History Main / SlaveGalley

* Cazaril's backstory in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''[[Literature/{{Chalion}} The Curse of Chalion]]'' is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you cound the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with).

** Legend of Luke, Mariel of Redwall, and Mossflower incorporated oarslaves for the pirates. More often than not the heroes will end up killing the ship's crew and freeing the slaves.
** Averted in some later books where the baddies held slaves, but did not use them on the ships.

* Subverted: Actually far less common (though not unknown) in the SwordAndSandal era. Slave galleys were a staple of Renaissance naval warfare when it became normal to put several men on an oar. In Ancient and Medieval times freemen were preferred because rowing one man to an oar required more skill.

** Carthaginian Navy rowers had living and training requirements similar to a modern athlete. No wonder their Navy was so feared in the Mediterranean.

* Subverted in the Baltic Sea. Both the Swedes and the Russians used [[{{Conscription}} conscripts]] as rowers. They had their weapons (usually short musket and sabre) aside their thwarts. Also, both nations simply didn't practice slavery, and use of forced labor like convicts was deemed impractical for the reasons descripted above. While Russia had a serfdom at that time, which was sometimes hardly distinguishable from slavery, enlistment ''always'' immediately freed a person, and a military service was seen as a prestigious, if taxing occupation.

* At least one ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' book makes use of this.

* Happens in "The Legend of Luke", one of the Redwall novels.

* Seen in every ''{{Redwall}}'' book involving pirates in any major capacity. More often than not the heroes will end up killing the ship's crew and freeing the slaves.
** Not all {{Redwall}} books, actually. Legend of Luke, Mariel of Redwall, and Mossflower incorporated oarslaves for the pirates. Some of the baddies, even pirates, in later books held slaves, but did not use them on the ships.

* The galley was obsolete as a warship already in the end of 16th century, as sailing ships could carry far more cannons. The main reason why they were built after that date was purely penal: Their actual reason for existence was to be floating prisons and forced labour institutions.
* Subverted at Baltic. Both the Swedes and the Russians used [[{{Conscription}} conscripts]] as rowers. They had their weapons (usually short musket and sabre) aside their thwarts. Also, both nations simply didn't practice slavery, and use of forced labor like convicts was deemed impractical for the reasons descripted above. While Russia had a serfdom at that time, which was sometimes hardly distinguishable from slavery, enlistment ''always'' immediately freed a person, and a military service was seen as a prestigious, if taxing occupation.

[[folder: Advertising ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} At The Olympic Games'', the gauls hire a ship to transport them to Rome only to find the ship they hired is a galley, where they're expected to do the rowing. The ship's captain explains that these are the "deck games and sport" promised. He then confirms that it's usually a slave ship: "You got the better deal, normally rowers are chained and whipped!"

** And in Asterix the Legionary, the troop Asterix and Obelix signed up in are the rowers (see the RealLife section below). The voyage ends up quite pleasant, driving the captain nuts by countering his orders (heading straight for the pirate ship, for instance). He also tells the drummer to beat faster... only to be told the little Gaul has already requested it.
** And in another story, the drummer thing is subverted when the pirates end up in command of a Roman galley, they ask their (not very) ScaryBlackMan to be the drummer, at which point he pulls off a high-speed drum solo before being replaced with a standard drummer.

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/TheSeaHawk''

[[folder: Literature ]]
* The Literature/FightingFantasy book ''Master Of Chaos'' begins like this. Unusually, the [[AnAdventurerIsYou hero]] went into slavery ''voluntarily'', as a discreet way of gaining entry to the local WretchedHive.
* Discussed at length in the ''TheToughGuideToFantasyLand''.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* Parodied in a ''TheFarSide'' cartoon. The sailors are wondering why their ship is going around in circles all the time... which the reader can see is because they put all the big, muscular slaves on one side of the boat, with the other side being crewed entirely by skinny wimps.
** Another featured a galley slave complaining to the whipmaster about getting jabbed with a splinter.
** Yet ''another'' had a slave complain that it was ''his'' turn for the window seat.
** One had the drummer replaced by a bad entertainer on a piano.

[[folder: Radio]]
* ''TheGoonShow'' had fun with this in "The Histories of Pliny the Elder".
--> '''Ecclus.''' I've never done this before.
--> '''Hortator.''' Faster, you dogs!
--> '''Bluebottlus.''' He wants us dogs to go faster.
--> '''Hortator.''' Silence, you scum!
--> '''Ecclus.''' He wants us scum to go silent.
--> '''Hortator.''' Or do you want a taste of the lash?!
--> '''Bluebottlus.''' No, thanks, I've just had some cocoa.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]
* One of the "bad endings" of the ''[[TabletopGame/TunnelsAndTrolls Tunnels & Trolls]]'' solo adventure ''City of Terror'', has your character end up as galley slave. "You learn to enjoy your life as a galley slave, it's not bad.. But it is HELL, when the captain wants to water-ski."

[[folder: Theatre ]]
* In ''Theatre/TheDuchessOfMalfi'', Bosola spent some years in the galleys, the last punishment for serious crimes before execution, for murder. This may explain his initial attitude.

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun''. Monsters attack the ship Isaac and his friends are on, and by the time you fight each wave off, one of the (voluntarily employed) rowers has been put out of commission. After each round, you have to pick one of the NPC passengers to press-gang into service as a replacement for the rest of the voyage, whether they like it or not. Choosing the right combination of replacements will actually unbalance the rowers, sending the ship off-course and getting you early access to the BonusDungeon.
* They aren't seen on-screen, but one NPC in [[MountAndBlade Mount and Blade: Warband]] will buy prisoners for this purpose. He pays a flat rate of 50 Denars each, meaning basic units like recruits and bandits will sell for more than other Ransom Brokers will pay, but you get a lot less for high-tier units.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'': Commander Badass, time traveling super-soldier from the future, tells Jared about a time he and his family/squad were press-ganged into service on board a Viking slave galley. He mentions this off-hand to explain how he finally got his HeroicBuild, [[NoodleIncident and provides no further context]].
-->'''Commander:''' After that, it was easier to just keep it up rather than yo-yo back and forth every time we got captured again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

In reality, slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons [[note]](see [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis page]] for details)[[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory.

In reality, slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons[[note]](see [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis page]] for details)[[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory.

In reality, slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons[[note]]see [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis page]] for details[[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory.

In reality, slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons[[note]]see [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis page]][[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory.

Compare GladiatorGames, the alternative for a male slave in acient times.

In reality, slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons[[note]]see information on the [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis]] page[[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory.

A type of ship powered by a large group of oarsmen, in addition to, or in the place of, sails. The standard image is dirty rowers seated two-by-two down either side of a narrow aisle, like an even-more-sadistic school bus, overseers with whips, and a coxswain with a drum beating out a steady rhythm. Showing a character as a galley slave is a quick-and-easy way to depict their suffering, as it combines all the bad parts of being a sailor with all the bad parts of slavery - that is to say, all of it.

Real-life oar-powered ships were in use from the time of the Pharaohs up through the early steam era, in one form or another. The Viking longship and the ancient Greek Triremes are just the best-known examples. All these ship types assigned one rower to one oar, and the oarsmen were ''free'' men that were either paid laborers, drafted recruits, or volunteers. Galleys that relied on multiple rowers per oar and were crewed by slaves did not show up until the Late Middle Ages. This rowing style is actually less efficient than each rower moving his own oar: Its only advantage is, in fact, that it allowed unskilled laborers (which is what slaves and convicts are) to be employed for rowing.

This trope was firmly established by ''Film/BenHur'' despite the movie being a good demonstration of why the ancient Greeks and Romans did not use slaves for galleys: Poorly treated slaves cannot row as fast as professionals, and the ship would be further slowed by the weight of all those chains and whip-wielding overseers. When a ship is in danger of being rammed, the worst thing to do is stop rowing and become a sitting duck, yet that is exactly what the panicky galley slaves do in ''Ben Hur''.

[[AC:Film]]
* Most depictions in media are direct references to ''Literature/BenHur''; the title character spent a few years on a Roman slave galley.

[[AC:Literature]]
* Uhtred, the lead character from Creator/BernardCornwell's ''Literature/TheSaxonStories'', spent a year or so as a slave in the Dark Ages variant of a slave galley.

* At least one ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' book makes use of this.

[[AC:Real Life]]

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* Uhtred, the lead character from Creator/BernardCornwell's ''Literature/TheSaxonStories'', spent a year or so as a slave in the Dark Ages variant of a slave galley. He didn't enjoy it.

Real-life oar-powered ships were in use from the time of the Pharaohs up through the early steam era, in one form or another. The Viking longship and the ancient Greek Triremes are just the best-known examples. All these ship types assigned one rower to one oar, and the oarsmen were ''free'' men that were either paid laborers, drafted recruits, or volunteers. Galleys that relied on multiple rowers per oar and were crewed by slaves did not show up until the Late Middle Ages.

!!RealLife:

* Servile Galleys actually did come into fashion in TheLateMiddleAges (at the earliest). By that time rowing methods that allowed only one trained man to an oar with a large team of backup had been developed.
** This style is known as ''alla scaloccio'' and it is actually ''less'' efficient than ''alla sensile'' style, where each rower has his own oar. The only advantage of ''alla scaloccio'' style is that it allows unskilled labour to be employed as rowers.
* The galley was obsolete as a warship already in the end of 16th century as sailing ships could carry far more cannons. The main reason why they were built after that date was purely penal: they were basically nothing but floating forced labour institutions - man-made hells to intimidate the heretics and would-be criminals.

Real-life oar-powered ships were in use from the time of the Pharaohs up through the early steam era, in one form or another. The Viking longship and the ancient Greek Triremes are the best-known examples, but the Triremes had three rows of oars stacked above each other (''alla sensile''), and the oarsmen were highly-skilled free men. Later designs that relied on multiple men per oar (''alla scaloccio''), instead of multiple rows of oars, were crewed by slave labor, but they didn't show up until Renaissance times.

This trope was firmly established by ''Film/BenHur'' despite the movie being a good demonstration of why the ancient Greeks and Romans did not use slaves for war galleys: Poorly treated slaves cannot row as fast as professionals, and the ship would be further slowed by the weight of all those chains and whip-wielding overseers. When a ship is in danger of being rammed, the worst thing to do is stop rowing and become a sitting duck, yet that is exactly what the panicky galley slaves do in ''Ben Hur''.

This trope was firmly established by "Ben Hur" despite the movie being a good demonstration of why the ancient Greeks and Romans didn't use slaves for war galleys! Poorly treated slaves can't row as fast as professionals, and the ship would be further slowed by the weight of all those chains and whip-wielding overseers. When a ship is in danger of being rammed, the worst thing to do is stop rowing and become a sitting duck, yet that is exactly what the panicky galley slaves do in "Ben Hur", thus converting the threat of being rammed into a certainty.

* The undead crew of the Black Pearl in ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' used galley oars for a speed advantage. Since the crew were immortal zombies, they could conceivably push to flank speed for hours at a stretch, and still be ready to fight when they caught their prey.

* At least one Literature/{{Redwall}} book makes use of this.

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* Subverted at Baltic, where both Swedes and Russians used [[{{conscription}} conscripts]] as rowers. The advantage of using conscripted labour as rowers was that they did not need to be paid and they could carry weapons aside their thwarts.

Real-life oar-powered ships were in use from the time of the Pharaohs up through the early steam era, in one form or another. The Viking longship and the ancient Greek Triremes are the best-known examples, but the Triremes had three rows of oars stacked above each other, and the oarsmen were highly-skilled free men. Later designs that relied on multiple men per oar, instead of multiple rows of oars, were crewed by slave labor, but they didn't show up until Renaissance times.

* The galley was obsolete as a warship already in the end of 16th century as sailing ships could carry far more cannons. The main reason why they were built after that date was purely penal: they were basically nothing but floating forced labour institutions.

* Subverted at Baltic, where both Swedes and Russians used [[conscription conscripts]] as rowers. The advantage of using conscripted labour as rowers was that they did not need to be paid and they could carry weapons aside their thwarts.

* Servile Galleys actually did come into fashion in the late middle ages(at the earliest). By that time rowing methods that allowed only one trained man to an oar with a large team of backup had been developed.

* Uhtred, the lead character from Bernard Cornwell's ''[[Literature/TheSaxonStories]]'', spent a year or so as a slave in the Dark Ages variant of a slave galley. He didn't enjoy it.

* Uhtred, the lead character from Bernard Cornwell's ''Saxon Chronicles'', spent a year or so as a slave in the Dark Ages variant of a slave galley. He didn't enjoy it.

RealLife

* Most depictions in media are direct references to ''BenHur''; the title character spent a few years on a Roman slave galley.

* Cazaril's backstory in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujoldBujold's ''[[Literature/{{Chalion The Curse of Chalion]]'' is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you cound the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with).

* Cazaril's backstory in [[LoisMcMasterBujold Bujold's]] ''The Curse of Chalion'' is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you cound the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with).
* At least one [[Redwall]] book makes use of this.

* The Smokers from ''{{Waterworld}}'' showed off their cruelty by forcing their crew to move their flagship - a supertanker - by muscle power. This is spectacularly stupid since the supertanker weighs 30,000 tons even before loading any cargo, but ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale.

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