OTG Controlled Vocabularies

Event Type Controlled Vocabulary

  • Commercial transaction

    An event in which an enslaved person is part of a transaction that involves the buying or selling of goods, services, or labor
  • Commercial transaction: Appraisal

    An event in which an enslaved person is reviewed and assigned a monetary value, often in anticipation of sale.
  • Commercial transaction: Enslaved hire

    An event in which an enslaved person is hired out to an individual other than their primary enslaver for a period of time
  • Commercial transaction: Enslaved loan

    An event in which an enslaved person is loaned to an individual other than their primary enslaver for a period of time (without monetary compensation to the primary enslaver)
  • Commercial transaction: Services

    An event in which an enslaved person is buying or selling of services (laundry, mending, blacksmithing, midwifery)
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Action Status Controlled Vocabulary

  • Completed

    The action has been completed
  • Failed

    The action was proposed or attempted, but was not successfully completed
  • Potential

    The action has been proposed or mentioned, but has not yet taken place or been attempted
  • Unknown

    The action’s status cannot be inferred from available information
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Certainty Controlled Vocabulary

  • Approximate

    The date is not exact; the event is estimated to have taken place close to the supplied date
  • Inferred

    The date of the event is not explicitly stated in the source document and has been supplied based on contextual information
  • Questionable

    The date is dubious or likely to be erroneous
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Freedom Status Controlled Vocabulary

  • Enslaved

    A condition of perpetual hereditary unfreedom that is central to the system of forced labor
  • Free

    A condition of autonomy and self possession that allows a person to control their own labor, movement, and social engagement
  • Transition

    A condition of freedom that is in transition from enslaved to free or free to enslaved
  • Unknown

    A condition in which a person’s status as enslaved or free cannot be inferred from the available information
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OTG Place Type Controlled Vocabulary Supplement

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