Preview

Comparison of Roman and American slavery

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
760 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison of Roman and American slavery
Comparison of Roman and Western Slavery

Slavery is one of the most common entities between the Roman 's society and the Western society in the late 1800 's. Both civilizations have many differences and similarities between their views on slavery, treatments of the slaves, and economics of slavery. Such similarities include the imprisonment of slaves, the cruel treatments towards slaves, and the legal status of slaves as their owner 's property. However, despite the many differences, slavery between polar societies always has its differences. These differences include the rights of the slaves, the slave 's origins, and the payment of the slaves. Through the comparison of slavery present in Western society of the later 1800 's and Roman society, several astonishing similarities and differences become apparent, especially when considering the movie, "Sparticus".

The astonishing amount of similarities between the slavery in Roman society and the slavery in Western society show the great importance of slavery to one 's populace. In both society 's, the slave was the basic unit of society, for all of the agricultural market rested upon their shoulders. Just as cotton was the staple crop of the United States, wheat was the fundamental crop in Roman society, both of which are cultivated by slaves. In both societies, owning a multitude of slaves showed one 's social status, for if one owned numerous slaves, then they were considered wealthy. Additionally, the lower class looked down upon the slaves as lower individuals than themselves, treating them like animals through their constant beatings and tiresome work. This work that the slaves had to endure was similar in both societies, for they similarly had to work in the fields for long hours. A child born of a slave woman was a slave (the legal status of his father being irrelevant) and the property of the slave woman 's owner. Ultimately, the Roman and Western society 's views and actions upon slaves were the same in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The use of slavery varied between Rome and Han China. Rome’s population of slaves was large, whereas China had less slaves. In China, the population of the lower class/ peasants was higher. The large population of peasants lowered the need of slavery. The peasants could take the work of the slaves. Thus, slavery did not become a major source of labor for agriculture or manufacturing. However, in Rome slavery became an important element of the social structure. The population of slaves comprised of at least one third of the population. Slaves usually came from conquered lands, race did not determine slavery. The poor man’s slave was the ox, and even plebeians had some slaves. Slaves were the backbone of the economy in Rome. Roman slaves were regarded as barbarians. Soon, Romans began to see other people as slaves by nature. All occupations except for military service were available to slaves. Since slaves were more common in Rome, they became their own distinct class. In China, slavery was far less…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slaves in Ancient Rome were treated very harshly. They were put in gladiator fights to the death against fellow slaves and occasionally lions for the entertainment of the community, although it was against the law for a citizen to kill another citizen’s slave. Also, 10% of the populations of Rome were slaves, which means if one died, they could be easily replaced. In contrast, only 1% of Han China’s populations were slaves. They were much more valued and thus their owners treated them better. There were two kinds- Privately Owned and State Owned. These slaves could pay for freedom, or be freed by their master or the emperor. It was against the law to kill these slaves at all.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slaves were considered the property of their owners, so their bodies were at the disposal of their owners. Since slaves were one of the categories of people Roman males could engage with, many homosexual relationships were with slaves. It was a common practice for unmarried Roman men to keep an attractive young slave as their sexual companion. Young male slaves were sometimes sold for the sole purpose of intercourse, and their bodies were put on display at markets for prospective purchasers. Despite this, it was illegal to have sex with another man’s slave because the body of the slave belonged to the slave owner. Many pederastic relationships involved young slave boys who were often regarded as pets and were spoiled, but still considered…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Superficially, a Society with Slaves and Slave Society appear to be near synonyms. However, through careful observation of the features and mechanisms of each structure, a clear distinction can be drawn. The earliest examples of Slave Societies in Colonial America are found in Virginia, which specialized almost entirely in tobacco production throughout the 18th century. Fundamentally, tobacco was the epitome of a cash crop - it was grown primarily for export, often on very large plantations that demanded an abundance of field labor. In Slave Societies, many enslaved people would often live together in close quarters, under a system where slaveowners possessed complete legal control over their laborers, while slaves held no rights at all.…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In antiquity the slave was of the same race as his master and often, his superior in education and enlightenment. Only freedom kept them apart; freedom once granted, they mingled easily.8…

    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the beginning the white colonists thought that the Native Americans were friendly and helped others. They accepted the Native Americans and the colonists got involved with trades with them. They wanted to convert them into Christians, but the Native Americans refused. Eventually this made the colonists angry; this is when they started hating each other. The confrontations between is why English also disliked other race, and thought all people of color were bad people. Although, not all Native Americans disagreed with the white colonist, some embraced the English culture, because they wanted wealth and the strong military on their side.…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox, written by Edmund S. Morgan, shows how slavery can be paradoxically used to show the history of America and the rise of freedom for Americans.…

    • 670 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery was a major mercantile in ancient Rome. In terms of economic value, slaves can be consider as an important commodity for the Romans, as its demand were high enough. Thus, in every three Roman households have used slaves' labor. On other hand, there were two types of slave, the white-collar and blue-collar slave. The labor forces of those slaves was an integral to the overall economy of Rome as without them plantation farms left uncultivated and unproductive and major businesses will not flourish without those slaves, who work as accountant and managers, that ran them (Classic page website, n.d).…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Roman Republic were two classes of non-slave people, Patricians and Plebeian (2014). They didn't have the same rights, however Plebeian do have some rights (they were not slaves). These two classes have differences in political and economical fields, and this in turn led to plebeian revolt. Body Patricians and Plebeian joined together in order to overthrow the king, and after that new laws were created. Unfortunately, these laws was good only for Patricians, so most power fell in the hands of patricians.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slavery was a core component of Rome. Rome had always been a warring civilization, and was one of the reasons it became so successful. Agriculture was not a good option when it came to actually living in Rome, so the only other option was to go to war and either bring back wealth or conquer others in more sustainable regions to import the food they grew. A byproduct of all this conquering and warring was: slaves. Most men in Rome worked as professional soldiers and because of this, they would farm in the spring, go off to war, and then come back to reap their harvest in the late summer. While they were away, slaves could keep Rome going with no added pay needed. This allowed more money to go right back into conquering and warring.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plautus Pseudolus Essay

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. With reference to either Petronius’ Satyricon or Plautus’ Pseudolus discuss what we can we learn about slavery in Roman culture from literary representations of slaves. Be sure to take into consideration the comic nature of these texts, as well as the fact that they were written for the enjoyment of free Roman citizens.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery in Ancient Rome was visually different than that of modern forms. Slavery in Rome was not based on the race of the person as it was in more recent times but on if you were an enemy of the empire. Slavery was vital to the economic growth and in the continuance of the expansion of the empire. Even though slavery was fundamental to the Roman economy it was an abusive and degrading institution in which there were few ways to get out. The conditions in which slaves of the Roman Empire had to endure were harsh to the point that they were inhumane but were deemed suitable by society.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Distinct pattern of slavery emerged in the North American regions of New England, the Mid Atlantic and the Chesapeake area, the Souths Stern Seaboard and the lower Mississippi Valley. The differences among these five geographical areas forced a measure of diversity into American slavery so that there is no single black slave experience that emerges today. The two demographic experience factors shared by slave’s experience of coming to the new world directly from capture on the African continent, versus the seasoned slave experience of having labored in the Caribbean before arriving on the mainland. As the population of African slaves increased their progeny became American born creoles, a multiracial mix of African, European and Indian ethnicity.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article, many masters who were raised in the midst of slave populations, treated their African American like they were a bunch of ignorant without a care of their feelings or sympathies of their poor lives forcing slaves to obey.…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slaves endured slavery and discrimination with leisure time activities and slaves churches. Slaves were tortured for almost the whole day with barely any time to rest. Their fingers feel numb, their eyes feel tired, and their legs feel broken. They worked without pay. They started to work in the morning until dawn. The men had to work harder than the women. The women worked as housemaids, cooks, babysitters, and doctors. The slaves were living in dilapidated huts and hoses. Every Time the slaves disobeyed, they faced extreme torture. They were sometimes used as a horse to plow the field.…

    • 198 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays