Debt bondage
Becoming enslaved for debt didn't happen overnight.
Most people in ancient Athens were poor farmers. When a farmer's
crop failed he generally obtained a loan from a wealthy landowner. If the
farmer experienced another bad year his loan would most likely go unpaid.
Furthermore if he used his land for collateral it would no longer be his.
Since rich landowners didn't work their own fields, they usually retained
the original owners who then gave the land owner 50% of the harvest. If
the farmer was still unable to make ends meet he requested another loan
and put himself down for collateral. Often the farmer was unable to repay
this loan either and so ended up almost in slavery - in debt bondage - to work off his debt.
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