Editing Debt bondage (section)

==History==
=== Africa ===
Important to both East and West Africa, pawnship, defined by Wilks as "the use of people in transferring their rights for settlement of debt," was common during the 17th century.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Wilks|first=I.|date=1988|title=Pawnship in Africa. Debt bondage in historical perspective|journal=African Economic History|volume=26}}</ref> The system of pawnship occurred simultaneously with the [[History of slavery|slave trade]] in Africa.<ref name=":5" /> Though the export of slaves from Africa to the Americas is often analyzed, slavery was rampant internally as well.<ref name=":6" /> Development of [[plantation]]s like those in [[Zanzibar]] in East Africa reflected the need for internal{{Clarification needed|date=March 2024}} slaves.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> Furthermore, many of the slaves that were exported were male as brutal and labor-intensive conditions favored the male body build.<ref name=":4" /> This created gender implications for individuals in the pawnship system as more women were pawned than men and often sexually exploited.<ref name=":4" />

After the abolition of slavery in many countries in the 19th century, Europeans still needed laborers.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Carolyn|last2=van der Linden|first2=Marcel|date=2010|title=Shifting Boundaries between Free and Unfree Labor: Introduction|journal=International Labor and Working-Class History|volume=78|issue=1|pages=4–11|doi=10.1017/S0147547910000086|s2cid=145707441}}</ref> Moreover, conditions for emancipated slaves were harsh.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> [[Discrimination]] was rampant within the labor market, making attainment of a sustainable income for former slaves tough.<ref name=":4" /> Because of these conditions, many freed slaves lived through slavery-like contracts with their masters in a manner parallel to debt bondage.<ref name=":5" />

===Americas===
{{Further|topic=indentured servitude in the American colonies|Indentured servant}}

During the [[colonial history of the United States]], persons bonded themselves to an owner who paid their passage to the New World. They worked until the debt of passage was paid off, often for years.<ref>Cheesman Herrick, White Servitude in Pennsylvania: Indentured and Redemption Labor in Colony and Commonwealth (New York: Negro University Press, 1969), 26.</ref> Debt peonage was practiced as "an illegal form of contemporary slavery... well into the 1950s" in "Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and other parts of the Deep South." Civil authorities would arrest "colored men off the street and in their homes if they were caught not working," charge them with [[vagrancy]], assess fines equal to several weeks of pickers' pay, and compel them "to pick fruit or cut sugarcane to work off the debt.... Those captured were hauled to remote plantations ..., held by force, and beaten or shot if they tried to escape."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilkerson|first=Isabel|title=The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|publisher=Vintage Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0-679-76388-8|location=New York|pages=152}}</ref>

In [[Peru]], a [[peon]]age system existed from the 16th century until [[land reform]] in the 1950s.  One estate in Peru that existed from the late 16th century until it ended had up to 1,700 people employed and had a prison.  They were expected to work for their landlord a minimum of three days a week and more if necessary to complete assigned work.  Workers were paid a symbolic two cents per year.  Workers were unable to travel outside their assigned lands without permission and were not allowed to organise any independent community activity. In the [[Peruvian Amazonia|Peruvian Amazon]], debt peonage is an important aspect of contemporary [[Urarina]] society.<ref>{{cite book | last=Dean | first=Bartholomew | title=Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia | publisher=University Press of Florida | publication-place=Gainesville, Fla | date=2009 | isbn=978-0-8130-3378-5 }}</ref>

=== Asia ===
==== The ancient Near East ====
Severe personal debt was widespread in the [[ancient Near East]]. Debtors who did not pay up could become their creditors' chattel, as could other members of their families.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Westbrook |first=Raymond |date=1995|title=Slave and Master in Ancient Near Eastern Law |url=https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3004&context=cklawreview&httpsredir=1&referer=|journal=Chicago-Kent Law Review|volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=1631–1676}}, p. 1635.</ref> The problem of debt bondage, in conjunction with the state's ability to levy [[serf]]s for labour, led many to flee their homes.<ref name="Hudson">{{cite magazine |last=Hudson |first=Michael |date=15 November 2018 |title=How Bronze Age Rulers Simply Canceled Debts |url=https://evonomics.com/how-bronze-age-rulers-simply-canceled-debts/ |magazine=evonomics |access-date=2021-02-02}}</ref><ref name="van de Mieroop 2011">{{cite book |last=van de Mieroop|first=Mark|date=2011|title=A History of the Ancient Near East: Ca. 3000-323 BC |edition=2nd |location=Oxford|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1-444-32709-0}}</ref> Some of these fugitives formed bands of roving warriors called '''[[habiru]]''-men', especially in the Levant of the late second millennium.<ref name="van de Mieroop 2011" /> (Although not himself a fugitive from debt bondage, the story of [[Idrimi]] suggests that these groups could be a considerable threat.) The consequences of widespread debt bondage caused many kings to [[History of debt relief|annul debts]] on ascending to the throne.<ref name="Hudson"/><ref name="van de Mieroop 2011"/>

==== From the 19th century ====
In the 19th century, people in [[Asia]] were bonded to labor due to a variety of reasons ranging from farmers mortgaging harvests to drug [[addiction|addicts]] in need for opium in [[China]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Bonded Labour and debt in the Indian Ocean World|last1=Campbell|first1=Gwyn|last2=Stanziani|first2=Alessandro|publisher=Pickering & Chatto|year=2013|isbn=9781848933781}}</ref> When a [[natural disaster]] occurred or food was scarce, people willingly chose debt bondage as a means to a secure life.<ref name=":4" /> In the early 20th century in Asia, most laborers tied to debt bondage had been born into it.<ref name=":4" /> In certain regions, such as in [[Burma]], debt bondage was far more common than slavery.<ref name=":4" /> Many went into bondage to pay off interest on a loan or to pay taxes,<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal|last=Kaarsholm|first=Preben|date=2016|title=Indian Ocean Networks and the Transmutations of Servitude: The Protector of Indian Immigrants and the Administration of Freed Slaves and Indentured Labourers in Durban in the 1870s|journal=Journal of Southern African Studies|publisher=Humanities Source|volume=42|issue=3|pages=443–461|doi=10.1080/03057070.2016.1173896|s2cid=148502882|url=https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/publications/350cfc3d-d367-468f-b63a-62b4c5a63b59}}</ref> and as they worked, often on farms, [[lodging]], meals, and clothing fees were added to the existing debt causing overall debt and interest to increase. These continued added loan values made leaving servitude unattainable.<ref name=":4"/>

Moreover, after the development of the [[international economy]], more workers were needed for the pre-industrial economies of Asia during the 19th century.<ref name=":4"/> A greater demand for labor was needed in Asia to power exports to growing industrial countries like the [[United States]] and [[Germany]].<ref name=":4"/> Cultivation of [[cash crop]]s like [[coffee]], cocoa, and [[sugar]] and exploitation of minerals like [[gold]] and [[tin]] led farm owners to search for individuals in need of loans for the sake of keeping laborers permanently.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vink|first=Marcus|date=2014|title=Indian Ocean Debt Slavery|journal=Journal of African History|volume=55|issue=3}}</ref> In particular, the [[Indian indenture system]] was based on debt bondage by which an estimated two million Indians were transported to various colonies of European powers to provide labor for plantations.<ref name=":4"/> It started from the end of slavery in 1833 and continued until 1920.<ref name=":4"/>

Poor Uighur peasants gave their own women as collateral to [[Sindhi Hindus|Sindhi Hindu]] bankers from [[Shikarpur, Sindh|Shikarpur]] when taking out loans since they were too poor to pay in anything else. The Sindhi Hindus used the Uighur women as [[Concubinage|concubines]], this was accepted since Chinese officials in [[Xinjiang]] took Uighur Muslim women as concubines, unlike Russian officials in [[Russian Central Asia]], where the Sindhi Hindu merchants did not marry local women.<ref>{{cite book |last=Markovits |first=Claude |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2vu7Odjz6kC&dq=was+that+the+women+kept+by+the+Shikarpuris+should+be+returned+to+their+original+owners.34&pg=PA268 |title=The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama |date=2000 |publisher=   Cambridge University Press |isbn=1139431277 |series=Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society |volume=6 |location= |pages=265–8 |quote=}}</ref>

Chinese-Moro mestizo historian [[Samuel K. Tan|Samuel Kong Tan]] wrote that on his home island of [[Siasi]], the native [[Moro people|Moro]] Muslims and Chinese had good relations. The Chinese sold guns to the Moros in exchange for marine products like shark fins, shells and pearls. The native Moros also took out loans from the Chinese creditors and with the Moros putting their women and guns up as collateral for the debts.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBFxAAAAMAAJ&q=Spanish+establishment+of+its+presence+in+the+island+.+A+1+.+French+naturalist+,+Alfred+Mar-+che+,+reported+in+1882+his+visit+to+the+small+Spanish+settle-+ment+in+Siasi+.+His+impression+of+the+village+was+one+of+peace+and+order+.+Relevant+to+the+issue+of+Chinese+integration+is+Marche%27s+note+that+there+were+already+Chinese+in+the+settle-+ment+exercising+a+good+control+of+internal+trade+and+com-+merce+.+These+were+marked+by+an+interdependent+economic+system+in+which+the+natives+happily+and+readily+exchanged+their+pearls+,+shells+,+shark+fins+,+and+marine+products+for+Chinese+and+/+or+European+items+,+including+guns+.+In+addition+,+the+Chinese+provided+a+convenient+credit+system+in+which+the+natives+mortgaged+their+guns+and+other+valuables+,+including+their+women+.+There+was+no+mention+of+Spanish+problems+with+the+system+.+There+was+an+obvious+mutuality+and+reciprocity+of+interest+in+the+practice+.+In+addition+to+the+Chinese+-+native+symbiosis |title=PDRC Currents: Bi-monthly Magazine of the PDRC., Volume 2 |date=1991 |publisher=Philippine-China Development Resource Center |isbn= |location= |page=6 |quote=Spanish establishment of its presence in the island . A 1 . French naturalist , Alfred Mar- che , reported in 1882 his visit to the small Spanish settle- ment in Siasi . His impression of the village was one of peace and order . Relevant to the issue of Chinese integration is Marche's note that there were already Chinese in the settle- ment exercising a good control of internal trade and com- merce . These were marked by an interdependent economic system in which the natives happily and readily exchanged their pearls , shells , shark fins , and marine products for Chinese and / or European items , including guns . In addition , the Chinese provided a convenient credit system in which the natives mortgaged their guns and other valuables , including their women . There was no mention of Spanish problems with the system . There was an obvious mutuality and reciprocity of interest in the practice . In addition to the Chinese - native symbiosis}}</ref>

Moro Muslim parents from [[Cotabato]] in mainland [[Mindanao]] sold their children and slaves to Chinese merchants so the Chinese could later sell them in the [[Sultanate of Sulu|Sulu Sultanate]] after Cotabato was hit by famine and smallpox in 1872. Jesuits stepped in by buying the children from the Chinese.<ref>{{cite book |last=McKenna |first=Thomas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V68wDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22jesuit+missionaries+bought+for+redemption+children%22&pg=PA79 |title=Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0520210166 |series=Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies |volume=26 |location= |page=79 |issn=1051-0354}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McKenna |first=Thomas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WunQEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22jesuit+missionaries+bought+for+redemption+children%22&pg=PA79 |title=Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520210165 |edition=reprint |series=Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies |volume=26 |location= |page=79 |issn=1051-0354}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McKenna |first=Thomas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jDr1aTxEeEC&q=%22jesuit+missionaries+bought+for+redemption+children%22 |title=Islam, Elite Competition, and Ethnic Mobilization: Forms of Domination and Dissent in Cotabato, Southern Philippines |date=1990 |publisher=University Microfilms |isbn= |location= |page=121 |quote=Jesuit missionaries bought for redemption children from Chinese middlemen who had purchased them from their Muslim owners or parents with the intention of reselling them ( Bernad 1984 ) . An 1890 Jesuit report describes Chinese traders}}</ref><ref>{{cite book   |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YvgztJPwruIC&q=muslime+jesuits+ransomed+famine |title=Kinaadman: Wisdom, Volume 13 |date=1991 |publisher=Xavier University |isbn= |edition= |series= |volume= |location= |page=12 |quote=famine . Not able to feed so many mouths , or to obtain money to buy rice and other foodstuffs , some of the Muslim ... Jesuit superior , Father Jose Fernandez Cuevas , had made his voyage of reconnaissance in southern Mindanao , he had}}</ref><ref>{{cite book   |last=Salman |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MacwDwAAQBAJ&dq=muslime+jesuits+ransomed+famine&pg=PA66 |title=The Embarrassment of Slavery: Controversies Over Bondage and Nationalism in the American Colonial Philippines |date=2003 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=0520240715 |edition=illustrated |series= |volume= |location= |page=66 |quote=... ransom young slaves in 1872, when a smallpox ... famine, causing the Magindanao to sell slaves for greatly reduced prices. Tamontaka became an agricultural colony, supported by donations and the church hierarchy in Manila. The Jesuits ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book   |last=Bernad |first=Miguel Anselmo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjRwAAAAMAAJ&q=muslime+jesuits+ransomed+famine |title=Tradition & Discontinuity: Essays on Philippine History & Culture |date=1983 |publisher=National Book Store |isbn=9710802607 |edition= |series= |volume= |location= |page=178 |quote=Jesuits could not raise , the plan had to be shelved for a decade . But in the famine of 1872 , slaves and children were being sold cheap . The Jesuits raised funds in Manila and ransomed as many as they could . Many of the children}}</ref><ref>{{cite book   |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmdMAQAAIAAJ&q=muslime+jesuits+ransomed+famine |title=Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture, Volumi 5-6 |date=2001 |publisher=Ateneo de Manila University |isbn= |edition= |series= |volume= |location= |page=184 |quote=Jesuits could not raise , the plan had to be shelved for a decade . But in the famine of 1872 , slaves and children were being sold cheap . The Jesuits raised funds in Manila and ransomed as many as they could . Many of the children}}</ref>

The Cotabato-based Jesuit mission lasted from 1862 until Spanish rule in Cotabato ended and during famine and disease epidemics they bought children from Muslim parents themselves or from Chinese merchants who had bought the children from the Muslim parents and placed them into a "ransomed slave children" orphanage. The Muslim [[datu]]s sold their child slaves to the Jesuits during the famine in 1872. Thomas M. McKenna reported that he was told by Datu Adil that Moro Maguidanaons would send their slaves to schools instead of their own children in Cotabato when the Americans opened up schools so these slaves later became bureaucrats and teachers for the Magindanaons. In [[South Sulawesi]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]], elite [[Torajan people|Toraja]] would also not send their own children to school and instead send their slaves.<ref>{{cite book |last=McKenna |first=Thomas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WunQEAAAQBAJ&dq=muslime+jesuits+ransomed+famine&pg=PA312 |title=Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520210165 |edition=reprint |series=Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies |volume=26 |location= |page=312 |issn=1051-0354}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
====Classical antiquity====
Debt bondage was "quite normal" in [[classical antiquity]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Kurt A. |last=Raaflaub |title=The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece |page=47 | year=2004 |publisher=University of Chicago Press | isbn=978-0-226-70101-1}}</ref> The poor or those who had fallen irredeemably in debt might place themselves into bondage "voluntarily"—or more precisely, might be compelled by circumstances to choose debt bondage as a way to anticipate and avoid worse terms that their creditors might impose on them.<ref>{{harvnb|Raaflaub|2004|loc=pp. 32, 47 ''et passim.''}}</ref> In the [[Greco-Roman world]], debt bondage was a distinct legal category into which a free [[Person (law)|person]] might fall, in theory temporarily, distinguished from the pervasive practice of [[slavery in antiquity|slavery]], which included enslavement as a result of defaulting on debt. Many forms of debt bondage existed in both [[ancient Greece]] and [[ancient Rome]].<ref>{{cite book | last=de Ste. Croix | first=G.E.M. | title=The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World: From the Archaic Age to the Arab Conquests | publisher=Cornell University Press | year=1981 | isbn=978-0-8014-1442-8 |pages=136–137}}, noting that economic historian [[Moses Finley]] maintained "serf" was an incorrect term to apply to the social structures of classical antiquity.</ref>

====Ancient Greece====
Debt bondage was widespread in ancient Greece. The only [[polis|city-state]] known to have abolished it is [[ancient Athens|Athens]], as early as the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]] under the debt reform legislation of [[Solon]].<ref>{{harvnb|de Ste. Croix|1981|loc=pp. 137, 162}}</ref> Both enslavement for debt and debt bondage were practiced in [[Ptolemaic Egypt]].<ref name="Ste. Croix p. 165">{{harvnb|de Ste. Croix|1981|page=165}}</ref> By the [[Hellenistic period]], the limited evidence indicates that debt bondage had replaced outright enslavement for debt.<ref name="Ste. Croix p. 165"/>

The most onerous debt bondage was various forms of ''paramonē'', "[[indentured servitude|indentured labor]]." As a matter of law, a person subjected to ''paramonē'' was categorically free, and not a slave, but in practice his freedom was severely constrained by his servitude.<ref name="Ste. Croix p. 169">{{harvnb|de Ste. Croix|1981|page=169}}</ref> Solon's reforms occurred in the context of [[Athenian democracy|democratic politics at Athens]] that required clearer distinctions between "free" and "slave"; as a perverse consequence, [[chattel slavery]] increased.<ref>{{harvnb|Raaflaub|2004|p=49}}</ref>

The selling of one's own child into slavery is likely in most cases to have resulted from [[extreme poverty]] or debt, but strictly speaking is a form of chattel slavery, not debt bondage. The exact legal circumstances in Greece, however, are more poorly documented than in ancient Rome.<ref name="Ste. Croix p. 169"/>

====Ancient Rome====
{{Main|Nexum}}

''[[Nexum]]'' was a debt bondage contract in the early [[Roman Republic]]. Within the [[Roman law|Roman legal system]], it was a form of ''[[mancipatio]]''. Though the terms of the contract would vary, essentially a free man pledged himself as a bond slave (''nexus'') as surety for a loan. He might also hand over his son as collateral. Although the bondsman might be subjected to humiliation and abuse, as a [[Roman citizenship|legal citizen]] he was supposed to be exempt from [[corporal punishment]]. ''Nexum'' was abolished by the ''[[Lex Poetelia Papiria]]'' in 326 BC, in part to prevent abuses to the physical integrity of citizens who had fallen into debt bondage.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Slavery and economy in ancient Rome|last=McKrause|first=Stanford|publisher=Brainy Bookstore Mckrause}}</ref>

[[Roman historiography|Roman historians]] illuminated the abolition of ''nexum'' with a traditional story that varied in its particulars; basically, a ''nexus'' who was a handsome but upstanding youth suffered [[sexual harassment]] by the holder of the debt. In one version, the youth had gone into debt to pay for his father's funeral; in others, he had been handed over by his father. In all versions, he is presented as a model of virtue. Historical or not, the cautionary tale highlighted the incongruities of subjecting one free citizen to another's use, and the legal response was aimed at establishing the citizen's right to liberty ''(libertas)'', as distinguished from the [[Slavery in ancient Rome|slave]] or [[infamia|social outcast]].<ref name="Roman Republic 1971 pp. 56-57">{{cite book | last=Brunt | first=P.A. |author-link=Peter Brunt | title=Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic | publisher=Chatto and Windus | series=Ancient culture and society | year=1971 | isbn=978-0-7011-1630-9 | pages=56–57}}</ref>

[[Cicero]] considered the abolition of ''nexum'' primarily a political maneuver to appease the common people ''([[plebs]])'': the law was passed during the [[Conflict of the Orders]], when plebeians were struggling to establish their rights in relation to the hereditary privileges of the [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]]. Although ''nexum'' was abolished as a way to secure a loan, debt bondage might still result after a debtor defaulted.<ref name="Roman Republic 1971 pp. 56-57"/>

====European Middle Ages====
While [[serfdom]] under [[feudalism]] was the predominant political and economic system in [[Europe]] in the [[High Middle Ages]], persisting in the [[Austrian Empire]] till 1848 and the [[Russian Empire]] until 1861 ([[Serfdom in Russia|details]]),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last=Wright | first=Thomas Edmund Farnsworth | title=Oxford Dictionary of World History | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-19-176572-8 | chapter=serf | publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199685691.001.0001/acref-9780199685691-e-3313?rskey=SbsmsH&result=3362}}</ref> debt bondage (and slavery) provided other forms of unfree labour.

====Russian Empire====
{{See also|Serfdom in Russia#Abolition|Emancipation Reform of 1861#Effects on the serfs}}

Throughout the reign of [[Alexander II of Russia|Tsar Alexander II]], Russia was [[Alexander II of Russia#Reign|dominated by reforms]]; Serfdom [[Emancipation Reform of 1861|was abolished]] in 1861 after decades of subjection, granting over 23 million serfs their freedom as well as obtaining citizenship, marriage without permission, property rights along with business ownership. This was well received amongst the peasantry, whom labelled Alexander "the Liberator". This act was the first and most paramount of [[Government reforms of Alexander II of Russia|major reforms enacted]] during his reign. However, serfs became obligated towards labouring on the land in order to gain private ownership, thus rendering them heavily indebted. Moreover, the [[Industrialization in the Russian Empire#Industrial development in the second half of the 19th century|outward urban migration]] of the population from rural areas only made this more difficult to achieve, with peasants enduring similar, albeit greatly reduced, hardship as a result.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 1861 Emancipation of the Serfs |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-1861-emancipation-of-the-serfs/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.courses.lumenlearning.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Despite that, peasants were enabled to purchase private property, and therefore begin soil cultivation for their own behalf, although this was also somewhat reduced by former tenants being forced to provide land redemption payments for the next several decades,<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire |url=http://www.cefir.ru/papers/WP237.pdf |access-date=2024-08-22 |journal=American Economic Review | date=2018 | doi=10.1257/aer.20160144 |language=en-US | last1=Markevich | first1=Andrei | last2=Zhuravskaya | first2=Ekaterina | volume=108 | issue=4–5 | pages=1074–1117 }}</ref> whilst simultaneously being restricted to purchasing less fertile and profitable land without nobility interests. Furthermore, peasants were often overcharged for land beyond [[market value]],<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Freed Serfs without Free People: Manumission in Imperial Russia |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/118/4/1029/43573 |access-date=2024-08-22 |journal=The American Historical Review |date=2013 |doi=10.1093/ahr/118.4.1029 |language=en-GB |last1=Smith |first1=A. K. |volume=118 |issue=4 |pages=1029–1051 }}</ref> often varying from every location, with almost all the peasantry whom obtained greater land amounts being within the [[Congress Poland]], in order to weaken the dominant [[Szlachta|Polish nobility]] [[Nobility privileges in Poland|power structure]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=This land is my land |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/research/serfdom-abolition-russia-19th-century |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.aeaweb.org |language=en-US}}</ref> It has also been documented that many serfs remained heavily indebted, bound by their superior landlords, having acquired no significant liberty irrespective of the abolition reforms that were recently introduced. Nobility privileges were not affected, and, if anything, debatably strengthened.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Social and Economic Impact of the Emancipation of the Serfs in Russia |url=https://publications.essex.ac.uk/esj/article/id/193/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.publications.essex.ac.uk |date=2010 |doi=10.5526/esj139 |language=en-UK |last1=Hobart |first1=Louis |volume=2 |issue=2 }}</ref>

Regardless of the Tsar's intentions, some have argued that the emancipation enactment merely benefitted the landowners as an extension of [[Russian nobility|the nobility]], in that dedicated compensation secured for the aforementioned greatly overestimated market value of their property. They also determined what they would surrender, with partial remains distributed between the serfs. Extortionately priced land meant that peasants only bought narrow areas difficult to preserve with barely any food or revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ending Feudalism: The 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation of the Serfs |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2011/02/ending-feudalism-the-150th-anniversary-of-the-emancipation-of-the-serfs?lang=en&center=russia-eurasia |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Landowners received additional financial compensation for land plots they yielded to serfs, contrary to the peasants having to pay for their own plots of land. This led to serfs having to borrow loans as well as mortgages off the [[State Bank of the Russian Empire|State Bank]] and their landlords, the vast majority of which originating from the former issuer. In order to alleviate the heavy burden, they were tied towards labouring until their debts repaid; [[Debt consolidation]] was entirely absent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Emancipation of the Russian Serfs, 1861 |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/emancipation-russian-serfs-1861 |access-date=2024-08-22  |website=www.historytoday.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Land inventories were seized with allotments and payments calculated, since it legally belonged to the landlord, as peasants with government loans were required to redeem allotments from landlords, although redemption payment durations were almost half a century. Within the first 20 years of emancipation, almost all of their peasants had received their land, leading to redemptions becoming mandatory, although allotments were adequate enough. Notwithstanding of this, the domestic population explosion that occurred for the remainder of the 19th century exposed peasants to increased economic difficulties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Property Rights, Serfdom, and Institutional Divergence |url=https://broadstreet.blog/2022/04/25/property-rights-serfdom-and-institutional-divergence/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.broadstreet.blog |date=25 April 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref>