Slavery has been given a bad name in recent times, but it has been ubiquitous throughout human history. Indeed, it exists TODAY in some countries. In fact, in the Epistles of St. Paul, slaves are encouraged to be loyal to their masters.
And slavery is YET ANOTHER matter where contemporary ignorami presume to pass value judgments on behavior of past generations, where they know nothing of the circumstances, standards, mores, and morals of the times or the societies in question.
There are many historical societies in which individuals and families were simply incapable of sustaining themselves without outside support. In addition to feeding, clothing, and housing themselves and nurturing their offspring, it might be necessary to protect themselves from various sorts of evil-doers who would kill or maim them without a second thought. Slavery would be one means of obtaining protection from such evil-doers, in exchange for the relative security of being part of the "lord's" household, clan, or social group. Accordingly, being a slave under those circumstances would be better than the alternative of being "free" and vulnerable.
**** St. Patrick. He was an Italian usurper.
