Before starting with a discussion on the freedom principle in Europe during the Early Modern Era, we need to know what the situation was at the end of the Middle Ages.

First, how was slavery legally justified by the great European philosophers and scholars? Second, we need to know what the institutional reality was. Were slaves still part of the social fabric of fifteenth century England, France and the Low Countries?

More on the topic Before starting with a discussion on the freedom principle in Europe during the Early Modern Era, we need to know what the situation was at the end of the Middle Ages.: