History Main / SlaveMarket

* ''WesternAnimation/JosephKingOfDreams'' has a sequence where Joseph is sold to Potiphar [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXg16U2-Lg that gets its own song.]]

* The Victorian-period liking for {{fanservice}}-ish slave market paintings, as mentioned above, can be illustrated in a few seconds with Google image search.

* ''Series/StarTrekEnteprise'': In "Borderlands", several members of the Enterprise crew are kidnapped and put up for sale on the Orion slave market. [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Orion slave girls]] are part of the merchandise, although in a later episode ("Bound") it's revealed that ''they're'' actually the ones in control.

In fact, in SwordAndSorcery fantasy stories and SwordAndSandal stories set in ancient history, the slave market may be treated as just part of the usual setting furniture, and if not exactly treated with approval, not a major moral issue either; slavery is just something (bad) that happens in such settings, so of course there are slave markets. In visual works, the slave market scene may serve as a rather sleazy excuse to slip in some {{Fanservice}}, an amazing proportion of the slaves being young, attractive, and under-dressed (for customer inspection, of course), and often female. (This is a habit that goes back at least to Victorian painters, who took all sorts of "classical" scenes as excuses to slip a lot of nudity past the period's active MoralGuardians.) In stories set any time in the last couple of hundred years, though, slavery is almost always treated as unambiguously evil, with the slave market being a big sign of the society's moral degeneracy -- although there may still be some fanservice. However, if set in the present day, it'll probably be an underground slave market managed by HumanTraffickers. It also shows up in some sci-fi and DaysOfFuturePast fiction, often as an institution found on a PlanetOfHats which practices slavery.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' comic ''Recap/AsterixAndTheLaurelWreath'', in one of their attempts to get into Caesars palace, Asterix and Obelix attempt to sell themselves as slaves at the House of Typhus, a renowed salesman of high quality slaves. They end up wrecking his stand, and ruining his reputation (as well as crash the slave market) by selling themselves for the ridiculously low price of ten sestertii.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' had the Telvanni noble house sponsor a lot of slave trade in their spire cities. The player is even able to buy a slave from them if he so desires, and the main quest requires the purchase of at least one slave to appease an Ashlander khan.

* In ''[[Videogame/HeresOfMightAndMagicAshan Heroes of Might and Magic V]]'''s "Tribes of the East expansion, the [[BarbarianTribe Stronghold]] faction has access to a special building called the Slave Market, which lets them convert creatures into resources.

In fact, in SwordAndSorcery fantasy stories and SwordAndSandal stories set in ancient history, the slave market may be treated as just part of the usual setting furniture, and if not exactly treated with approval, not a major moral issue either; slavery is just something (bad) that happens in such settings, so of course there are slave markets. In visual works, the slave market scene may serve as a rather sleazy excuse to slip in some {{Fanservice}}, an amazing proportion of the slaves being young, attractive, and under-dressed (for customer inspection, of course), and often female. (This is a habit that goes back at least to Victorian painters, who took all sorts of "classical" scenes as excuses to slip a lot of nudity past the period's active MoralGuardians.) In stories set any time in the last couple of hundred years, though, slavery is almost always treated as unambiguously evil, with the slave market being a big sign of the society's moral degeneracy -- although there may still be some fanservice.

Often located in a WretchedHive. The slavers will usually be villains in the story, because SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil. However, the occasional SympatheticSlaveOwner may show up. If set in the modern day, it'll probably be an underground slave market managed by HumanTraffickers.

* ''VideoGame/{{Elona}} has a slave trader in the city of [[WretchedHive Derphy]], where you can buy and sell party members. Some random NPC chatter mentions how important the slave trade is to the economy.

Often located in a WretchedHive. The slavers will usually be villains in the story, because SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil. However, the occasional SympatheticSlaveOwner may show up.

[[quoteright:340:[[ComicBook/JudgeDredd https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judgedreddslavemarket.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:340:Possibly not the safest purchase...]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Morrowind}} had the Telvanni noble house sponsor a lot of slave trade in their spire cities. The player is even able to buy a slave from them if he so desires, and the main quest requires the purchase of at least one slave to appease an Ashlander khan.
* In ''Videogame/NeverwinterNights: Hordes of the Underdark'', the illithid ({{Cthulhumanoid}} monsters with PsychicPowers which they use to enslave members of other races) run slave auctions at a trade outpost called Zorvak'mur. If you participate in the auction and win, you can choose to give your new slave her freedom, or send her to the [[GladiatorGames gladiator pit]] to fight other slaves for the illithid's amusement.

in order to get into Caesar's palace.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' comic ''Recap/AsterixAndTheLaurelWreath'', Asterix and Obelix attempt to sell themselves as slaves at the House of Typhus in order to get into Caesar's palace.

* Quite a few in ''Literature/ThaisOfAthens'', owing to the setting. One particular example would be where Thais purchases Hesione (a Theban girl who was MadeASlave after AlexanderTheGreat's army sacked Thebes).

* Creator/RobertHeinlein's ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' starts at a slave auction where the main character, Thorby, is being sold. There's so little interest in him, as a scrawny little boy, that a beggar[[note]]actually a spy for the Terran Hegemony[[/note]] is able to buy him, free him, and adopt him as a son.
* In the early Literature/Discworld stories, the setting in general and the city of Ankh-Morpork in particular are parodies of SwordAndSorcery fiction, so of course there are slave markets; in the first novel, ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic'', they're one of the sights which Twoflower the tourist insists on visiting.

* Appears in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', unsurprisingly. Notably, late in the first season, as Batiatus' fortunes are on the rise, he and his rival Selonius bid against each other for gladiator slaves before Batiatus buys the whole lot outright, just to flaunt his new wealth and stick it to Good Selonius. Batiatus rubs salt in the wound by suggesting Selonius try buying the whores ([[FanserviceExtra naked slave girls also waiting to be sold]]) and see if he can perhaps make successful gladiators out of them.

In fact, in SwordAndSorcery fantasy stories and those set in ancient history, the slave market may be treated as just part of the usual setting furniture, and if not exactly treated with approval, not a major moral issue either; slavery is just something (bad) that happens in such settings, so of course there are slave markets. In visual works, the slave market scene may serve as a rather sleazy excuse to slip in some {{Fanservice}}, an amazing proportion of the slaves being young, attractive, and under-dressed (for customer inspection, of course), and often female. (This is a habit that goes back at least to Victorian painters, who took all sorts of "classical" scenes as excuses to slip a lot of nudity past the period's active MoralGuardians.) In stories set any time in the last couple of hundred years, though, slavery is almost always treated as unambiguously evil, with the slave market being a big sign of the society's moral degeneracy -- although there may still be some fanservice.

* {{Literature/Gor}} has many slave markets since slavery is a common phonomenon on the planet.

* The song "Molasses to Rum" in ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'' is all about the "Triangle Trade", and more specifically the hypocrisy of how Northerners profit from (and participate in) the slave trade while condemning Southern slaveowners; in the middle of the song, there's a spoken-word reenactment of a slave auction.

A SettingTrope, this is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a place where people meet to buy and sell slaves]]. It can be a stand-alone thing, or it can be part of [[BazaarOfTheBizarre a much larger market]]. In well-thought-out settings where slavery is commonplace, many of the largest slave markets will be situated near the largest markets for other merchandise, on account of the simple merchant's rule: follow the money. For this reason, a slave market is usually a sign that the place it is located is rich, or is very strategically useful or convenient to another place that is rich; a larger market usually signifies a richer host. The presence and size of the market will also be a sign that whoever runs it is powerful--since slaves were historically [[MadeASlave taken in war]]--and highly unequal--since one of the other main ways to become a slave across history was to [[WorkOffTheDebt get deeply indebted to a rich neighbor]]--and (in modern works) probably decadent and possibly evil.

* One of the historical giants of the slave trade was none other than Athens, which was happy to be middleman for all Greece and much of the Eastern Mediterranean, and also bought so many slaves that at its height, a majority of people living in Athens were slaves.
* When Rome took the Eastern Mediterranean, it set up a major slave clearinghouse on the island of Delos in the Aegean, capable of moving over ''10,000'' slaves ''per day.''
* Rome itself had a massive ongoing slave trade, with slave trading being fairly common in the various fora (although not nearly as common as Classical Athens). Freedmen were a major social class in Roman society.

* Gora Island, in Senegal, was a major slave market on the Atlantic slave trade.

* Mecca was a major slave trade center, due to pilgrim funding their travel by buying slaves on the road.

* The [[TheWarOnTerror Islamic State]] has markets where are sold the "human loot" kidnapped during warfare against non-Sunni in Syria and Iraq.

A SettingTrope, this is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a place where people meet to buy and sell slaves]]. It can be a stand-alone thing, or it can be part of [[BazaarOfTheBizarre a much large market]]. In well-thought-out settings where slavery is commonplace, many of the largest slave markets will be situated near the largest markets for other merchandise, on account of the simple merchant's rule: follow the money. For this reason, a slave market is usually a sign that the place it is located is rich, or is very strategically useful or convenient to another place that is rich; a larger market usually signifies a richer host. The presence and size of the market will also be a sign that whoever runs it is powerful--since slaves were historically [[MadeASlave taken in war]]--and highly unequal--since one of the other main ways to become a slave across history was to [[WorkOffTheDebt get deeply indebted to a rich neighbor]]--and (in modern works) probably decadent and possibly evil.

-->--'''Leo Africanus'''

!!Examples

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Film -- Animated]]

* Klugetown in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' has a market where BeastMan characters capture and sell slighly less anthropomorphised, but still sapient creatures. When the Klugetown citizens spot the ShoulderSizedDragon Spike in the ponies' company, they start bidding on him.

[[folder: Film -- Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', these exist in the cities of [[CaptainObvious Slaver's Bay]] (which arguably serve as the Slave Market for the whole world).
* Quite a few in ''Literature/ThaisOfAthens'', owing to the setting. One particular example would be where Thais purchases Hesione (a Theban girl who was MadeASlave after AlexanderTheGreat's army sacked Thebes).

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. In the ForgottenRealms setting, the town of Tyrantaros in Thay has an extensive slave market every day in its central market area.

* Akima from ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' was jettisoned from the Drej mothership, and wound up in a WretchedHive's slave pens. Her shipmates attempt to rescue her by posing as Akrennian traders, but the GenreSavvy guard isn't fooled. Fortunately, Akima really didn't need rescuing, as she sits AtopAMountainOfCorpses (knocked out, not dead) awaiting a ride off-world.

* Gorée Island, in Senegal, was a major slave market on the Atlantic slave trade.

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Indices: ASlaveToTheIndex

Sponsored by Morgenthaler per Administrivia/UpForGrabs rules.
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(Alternate working titles: Slave Depot, Slave Emporium)