Roman Slavery Research Paper

The number of slaves in Rome grew at a very rapid rate. In 225 B.C. There were an estimated 600,000 slaves in Roman society and within 200 years the number went up to an estimated two million slaves (Burks 9); the proportion of slaves grew from an estimated 15% to 35% of the population (Ibid.). To provide for Rome 's hunger of slaves, the Roman government relied on an ever-consistent income of available slaves. The government 's reliance on slavery cannot be overstated since the slaves were needed to work a majority of jobs in the empire. All of the Roman soldiers lived civilian lives away from battle but they could be called away at a moment’s notice, which left hundreds of jobs stripped of workers. Since the soldier/citizens could be

Roman slavery must be approached as a social institution in which the economic aspect, though important, was subsidiary, in order to appreciate the vast degree of significance which Romans themselves attributed to the presence of slavery among them, as well as its distinct cultural impact (Bradley 1998, p.18). The large presence of slaves and renewable population of skilled freedmen allowed the Roman Empire to achieve the economic and infrastructural achievements for which they are remembered, the degree of their contributions rendering Roman Italy, a ‘slave society.’ It has been estimated that, during the reign of Augustus, the servile population of Italy could have been as high as thirty-five percent (1998, pp.12-13). This high reliance on and large population of slaves was reflected throughout the empire, rendering society one in which the status of individuals - free, freedman or slave, was exceedingly salient and consequential. The strict societal hierarchy of the Roman Empire was built upon and directly contributed to the deep social divides between classes which defined social experience in the Roman Empire. Manumission, increased presence of freedmen and substantial base of slave population factored strongly into the increased significance levied upon social status, division between social groups and definition of position in society.

Slavery has been a major component of human civilization all throughout history. People turn to slavery for many reasons, such as fear of different ethnicities and fear that these new foreign people will take over land that is not theirs. The conditions under which slaves work and live varies greatly by the time and location of which the slaves lived. Slaves play a major role in their society and contribute greatly to their communities, often forming one of the largest masses of the population. Though the accuracy of the information from primary sources may be tainted with exaggeration and bias, it is easy to deduce from primary works the treatment of slaves and the working and living conditions surrounding them. According to many sources,

Slavery can be dated back to very early civilizations and were crucial in everyday activities, also to the economy. Some of these ancient civilizations include the India, Mesopotamian and Chinese and these had slaves work in their homes or their shops. Another early civilization who used slaves were the Egyptian who used the slaves to build their monuments, castles, palaces and statues. Hebrews also used slaves but were a little more moral on how they were identified. The Aztec, Inca and Mayan used slaves in many forms and most of these slaves were optained through war prisoners and were used in agriculture and warfare.

Slavery began in some of the earliest civilizations and continued to be around for over a thousand of years after that time. During this time, people of various races were forced to work for those above them and were treated almost as less than human. Two areas where slavery is best displayed is in Ancient Rome and in America prior to the Civil War. When comparing and contrasting slavery in these two places, one can see similarities and differences in how the slaves were acquired, treated, freed, and the type of labor they had to undertake. Even though these two societies were over a thousand years apart from each other, Ancient Rome and America can be compared to see the changes that occurred in slavery during this time and the ideas that

After they conquered a foreign land, the Romans became responsible for maintaining the area. If the Romans failed to maintain their new territory, they would eventually lose it to foreign invaders. Workers would be needed to secure the area and repair any structural damage that may have resulted from the initial conquest of the area. But, workers are not cheap, and the Romans would want to save their money for future conquests. That’s where slavery comes in. The Romans enslaved all of the people they conquered in order to meet the demand for affordable

The experiences of enslaved women differed from the experience of enslaved men in ancient Rome; slavery within ancient Rome can be traced back to the first century BCE and was based primarily on the chattel slave system. Slavery within the ancient roman society was highly normalised as it was considered a part of roman culture. Slavery within ancient Rome was so heavily normalised that it is considered to be described as a “slave society” Joshel (2010, p. 6) states that “For slaves living in the Roman world, there was no outside – no place without slavery and no movement that declared slavery wrong. Slavery was a normal part of life, and this was true not only for the Romans but for every neighbouring ancient culture”. Not only was

As these slaves were treated as property they began to lose a lot of their individualism. In Platus’ play, written during the Roman Republic, there is a soliloquy of a slave talking about his chores. He will do the chores perfectly and if his master is not there he will administer them with even more care. The slave speaks with eager and willingness to execute the chores. He explains that he rather be diligent and do as he is told and maybe one day he will receive a reward. But, for now his reward is not getting a flogging, which is a whipping. “My obedience, I think, is such as is most for the profit of my back. And it surely does pay!” This slave knows that working laboriously is beneficial to him only to avoid getting punished. Working hard does not earn him anything, but at least this way he will not need to feel the pain of lashings. This fear of consequences keeps this slave from fighting for his rights. In fact, he does not understand that he deserves rights [Slavery in the Roman Republic].

The Roman Empire was a slave owning society, one fourth of their population was made up of slaves. The Romans accrued slaves through piracy, trade, and warfare. Accounting for most of the labor force, slaves performed household tasks, and the grueling and tiresome work of mining and farming. Slavery in Rome was a way for them to assimilate new people into their society. Individuals could be released from slavery by either being bought out or after paying their debt to their owner (Ivanovitch, 1957: 26).

In addition, Germans treated slaves with much more respect than Romans did. In Rome, the upper class were able to purchase numerous slaves to work in their house, and on their land. Slave owners in Rome treated their slaves harshly and with much disrespect, not providing them with necessities needed to survive. Their reason for this was

There were a number of Roman laws regarding slavery, and these too, changed over time. In the Republican period, slaves had no rights and were always subject to the whims of their owners. They did have some legal standing, however. They were allowed to act as witnesses in trials, and could gain freedom either through their owner's gratitude after loyal service or by buying it through the meager earnings they might collect over a lifetime of service. For example, owners in the Republic had the right to kill or mutilate slaves at a whim, but later imperial laws took this right away, though in practice this law could be largely ignored. This represents how valued slaves were to the Roman people.

In Ancient Greece, more than 2500 years ago, and the surrounding city states, slavery was the normal condition, not the exception. It was not primarily an ethnicity or race issue. Slavery or ownership of another was an act of misfortune. When a freeman came across a slave, his thoughts were not about, race or education, he thought how unfortunate, for you, that you had been captured in war. The pillaging and plundering of other states and the taking of humans into bondage was just a common act for all people living at that time. Egypt was compelled to release their slaves

Piracy was also restricted later when the piratical Illyrians were defeated at the conclusion at the battle of Actium in 31 BC. Another source of slaves was purchase from over the boundaries of the empire. Roman soldiers involved in frontier wars and rebellions had many opportunities to buy prisoners of war as slaves at disposal auctions. Although this is not mentioned in the contemporary literature, this information can be found in papyrus, which reveals that soldiers did indeed own slaves. There were other ways by which slaves were obtained. The sale of offspring by parents was one of the ways that slaves were obtained. This occurred particularly in hard times when parents attempted to ease their burden. There is evidence that this practice did take place during the first centuries of the empire. However, the practice is unlikely to have been widespread. There are even accounts of how the Frisians in Lower Germany, being subjected to an excessive tribute by the Romans, were forced eventually to sell their wives and children into slavery. This too however, would have been unusual. In general it is unlikely that even the most impoverished parents, once they had initially resolved to bring up a baby, would sell that baby into servitude - unless there was some very special provocation. A few other methods of enslavement should also be mentioned. The first was self-sale. Hermeros, for example,

Adding onto the point where slaves were put on the market like things, slaves were also discriminated due to their previous nationality. Both of these actions illustrate inhuman behaviour by the Ancient Romans. In addition to buying and selling slaves, there is one more option which tops off these poor choices. In Ancient Rome, one was also able to rent a slave. This is renting a human being. Renting tools or horses was ordinary but renting another person just exemplifies how Romans treated slaves as things, rather than people.

The owners could do with the slaves what they wished, be it sexual favors or they could beat them at will. Beating a slave though was not usually the best thing that an owner of slaves could do because they didn't want to damage their property. To get a slave to work hard wasn't that difficult most of the time, all the owner had to do was refrain from beating and instead be nice to them. In Rome some slaves were offered freedom if they met certain criteria of the owner. After earning their freedom they were given citizenship in the city. This gave the slaves a reason to work hard, something to look forward to.