Rostopchin wanted to say. Indefinite pronouns. Questions and tasks for review

BRANDING

Since at least 4000 BC, when the Babylonians passed a law requiring the burning of a brand for those who slandered a married woman or priestess, this form of punishment has been used throughout the world, both as such and as a way of marking property (still livestock). marked with a brand).

The ancient Greeks branded their slaves, and the Romans did the same, who also branded slaves who tried to escape from their owners with a brand on the forehead. In subsequent times, branding spread throughout Europe and came to England even before the Anglo-Saxons enshrined its use in their code of laws. In one form or another, branding was used as a punishment in Eupone until the beginning of the 19th century. However, few people know that in England English slaves were marked with a brand. By decree of King Edward VI, dated 1547, any vagabond or beggar could appear before a magistrate and be sentenced to be branded with the Latin letter V (Vagrant, Vagabond - vagabond) on his chest; after this, the unfortunate person became the property of the one who caught him and brought him to court for 2 years. A temporary slave could be “kept on water and bread, forced to do the most menial tasks and, if necessary, flogged or chained.” If a slave ran away and was captured, the magistrate ordered the letter S (Slave - slave) to be burned on the forehead or cheek of the unfortunate man, and he became the property of the owner for the rest of his days. Repeated escape was punishable by death. This law was in force until 1636.

During the reign of King Henry VII, a law was introduced that ordered the branding of those scoundrels from the laity who could take advantage of the notorious right “the non-jurisdiction of the clergy to the secular court” a second time. The mark in the form of the letter M (Malefactor - villain, criminal) was burned into the flesh of the thumb right in court, and to this day in the old courthouse, located in Lancaster Castle, you can see the mark with the letter M and a special clamp where the criminal put his hand. In those days, legal proceedings were not without abuse, and for a modest bribe, a minister could use a cold brand during the procedure. Some crimes were punished by having a brand burned into the face, usually on the forehead or cheek just below the eye. In addition, burning through the ear or tongue with a sharpened metal rod was very common.

B - Blasphemer (blasphemer)

F - Fray-maker (brawler) or Felon (criminal)

FA - False Accuser

M - Malefactor (villain) or Murderer (killer)

P - Perjuror (false witness)

R - Robber (robber) or Rogue (swindler)

S - Slave (slave)

L–Libeller (slanderer)

T - Thief (thief)

V–Vagrant, Vagabond (vagrant)

In France, where minor crimes were punished by burning a brand, one sign was used - the royal lily (fleur-de-lys), although there is a known case when the Countess De La Motte, who stole a diamond necklace, was first tied to a cart and whipped (see Flogging ), driven through the streets of Paris, and then burned the letter V on his shoulder (presumably Voleuse, that is, thief).

Not daring to go against the main enemy with small forces, Cortes decides to first undertake two or three punitive expeditions. His first victims were several small tribes, who at one time submitted to him and then joined the Aztecs.

The battle for the city of Tepeaca was short-lived. The Spaniards managed to capture it quite quickly. However, this is most likely the merit of the Tlaxcalans, since more than four thousand of them fought under the command of Cortes, while there were only 450 Spaniards.

The inhabitants of this city were declared “rebels” - after all, they “betrayed” the Spanish king, who was imposed on them by force of arms. For this they deserved the death penalty.

Cortez showed “magnanimity”: he turned the conquered Indians into slaves. With a hot iron, the Spaniards burned the letter “g” (“guerra” – in Spanish – “war”) on their bodies. The slaves were divided between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcalan military leaders, having previously allocated a “royal spot”.

Slave figurine .

The second major city conquered by Cortez was Cuauquechollan. Thirty thousand inhabitants lived here and there was a strong Aztec garrison. Cortes managed to win over to his side the ruler of this city, who was at enmity with Tenochtitlan.

When the Spaniards and Tlaxcalans approached the city, its inhabitants rebelled and attacked the garrison. Locked within the walls of the main city temple, he bravely defended himself, but was completely exterminated.

Some time later, the city of Itzokan fell. The military tactics that Cortez adhered to - to fight the Indians with the hands of the Indians - was completely justified. Less than two months passed - and he again subjugated vast territories inhabited by dozens of tribes.

With each such campaign, the number of Indians enslaved, deprived of land, property, and family, increased.

Many cities and villages, frightened by the atrocities of the Spaniards, themselves submitted, without waiting for the arrival of the punitive forces.

While these battles were going on, bringing success to the conquistadors, complete agreement reigned between them and their leader. But as soon as it came to dividing up the loot, strife began. Cortez's associates in robbery and conquest, not without reason, accused their leader of insatiable greed, greed and shameless fraud. And even Cortez’s faithful servant and enthusiastic admirer, Bernal Diaz, often condemns him in his notes for obvious “injustice.” This was the case during the division of gold and jewelry. This was the case with the division of “living goods” - slaves.

Indian widows beg their cacique for protection.

Here is his laconic testimony about how Cortes divided the spoils. They are valuable because they come from the pen of an eyewitness, whom no one can suspect of being biased towards his boss.

“After the general pacification, Cortes, in agreement with the royal commissioners, explained that, in view of the suspension of further expeditions, it was necessary to legitimize our booty, that is, to reassign the slaves, allocating the usual royal five. Each of us had to bring our prisoners to a certain place to be branded there. So we did and quickly caught up with the women and children - we did not take the men captive, since supervising them was troublesome, and we did not need their services, because the Tlaxcalans did everything that was needed for us... But now, during the secondary distribution It turned out to be a great injustice: they took away not only the king’s fifth, but also... Cortes! Moreover, they chose the best, strongest and most beautiful, and left us the old and ugly ones. A considerable murmur arose, and Cortes was forced to promise that from now on the distribution would be different, without any offense.”

A careful reading of these dispassionate descriptions makes it possible to understand much of what is only hinted at or hidden between the lines.

Firstly, this passage shows the personal interest of each soldier in hunting for people. Each of the Spaniards had “his own prisoners,” that is, people he personally captured. But since “the men were not taken captive” (they were simply killed), it is clear that the hunt was mainly for the civilian defenseless population - women and children.

Secondly, the Spaniards’ view of their Tlaxcalan allies as future slaves is completely obvious. They perform all the most difficult jobs usually assigned to slaves. Thanks to them, it is possible to do without male slaves for now.

Thirdly, the main slave owner, Cortes, appears before us in all his unsightly appearance. The “legalization of booty” carried out at his initiative—the burning of a brand on the body of the Indians—was aimed at seizing the most expensive, “living goods.”

The bestial face of slave owners, for whom nothing is sacred in life, is visible in every line of the above passage. In its tone, it is very reminiscent of the documents of the slave owners of ancient Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria, who lived in the second millennium BC...

Good afternoon, Madam... Do you have time to solve problems with registration?
- Yes, of course, Lou, come in.
Lou came in, for some reason pulled out not a comfortable chair, but a stool, like the one she was sitting on yesterday, sat down, spreading her legs wide apart to keep her balance, and laid out papers on the table. She had some kind of cat-like grace, she caught your eye. We started sorting out my papers. I addressed her as “you” several times, after which she lowered her eyes and said:
- Madam, I know that you don’t know our culture and our customs well, will you allow me to tell you about them? You may already have some questions, I will always be ready to answer them. Among other things, this is part of my responsibilities. And please, call me "you". You've probably been told this more than once, I know that it is very difficult to change your mind. It probably seems to you that when you say “You” to a slave, you are emphasizing your respect... this is not so... we are slaves, our status is such that they only say “you” to us, this is not an insult, not disdain... this is the custom... “You” only confuses and forces you to come up with a way to tell a free person that He is wrong.
- Okay, Lou, I understand. They really told me about this, but I just can’t get used to it. And I really want to learn more and more about the orders and customs of your country.
- What would you like to know, first of all, Madam? There are probably a lot of questions, so I will be happy to come to you and tell you everything in order. But my experience says that it is better to do this by answering your questions.
- Yes, you’re probably right Lou... You know, when I saw you and realized that you were a slave, I was amazed... I didn’t think that a slave could make such a career... tell us about yourself, or rather about how people become slaves in general and what they can…
- This is almost always the first question for everyone who comes to us, Mistress... When someone learns about slavery, it seems to him that a slave is an unfortunate starved and tortured creature, completely deprived of everything a person needs... this is far from the case. We are all born free, with the same rights. We all go to school together and study. Of course, all children know who slaves are, and their mothers are most often slaves. They see relationships in the family, of course, besides what a child is not supposed to see, I will tell you in more detail some time about raising children and studying at school. Now I’ll just say that children cannot see sex and cruelty, this is very jealously guarded by all adults and the law is very cruel to violators.
Until the age of eighteen, a girl usually lives with her parents, studies, learns more and more about slavery at school, where many subjects are devoted to its study and at home her mother tells her more and more. At eighteen, a girl has the right to choose who to be. She can become free, study, make a career, even get married... that is, she will have a completely ordinary life for you. Or maybe become a slave. If by this time she has a loved one who wants to take her, then they go to a special service, where the future slave is assessed and he pays money, which is transferred to her parents. Then they take away her passport as a free person, and instead they give her a slave’s passport, where there is only her name, and a new one, which is given to her by her Master, her characteristics, parameters (there are quite a lot of intimate things there) and the Owner’s data are also written there. Then the Master puts a collar on her, she is branded and from that moment on she ceases to be a person and becomes a thing.
- Branded? Are you saying that slaves are branded?!
- Yes Milady. Slaves are branded, some Masters also mark them in some other way... If a slave is sold or given as a gift, a second one is placed next to the first brand, then a third or fourth may be added.
- For what?! Do slaves run away?
- No, of course, Madam, although anything can happen, but very rarely. The stigma is very good at helping you realize that your life has changed a lot. Once and for all.
- Lu, explain to me why become a slave if you can remain free and do the same thing, even much more, without going through these humiliations?!
- Madam, this is not so easy to explain, over time you will feel and understand everything yourself. We are used to living like this. We have very few free women, it seems only seven to ten percent... and most of them are lesbian Mistresses... in slavery a woman becomes much more feminine, more desirable for her man, this is the only way she can show how much she loves and trusts Him... in addition, she is confident in His feelings... a slave is taken not for the sake of some benefit, but for the sake of love... in addition, this is a great responsibility, which not everyone immediately decides to take upon themselves... many Men buy their slaves at a fairly mature age, when they stand strong on their feet, previously preferring to rent or even use slaves in brothels...
But I got a little distracted. You wanted to know about a career. So, the most expensive slaves are those who are smart, beautiful, most often virgins are valued more... if the future slave can clearly make a career, then she is worth even more... this, first of all, guarantees that she will have smart, beautiful children, first of all, sons who will become worthy heirs, and equally expensive and beautiful slave daughters who will someday bring good profit if they decide to become slaves. Well, in general, for many, the title of the position of a slave sounds quite prestigious... I once really asked the Master to take me... we loved each other, but He always said that he would not live with a free woman... I gladly agreed to become His slave, but He took a long time I didn’t want this, because I had a promising job ahead of me, even then it was clear that I could achieve a lot, and He needed an obedient slave who didn’t need to be put in her place all the time because she commands a lot at work ... He said that sooner or later we would face this ... I swore to Him that this would not happen ... Then He agreed, but warned that if I show at home with my behavior that my work leaves some kind of imprint on me, then He will punish me very severely, and then most likely sell me... We have been together with Him for many years... until He has never been disappointed. Despite the fact that I was really able to make a career, I am a thing for Him, fulfilling His every whim at the first order... I like my position, I am proud of it, because my Master loves me and even took the risk of taking me as a slave, knowing that I could cause Him trouble if I ever behaved wrongly and His fears came true. Well, making a career for a slave is not much more difficult than for a free one... unless the Master doesn’t like something and He forbids her to work. Of course, it is a little difficult to correctly learn to work with free people when you are a slave and have a higher position, there are some problems in this... but everything can be solved and everything can be learned if you really want to. Nobody bothers you to make a career or hold a position if you are a slave... We don’t have many positions that can only be filled by free people. A slave - on the one hand, it’s very honorable... although on the other hand, you become a thing.