission is to free a slave, sometimes it was not absolute. In Rome, slaves that were freed were not born free and still held obligation to their former masters. Failure to perform these tasks could eventually lead to re-enslavement. This would cause some of the freed slaves to give up everything they owned to their former masters in order to keep their freedom. Most of these freed slaves would find themselves back in the clutches of their old masters or even new ones, in times of hardship. Some owners had a complex reason to manumit their slaves. The first reason was that manumission was seen as a sentimental or benevolent gesture. The most common reason was that the slave had grown old and weak and were no longer of use to the masters. The masters also used this as an incentive for the slaves who worked the most and the
This word is from the Middle English language and is derived from the Latin term manumittere. The literal meaning of is “to send off by hand,” this is referring to the ceremony performed by the romans where as they would have the master of the slave give a liberating slap and this released the slave from his or her duties. During the middle ages serfs, who were the equivalent to slaves, were freed through a form of this process. This process varied from time to time depending on the lord that was in power at the time. Some of the processes are having high productivity, loyal services, or even allowing them to buy their own freedom, this was not very common then. Although manumission is to free a slave, sometimes it was not absolute. In Rome, slaves that were freed were not born free and still held obligation to their former masters. Failure to perform these tasks could eventually lead to re-enslavement. This would cause some of the freed slaves to give up everything they owned to their former masters in order to keep their freedom. Most of these freed slaves would find themselves back in the clutches of their old masters or even new ones, in times of hardship. Some owners had a complex reason to manumit their slaves. The first reason was that manumission was seen as a sentimental or benevolent gesture. The most common reason was that the slave had grown old and weak and were no longer of use to the masters. The masters also used this as an incentive for the slaves who worked the most and the