Roman Slavery Research Paper

SLAVERY IN ROME

"A person who is forced to work for another, usually without pay is called a slave and slavery is the use of slaves to get work done" (Wikipedia). The institution of slavery is as old as civilization. The muscles of slaves built many nations and empires. In ancient civilizations, slaves were usually war captives. But what kinds of people were enslaved, and why? Who has enslaved? What the rights did slaves have? How could slaves gain freedom? The answers different from one society to another. The Roman society has different answers for those questions, from beginning of slavery to the rights available for the slaves, those answers worth examining because they provide us interesting information about Roman civilization. The
Roman society has different answers for those questions, from beginning of slavery to the rights available for the slaves, those answers worth examining because they provide us interesting information about Roman civilization.

In Roman society, most Romans worked their own small farms in early years of Rome. The Punic Wars changed Roman society dramatically, as Romans began enslaving enemy captives. These slaves were put to work, making large plantations possible and profitable. These changes made the Roman Republic a slave-based society. "Rome had rigid social classes that were as ancient as roman custom. Some families had special inherited religious or ceremonial rights and responsibilities. The senate was able to maintain its monopoly on State prerogatives because it had certain religious rights and responsibilities, probably inherited from the early Kingship system that only the nobility (especially the Senate itself) could observe. This included the religious rituals involved in appointing Consuls or other state functionaries, and even in declaring war or signing treaties. These arguments were usually effective in keeping the masses from assuming more power for themselves." Then, slavery was normal, even normative social institution. With the end of the 2nd Punic War through the 4th century CE, slave ownership became common in the Roman citizenry. Slave owning was a part of roman culture from Rome's earliest times. But basically it became widespread after the wars of imperial expansion. But the question is how did people become slave? People could become slaves for a number of reasons. But it is necessary to know this; the color of people's skin wasn't making them slaves. There were slaves both black and white. People became slaves often after wars, being war captures and their families. So many people who had once been free later became slaves. Another way many people became slaves was by getting into debt. If you owed somebody money and you could not pay it, he or she could make you a slave and sell you to get the money. Sometimes free people sold their children into slavery, because they needed money and could not afford to take care of their children. Sometimes people sold themselves into slavery, because they could not feed themselves any other way. And if your mother was a slave, then you were automatically a slave also - even if your father was free. There were strict rules about slavery and how a person could be set free.
It was possible for states to ransom their citizens, captured as booty during war.
It was also possible for enslaved people to be freed by proclamations by rulers, due to some historical or recent issue. But for most slaves, there were great restrictions on how they could become free. For example, when a slave-owner was brought to trial for an offence, he or she couldn't set any slaves free. Free people couldn't be tortured under interrogation to reveal the truth. Slaves could be tortured and questioned under duress, thought so an accused person's slaves were often tortured in an effort to establish the truth about a situation. Slaves had no basic rights. And if they attempted to run away, they could be tired and punished for stealing their owner's property-themselves. Of course, slave revolts were very common. One very famous revolt was led by a former gladiator named Spartacus, who wondered through Italy with an army of 90.000 freed slaves in the dying days of the Republic. His revolt was put down by Crassus, a member of the First Triumvirate that tired to take over the Republic. There was naturally only one way to deal with this kind of threat to the power of the land-owners and the rich. Revolts and social unrest were almost always put down with brutal force. These violent uprisings were similar to the insurrections of the poor masses in many countries today. This violence afflicts all nations, from Africa to Asia to North America. Whole populations are economically or
politically enslaved to a tiny aristocracy, impractical reality if not in name. Being slave meant that complete break of all familial ties; language, custom, environment.
The working lives of slaves were depended on their owner's economical power. A rich citizen could have lots of slaves and gave them different jobs to do. But citizens who weren't so rich could have one or two slave and because of this, those slaves had to do all the jobs. Slaves used in mines and galleys as labor. They also sold to gladiatorial schools and they might live longer than the formers. There were farm slaves too who were under the authority of bailiffs who were managing the farms. The other type of slavery was household slavery. Slaves of elite families in Roma could benefit from the greatest standard of living. That kind of slaves could enjoy food, clothing and living spaces of significantly lower quality then free members of the family. There was a big difference between farm slaves and household slaves; household slaves had more comfortable life than farm
slaves. In houses which had lots of slaves in it, were hierarchical organization of slave labor. In this kind situation, it was possible for slaves to progress from one job to another requiring greater training skill.