Certainly not a free state, historically (7)
I believe the answer is:
serfdom
'state historically' is the definition.
'serfdom' can be an answer for 'state' (I have seen 'State of slavery ' mean 'serfdom' so perhaps 'state' could also mean 'serfdom'). I am unsure of the 'historically' bit.
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for serfdom that I've seen before include "State of slavery" , "Feudal worker's state" , "Feudal labour" .)