History Main / MadeASlave

* DreamlandChronicles: The {{pirate}}s' threat of this inspires him to fight [[http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-03/page-129/ here]].

* NeverwinterNights module A Dance with Rogues had a particularly memorable long unskippable cutscene where you are being sold at the drow slave market.

** Shasta overhears the discussion to sell him in ''TheHorseAndHisBoy'' and decides, with Bree's help, to run away; it is Bree and Hwin's BackStory.

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has Ako, Natsumi, and Akira selling themselves into slavery shortly after their arrival in the magic world to pay for Ako's medicine. Tosaka abuses them on occasion, but their actual owner (a literal MamaBear) beats the crap out of him for it. Even then, Tosaka only looks down on them because he was once a slave himself. [[spoiler: Negi eventually manages to buy their freedom.]] Several recent chapters reveal that [[spoiler:the reason Jack Rakan is so crazy powerful is because he spent pretty much his whole life fighting as a gladiatorial slave, before winning his freedom and starting to fight in wars.]]
* Recently in VinlandSaga Thorfinn has become a slave working in Jutland.
* Used in ''PlusAnima'' when they go to sailand all of the four main character's are made into slaves Senri is the only one sold at a slave market though.
* Several characters in OnePiece on seperate occasions.
* Ayase in ''OkaneGaNai'' gets sold by an unscrupulous cousin to pay that cousin's Yakuza debts.

* In the Italian fairy tale ''The Slave Mother'', a peasant woman is asked by an owl whether she would rather be happy in youth or age; after she choses age, she is carried off by pirates. Her husband and sons find, somewhat later, a treasure and move to the city; one day they buy a slave -- at the husband's insistance, an old woman who can manage their household. In due course they figure out that she's the mother.

* BenHur.
* Peter Blood, in ''Film/CaptainBlood''; he is examined by Colonel Bishop, eventually bought by Bishop?s niece (narrowly escaping the evil Dixon?s mines), and is employed by the Governor of Jamaica as a doctor.
* Maximus, in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''.
* Geoffrey Thorpe, in ''Film/TheSeaHawk''.
* {{Spartacus}}.
* Ash, in ''{{Army Of Darkness}}'', which was a pretty significant RetCon from the end of ''Evil Dead II.''
** A subversion, as he wasn't really a slave, just a battlefield captive whom the medieval screwheads had yoked and shackled for the hike back to the castle. In his mind, chains + whips = slavery.
* Conan in ''{{Conan the Barbarian}}''. He was taken as a kid after Thulsa Doom [[DoomedHometown doomed his village]], was made to work on the WheelOfPain, and then was made a gladiator, all of which contributed to making him a supreme {{Badass}} by the time he was freed by his master.

* Greek Mythology: Heracles/Hercules was basically forced to do whatever Hera told him to do during the Twelve Labors. One of the actual labors was cleaning out the manure from a stable, a menial task which was meant to humiliate Heracles.
** This didn't work out, as Hercules ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome diverted a river to flush the stables like a giant toilet.]]''
*** However, on another occasion he was forced to atone for a murder by becoming the slave of a queen named Omphale for a time, which had a more humbling effect (in some versions Omphale forces him to wear a dress and perform tasks normally reserved for women).
* Legend has it that it happened to {{Plato}} at one point.
* Hecuba and all the princesses of Troy after TheTrojanWar. Except for the one who is [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] at Achilles's tomb. In TheIliad Hector foresees and laments such a fate for Andromache.
-->''Well do I know that the day will surely come when mighty Ilius shall be destroyed with Priam and Priam's people, but I grieve for none of these- not even for Hecuba, nor King Priam, nor for my brothers many and brave who may fall in the dust before their foes- for none of these do I grieve as for yourself when the day shall come on which some one of the Achaeans shall rob you for ever of your freedom, and bear you weeping away. It may be that you will have to ply the loom in Argos at the bidding of a mistress, or to fetch water from the springs Messeis or Hypereia, treated brutally by some cruel task-master; then will one say who sees you weeping, 'She was wife to Hector, the bravest warrior among the Trojans during the war before Ilius.' On this your tears will break forth anew for him who would have put away the day of captivity from you. May I lie dead under the barrow that is heaped over my body ere I hear your cry as they carry you into bondage''
* In ''{{Beowulf}}'', Hrothgar's queen is described as queenly and wearing gold, but her name is "Wealhtheow", which means "foreign slave." This is a possible BackStory for her.

* Phedre no Delauney in ''KushielsLegacy''.
* Joseph (the one who got the [[{{Musical}} Technicolour Dreamcoat]]) in TheBible.
** And in ''Joseph and his Brothers''. He gets bought for his prettiness -- as a kind of home accessory.
* Thorby in RobertHeinlein's ''Citizen of the Galaxy'' has gotten halfway through the process described. The opening line:

* Rhodry from the ''{{Deverry}} Cycle'' spends most of one book enslaved and amnesiac. He's ''not'' happy when he gets his memory back.
* Cohen the Barbarian in TerryPratchett's {{Discworld}} series spent some years as a slave in his backstory.
* The professor in ''A Distant Episode'' by Paul Bowles is made a slave. It doesn't end well.
* Several times during the course of the {{Gor}} series. Tarl's HeroicBSOD came when he chose "the ignominy of slavery" over "the freedom of honorable death." (HeGotBetter, eventually.)
* Forms the latter half of the plot of ''ALittlePrincess''.
* In Caroline Lawrence's ''Roman Mysteries'' Nubia starts the series as a slave (though she's freed fairly early on.) [[spoiler: Jonathan]] is also briefly enslaved by Caesar, and later uses this to volunteer as a Gladiator.
* The protagonist Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil from the ''Stardoc'' series gets enslaved by the Hsk'skt. She doesn't make a very good slave.
* Happens to the main character in ''Trickster's Choice'', by TamoraPierce. Luckily the people she ends up with are fairly nice as things go, although extenuating circumstances mean she is treated better than most.
** She still deliberately gets herself injured during her first night in the slave pens, though, because she wants to avoid any owners who think she'd make a good [[SexSlave bed-warmer]]; she deliberately makes her bruises look worse than they are, so that she'll give the impression of someone who would be more trouble than it's worth. She only finds out later that [[spoiler: she didn't even ''need'' to do this - probably - because the Trickster god of the area is watching over her and wants her help. She's not happy to find out that she could have survived without needing to break her nose.]]
* This occurs to the main characters in CSLewis's ''TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' in ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia''.
* Wintrow in the LiveshipTraders series by RobinHobb.
* Alaric's fate in BenCounter's {{Warhammer 40000}} GreyKnights novel ''Hammer of Daemons'', in GladiatorGames. [[spoiler:But he leads a GladiatorRevolt.]]
* In SandyMitchell's CiaphasCain novel ''Death or Glory'', the orks have enslaved civilians.
* In DanAbnett's GauntsGhosts novel ''Traitor General'', the surviving inhabitants of Gereon have been enslaved to destroy its temples.
* In EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[JohnCarterOfMars Chessmen of Mars]]'', the ReverseMole who saves Gahan and Tara was a childhood friend of Gahan's, enslaved.
** Tavia's BackStory in ''A Fighting Man Of Mars'', though she was too young to remember. And also that of Tavan, a minor but significant character; John Carter frees him for his services and because he was obviously of [[BlueBlood noble birth]] gave him a place in the fleet. [[spoiler:Plus, he turns out to be Tavia's father.]]
* DianaWynneJones's ''TheToughGuideToFantasyland'' lists it twice:
** Male Tourists, who become either galley slaves or gladiators
** The daughters of merchant who were brought along with the caravan; these appear to be the only source of harem slaves.
* This is the premise of MarionZimmerBradley's book ''Warrior Woman'' where the amnesiac protagonist is sold as a pleasure slave to the gladiators. She becomes one herself when she halves a newbie's skull with his own sword during inspection.
* A recurring plot in [[{{Gor}} ''The World Of Gor'']], it even occurs to Cabot more than once. Typically by the end of the book female characters [[HappinessInSlavery learn to accept their place]] while male characters earn their freedom and otherwise rise above their slavery.
* Rutherford's ''Sarum'' includes a few characters who are enslaved, and treats them more realistically than many writers (e.g. a pregnant woman is ''terrified'' to be made a slave, knowing her master will probably have her baby killed at birth rather than let a useless infant become a drain on his household).
* In ''Iron Dawn'', Kepru is surprised that Barra wants to avoid the slave market, and assumes she was a victim of this trope. ("Nothing to be ashamed of: it could happen to anyone!") Subverted in that no, Barra was never a slave; she wants to avoid the market because she knows she won't be able to resist buying some out of pity.
* Aminata Diallo in ''TheBookOfNegroes'' is made a slave early on, and stays as one for roughly half the book.
* In book two in TheWheelOfTime, Egwene al'Vere is made a ''damane'' by the Seanchan and treated like a dog. Although she is saved by the end of the book, it's tough on her mentally.
** Several characters are also captured and made slaves for the Shaido Aiel in the later books.
* Happens to [[spoiler: Sophos]] in ''[[TheQueensThief A Conspiracy of Kings]]''.
* Happens to Marina in {{Shakespeare}}'s ''Pericles.'' She manages to talk her way out of her FateWorseThanDeath, however.
* A standard plot in the plays of the [[AncientRome Roman]] playwright Plautus. This being the best way to ensure that the ''[[UpperClassTwit adulescens]]'' can make a legitimate marriage with the "[[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow flute girl]]" he's fallen for: she turns out to have been captured by {{Pirates}} at a young age and is revealed to be the [[{{TheIngenue}} long-lost daughter]] of the next-door neighbor.
* Both [[TheOdyssey Odysseus]]'s [[OldRetainer swineherd]] Eumaius and his nurse Eurycleia were born royals but later enslaved.
* The various reactions that characters have to enslavement by the [[{{Complete Monster}} Draka]] drive the plot of S.M. Stirling's [[{{The Draka}} Under the Yoke]], with some handling it far better than others.
* This happens to Soraya's mother and brother in the FarsalaTrilogy. [[SpoiledBrat Surprisingly enough]], she then arranges to be sold into slavery herself so that she might spy and gain information to free them.
* Happens in the Timothy Zahn book ''Dragon and Slave'', after the main character is made a slave.
* Happens in one book in the ''RangersApprentice'' series, when Will is kidnapped by Skandians after they find him burning down a bridge.
* In ''SpaceWolf'', the presumed fate of the survivors of Ragnar's tribe. Motivating his desire for {{Revenge}}
* In JohnCWright's ''The Orphans of Chaos'', [[spoiler:Miss Daw]]'s BackStory. She can not help the children because [[IGaveMyWord she would break her oath]]. This would mean the next time they would not have mercy on the defeated side but just kill them all.
* In NeilGaiman's {{Stardust}}, why Una is tending the stall at the market.

* Happens in ''{{Roots}}''. Obviously.

* The player character in ''AgeOfConan'' starts out as a slave.
* Rhen is kidnapped from her village and is sold into slavery in ''{{Aveyond}}''
* ''DragonQuestV'': You're the son of a hero and you travel with him. A short way through the game you meet the Big Bad Guy, get your ass handed to you and spend the next ten years as a slave.
* ''{{Fallout 3}}'': Upon entering "The Pitt," the Player Character is jumped and enslaved. (Which is pretty {{egregious}} CutsceneIncompetence.)
** Also a massive ButThouMust, since the way you're "supposed" to do it is by willingly dressing up as a slave and turning yourself in as a failed "escapee". And needless to say, you're immediately "volunteered" for the most dangerous job available, and then again "volunteered" participate in the GladiatorGames - only by a fellow slave! [[JustifiedTrope Granted,]] you're the [[OneManArmy only one capable of doing the jobs,]] and this was pretty much the entire escape plan from the start, considering that winning in the GladiatorGames means you're freed from slavery and can become one of the slavers, where you then have free run of the Pitt and can do anything and everything you want to free and cure the sick slaves. [[GreyAndGreyMorality If only it were that simple.]]
* NeverwinterNights module A Dance with Rogues had a particularly memorable long unskippable cutscene where you are being sold at the drow slave market.

* This shows up in the plots of a few characters in ''ValkyrieProfile'', mainly in [[spoiler: the main character's, in which she ends up getting herself killed in order to avoid being sold off by her parents.]]

** In ''Andromache'', Andromache is the victim of her master's jealous wife, Hermoine. Who was a Spartan -- at the time of the Athenian-Spartan wars. Naturally, Andromache comes off well.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''{{Futurama}}'', "A Pharaoh To Remember": Fry, Leela and Bender are made slaves to an AncientEgypt-themed planet. The Pharaoh is about to free them when he dies, and Bender scams his way into being the next Pharaoh, leaving Fry and Leela as slaves until the end of the episode.
** Also happens when Hermes and [=LaBarbara=] are enslaved on vacation. Hermes uses his powers of Bureaucracy to "efficiently" dump all the work on one Australian guy and free everyone else.

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[[caption-width-right:320:After the Trojan War: "Captive Andromache" by Frederick Leighton]]

->''And as often as you reflect how much power you have over a slave, remember that your master has just as much power over you. "But I have no master," you say. You are still young; perhaps you will have one. Do you not know at what age Hecuba entered captivity, or Croesus, or the mother of Darius, or {{Plato}}, or Diogenes?''

->''And as often as you reflect how much power you have over a slave, remember that your master has just as much power over you. "But I have no master," you say. You are still young; perhaps you will have one. Do you not know at what age Hecuba entered captivity, or Croesus, or the mother of Darius, or {{Plato}}, or Diogenes?''\\
-- '''Seneca'''

* Many painters are painted such slave markets, usually in Orientalist scene or ones from ancient Greek or Rome. The OtherWiki has a number [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Slave_trade_in_art here]].

[[folder:RPG?s]]

* Thorby in RobertHeinlein's ''Citizen of the Galaxy'' has spent some time in slavery at the beginning of the book. He goes on to several other occupations as he matures.

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''Citizen of the Galaxy'', Thorby's story begins halfway through the process described. The opening line:
-->''"Lot number ninety-seven," the auctioneer announced, "a boy."''

* Hecuba and all the princesses of Troy after TheTrojanWar. Except for the one who is sacrificed at Achilles's tomb. In TheIliad Hector foresees and laments such a fate for Andromache.

There is often a scene in which the character is being sold on the slave market, which should be somewhat disturbing. The slave market showcases all the evils of slavery; the protagonist will witness how families are torn apart, [[ComeToGawk will have to undress and be examined like an animal]], and will perhaps be beaten. If he looks strong, he will be told that he will go to [[GalleySlave the galleys]] or the mines -- a FateWorseThanDeath -- or perhaps to the GladiatorGames. If she (or occasionally he) is attractive, she will be told that she will make a buyer [[SexSlave Very Happy Indeed...]]

The BackStory of many if not most slave major characters; very few of them are born in slavery.

* In JohnCWright's ''The Orphans of Chaos'', [[spoiler:Miss Daw]]'s BackStory. She can not help them because she would break her oath. This would mean the next time they would not have mercy on the defeated side but just kill them all.

* This occurs to the main characters in CSLewis's ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' in ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia''.

* Hecuba and all the princesses of Troy after TheTrojanWar. Except for the one who is sacrificed at Achilles's tomb. In the {{Iliad}} Hector foresees and laments such a fate for Andromache.