A Slave-owner's Guidebook (1786 edition)

by Dragonanzar

Summary:

The guidebook mentioned frequently in my work 'The Corruption of Power'.

The slave-owner’s guidebook (1786 edition)

Contents:

1. Owning a slave – an introduction
2. Function of the collar
3. Basic rules enforced by the collar
4. Expected deportment of the slave in public and private
5. Suggested supplementary punishments

 

Owning a slave – an introduction

Unlike the barbaric muggle world which enslaves others based on the colour of their skin and the location of their birth, the civilised Wizarding world uses slavery of humans uniquely as a punishment for wrong-doing. As another contrast, slavery in the Wizarding world is of a finite nature, depending on the crimes committed by the convicted, and is certainly not perpetual bondage for both the slave and his progeny.

The purpose of this slavery is twofold. Firstly, it is of punishment: the convicted have incurred a debt to society and must pay it. Indeed, slavery is given as a punishment solely in cases where the convicted has committed acts severe enough to justify the forcible removal of his personhood and re-identification as a mere possession. Secondly, it is of reformation: upon release, the convicted are expected to have learned how to become obedient and useful members of society. As a result of these two purposes, there are some necessary limits on the authority of the master. Namely, these are that the convicted must be released in a whole condition, enabling them to function in society in a useful manner. Therefore, upon purchase of a convict, a magical contract must be signed which binds the master from either killing or permanently physically harming his slave.

To help the master in the reformation of a potentially dangerous convict, a collar is bound around his neck which will enforce the master’s will and prevent the slave from using physical or magical means to harm another person. The master is by no means limited to the collar’s enforcement in his application of either punishment or reward to the end of either punishment or reformation; indeed, it is to be encouraged that the master takes an active role in the training of his slave. The collar’s purpose is solely to ensure that the ownership of a deviant convict is rendered as little of a burden as possible to the pillars of society who would deign to make the effort to reform one of society’s dregs.

 

Function of the collar

As stated in the previous section, the collar’s purpose is to make the ownership of a slave as little a burden on the master as possible. To this end, the collar has a basic set of rules encoded within its enchantment. These rules can be found in the next section. These rules are recommended, however, as with all things, the master is at liberty to adjust, replace or add to any of these rules. To change the basic rules, it suffices for the master to clearly state that he wishes to change a specific rule and then give the rule he wishes to be followed. A similar approach is required when informing the slave of a new rule. The collar will ensure that the new rule is followed as stringently as any other.

The collar is a complex enchantment which takes on a semi-sentient state after a short time exposed to the magic of the slave and the master. Thus, it is capable of distinguishing between what is intended as an order and what is not; between the intentional breaking of a rule and the accidental; between an intention of the slave’s to harm another and a passing fancy. It therefore moderates its reaction to the context, from giving a warning to a forceful punishment when required. As it is exposed more to the master’s magic and preferences, it gains the capability of reacting according to the desires of the master, punishing more or less depending on its expectation of the master’s disapproval. It is capable as well of giving reward; again modulating its reaction to what is deemed appropriate. It was considered worthy of the great amount of time invested in the collar’s creation as studies had shown that a nuanced approach was significantly more effective in changing the mind-set of the studies’ participants than a heavy-handed approach.

As previously stated, the master is encouraged to take an active approach to the discipline of his slave, using both physical and magical corrective methods to train his slave out of undesirable behaviours. Suggestions of reasonable punishments to common misdemeanours are made in the final section of this guidebook, but the master is to feel completely at liberty in deciding what his best for himself and his slave. To aid the master, however, are two more functions of the collar, should the master not desire to dirty his hands in either punishment or reward of his slave.

Punire – should this word be spoken by the master with the intent to punish in his mind, the slave shall suffer a punishment he shall not soon forget. To end the pain, it suffices to cease the intention of punishment. The slave is unable to fall unconscious so it is recommended that this punishment is not performed for more than a minute at a time. With a short break between uses, however, it can be used multiple times for a severe infraction. With greater will or emotion behind the intent to punish, the slave shall feel greater pain; even at its lowest levels, the punishment remains excruciating. The master should not feel afraid to use this trigger word out of some misguided soft-heartedness, however. It must be remembered at all times that the slave has become such because of crimes against society. Being light with the whip will not reform a hardened criminal; the memory of the suffering waiting for him should he repeat his deviant action, however, will.

Praemium – should this word be spoken by the master with the intent to reward in his mind, the slave shall feel great pleasure. As with Punire, the cessation of the intention to reward suffices to end the sensation, and the greater the will or emotion behind the intent to reward, the greater the pleasure received. Unlike Punire, it is not recommended that this trigger word is used except on rare occasions for an exceptional action. The rarer the occasion, the greater the slave will value the sensation, and thus the greater shall be his efforts to achieve it.

The conclusion of this section is that the collar functions as an extension of the master’s will, but does not replace the master. A slave with only the collar’s direction will be reformed to an extent, but may not become a useful member of society after his release. A slave with both the guidance of his master and the enforcement of the collar shall be reformed to a much greater extent.

 

Basic rules enforced by the collar

The slave shall submit to any and all orders that his master should give him with alacrity and good spirit. Beyond that, these following rules shall be obeyed in the absence of any correction or extension given by the master.

1. The slave shall not eat nor drink without the master’s permission;
2. The slave shall not use any item of furniture without the permission of the master or unless required to do so in the performance of his duties;
3. The slave shall not use his magic in any way without the master’s permission;
4. The slave shall not wear any item of clothing unless given permission by the master;
5. The slave shall kneel in the presence of the master or any free person unless given permission to stand;
6. If given permission to stand in the presence of the master, the slave shall behave in a way that shows submission to his master’s authority;
7. The slave shall not move further than twelve yards away from the master, unless within a warded area and given permission to roam within that area;
8. The slave shall not speak without the master’s permission;
9. The slave shall not touch any item belonging to the master or another free person unless required to do so in the performance of his duties;
10. The slave shall be available at all times for the needs of the master and shall come immediately should he call;
11. The slave shall not engage in deceit nor hide information from the master;
12. The slave shall be respectful of the master at all time, in thought and in word;
13. In all ways, the slave shall show his respect for his master’s authority and image, especially when he is in company with free people.

Please note that in the event of the slave being sold from one master to another, any changes made to these rules shall be null and void, as shall be any extraneous rules added. Should the new master wish to implement the same rules as the previous master, it will be necessary to make the changes anew.

 

Expected deportment of the slave in public and private

The behaviour of a slave in private is solely the concern of the master. It is suggested, however, that certain similarities be observed within all slave-owning households in order to avoid feelings of superiority of slaves who falsely consider themselves as more equal to their masters than others. Thus, the following rule of thumb is suggested.

Within the property of the master, the slave is to show respect for his master’s authority and therefore for the possessions and family of his master. This could be shown through: kneeling when in the presence of his master or a member of his master’s family; treating any of his master’s possessions which he is given to use for his duties or comfort with due care; keeping himself in a neat condition unless otherwise instructed by his master; remaining in the areas which are allowed for his use; being quiet and unobtrusive at all times; predicting his master’s usual needs and ensuring they are met before they are voiced. It is encouraged to keep slaves as busy as possible at all times: slaves who are given too much time to think become bored and often destructive. Working them to the point of exhaustion every day is the best way of avoiding this problem.

It is not recommended to treat slaves too well: given an over-abundance of food or clothes and facilities similar to those of their masters breeds contempt and disregard in slaves. It is therefore encouraged that slaves are given the bare minimum to survive: a bowl of nutritious gruel every day, a small area on the floor in the kitchen or basement in which to sleep. A cleaning facility is not necessary if the slave is permitted to use basic vanishing and cleansing spells, but if the slave is forbidden from using any magic, a separate cleaning facility is recommended. The slave should be encouraged to realise that even these are given to him due to the largesse of his master, and that should he misbehave, they may be taken away. It must, however, be remembered that long-term deprivation of food or water can lead to death or permanent physical damage to the slave, consequences which are forbidden by the magical contract signed upon sale. A period of three weeks without food and/or three days without water has been identified as the maximum for a magical human to avoid death or permanent physical damage.

Outside of the master’s property, however, the slave is to be held to a stricter code of conduct. Due to the innate dangerous nature of those enslaved, a member of the general public must never feel a moment’s disquiet at the presence of a slave near him. It is not recommended, therefore, that any slave is allowed to accompany the master to a public place unless the master is certain that he will behave in a docile and trained manner. Should it be necessary for the slave to enter a public place before the master has assured himself of the former, the master is required to use physical or magical restraints such as chains on the wrists, ankles, a gag or all of the above, that will ensure the general public feels safe around the convicted criminal.

While in public, the slave is to remain no more than two steps behind the master at all times, unless being sent on a short errand up to the maximum distance of twelve yards away from the master. If the master is seated, the slave is to kneel at his feet, either beside, behind or in front depending on which is most appropriate for the situation in question. The slave is not to touch anything without his master’s permission or instruction. If any damage is done by the slave, the victim may demand compensation either from the master or in terms of punishment for the slave. The slave is not to speak without his master’s permission, and if the permission is given, he is to speak briefly and respectfully. The slave is not to meet the eyes of any free person and is to show in all his comportment the understanding that until his debt has been repaid, his place is at the bottom of society, despised and hated by all right-thinking people.

Should the slave contravene any of these behaviours and be reported to the Ministry, an investigation shall be commenced. Should a sufficient punishment already have been administered, the matter shall be closed unless the slave is the recipient of frequent complaints. Should a non-suitable punishment have been administered, or no punishment at all, the Ministry shall ensure that the slave is dealt with appropriately. In the case that a slave is the recipient of multiple similar complaints, or it is discovered that the master is not sufficiently punishing his salve, the Ministry is at liberty to void the contract and reclaim the slave for resale. It must not be forgotten that the purposes of this sentence are punishment and reformation; a master who is too lenient with his slave shall not meet either of these purposes.

 

Suggested supplementary punishments

Listed are some common misbehaviours of untrained slaves, misdemeanours which should never be allowed to pass without being corrected as they may be symptoms of a greater

Infraction	Suggested punishment
Destruction of the master’s property	Whether wilful or accidental, this is something that should never be unpunished. If accidental, it is the carelessness of the slave which should be the focus. Punishing the hands of the slave can be a pointed reminder of the punishment, but repeated too often can lead to increasing clumsiness. Punire is a more general alternative without the possible side effects. If wilful, however, this is a sign of greater disrespect and therefore should attract a much more severe reprimand. The breaking of bones is allowable under the magical contract, as long as they receive sufficient healing to not cause a long-term physical injury. It is therefore suggested that for wilful damage to the master’s property, bones in the hand or arm of the slave are broken and allowed to heal as naturally as possible, giving a reminder of the chastisement every time the slave moves. The disadvantage to this punishment is that the slave is temporarily handicapped; therefore, if the use of both hands is necessary to the slave, a different physical chastisement is recommended.
Disrespect in word or tone	Use of Punire, a whip or spell such as flagello until the slave begs for mercy, to be repeated on every occasion of the undesired behaviour until it ceases.
Disobedience	While the collar enforces the master’s will, it does sometime arrive that the slave finds a loophole in his master’s instruction, therefore fulfilling the letter of his master’s instruction, but wilfully disobeying its spirit. For this, a physical implement or magical spell such as flagello is suggested rather than Punire as the physical mementos of the punishment shall help the slave to avoid the behaviour in the future.
Meeting the eyes of the master or another free person	Even the best-trained slave can make the mistake of meeting the eyes of a free person, but this should never be allowed to pass unchecked. A small reprimand such as a strike with the hand or a stick may be sufficient chastisement. Should the behaviour be repeated, however, it is recommended that a spells such as caeco is used to blind the slave temporarily. Alternatively, the collar can be used.
Nightmares – disrupting the master at night	Should the slave be given permission to stay with the master in his bedroom and he disrupts his master with nightmares, it is necessary to punish the slave as it is clear he does not appreciate the efforts the master is taking to help him. Punishments should depend on the situation; an example could be the slave being bound in a position which makes it impossible to disrupt his master. Another alternative is to command the slave to make no noise during his sleep; the collar shall enforce this command and, over a short period of time, the slave shall learn that making noise is directly connected to pain, and shall therefore stop.
Speaking without permission	Occurring once or twice, this misbehaviour can be corrected with a short physical or magical reprimand. Striking the slave across the mouth is a pointed punishment and may make the slave less likely to repeat the misdemeanour. If it is a frequent occurrence, however, the slave may require a spiked gag for a few weeks to allow the lesson to sink in.
Theft of food	Withholding of food for a maximum of three weeks every time the situation occurs. If the slave is involved in the preparation and serving of food during this time, the punishment becomes more pointed and the lesson may be learned quicker.

 

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Corruption of Power