the question is one that is full of contradictions, anomalies, and legal niceties thrown in for good measure.

Several people known as 'good' employers and public benefactors - their factories weren't necessarily nice places to work in. And environmental awareness is quite a recent thing. Their factories might be belching out the products that shortened lives of people in that town, their employees included.

also slavery is an interesting term. what constitutes it, is debatable. some people said it only really finished with the truck acts and every worker being able to insist on being paid in cash.

slavery doesn't have to mean what it meant to earlier ages