Chattel

In legal terms, a chattel is a piece of personal property. The term is often used to refer to slaves, who were considered to be the personal property of their owners. In this context, chattel slavery refers to a system of slavery in which people are owned as property, and they can be bought, sold, or traded like any other piece of personal property. Chattel slavery was common in many parts of the world throughout history, and it was particularly prevalent in the Americas during the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite the widespread abolition of slavery in the 19th century, chattel slavery still exists in some parts of the world today.