Slaves of rome free#

It is important to state, however, that this does not mean racism was absent from Roman slavery.

Slaves of rome free#

Whilst enslaved people in the Roman period were, as in the transatlantic slave trade, viewed as socially and economically inferior to free citizens, they were not necessarily viewed as racially inferior (Watson 1987, 3). Roman society had differing moral justifications of slavery from those of the transatlantic trade. The type of segregation produced by the transatlantic trade did not therefore exist (Bradley 1988, 478). Many Romans owned people of the same race as themselves (Bradley 1988, 477-478).ДЇigure 1: A master beating an enslaved person who appears to be of the same race. In contrast to the transatlantic trade, there was a notable lack of racial distinction between enslaved person and master. Enslaved people could have come from as far as Britannia or the Balkans, or as near as the city of Rome itself (Bradley 1988, 478). What one can say for certain is that the range of ethnic backgrounds evident in Roman life was reflected in slavery. Slavery, rather than being restricted to the owning and trading of people along racial lines, should be seen as a much wider concept.ДЇirstly, it should be said that providing an accurate breakdown of the diversity of RomeвЂ™s enslaved peoples is difficult. To understand slavery in other historical contexts, including the Roman period, it is necessary to challenge this assumption. Consequently, the word вЂњslaveryвЂќ has become deeply associated with racism and beliefs of white supremacy. In Western discourse, the transatlantic slave trade is unavoidable when discussing slavery in both modern and ancient history (Alston 2011, 1). The post-abolition world, however, almost unanimously views the practice as morally wrong. Slavery, for many civilisations throughout human history, has been an inescapable fact. Here, I seek to highlight these common misconceptions and bring the true nature of slavery in Ancient Rome to the fore. There is, however, a disconnect between the general readerвЂ™s interpretation of Roman slavery and its known realities. Consequently, the topic of slavery in the Roman Empire has been one of interest to modern Roman historians. Enslaving people, owning and trading them, was integral to RomeвЂ™s economy as well as its social structure and thus it can undoubtedly be described as a вЂњslave societyвЂќ. In addition to the murder and forced subjugation of a countless number of people, one of RomeвЂ™s greatest crimes against humanity was the widespread practice of slavery. A predilection for violence is visible all the way from RomeвЂ™s distant origins up to its eventual demise ( Livy.1.7 ). That the city was reportedly founded on the fratricide of Remus by his brother Romulus is revealing. Like all of historyвЂ™s great empires, the existence of the Roman Empire, and all its grandeur and dominance came at a great humanitarian cost. student in Ancient History at the University of Kent. The most famous revolt was led by Spartacus who was a slave in the gladiator pens.This monthвЂ™s post has been written by Harrison Kavanagh, a M.A. Those not so fortunate, by comparison, were sent to work on the farms, on ships, in the mines and mills, and in the Into the homes of wealthy patricians to do the housework. Slaves without special skills were sometimes brought Skilled slaves were allowed to earn money and keep it. Greek slaves especially were in high demand because they were well educated. Slaves with skills or education worked as teachers, accountants, doctors, engineers, craftsmen, and served in the homes of the wealthy. Slave children could be adopted into a Roman family, and were then treated like any other Roman child. Slaves were considered property and had no legal rights. The Romans had so many slaves that at times the slaves outnumbered the citizens in Rome. You were kicked out of your family for whatever reason, you might be forced into slavery having no other way to survive. If found guilty of a crime, you might find your punishment was to be a slave. But anyone from a newly conquered land could be made a slave. The Romans kept people they conquered, mostly the soldiers and women, as slaves for a while. There were many ways people became a slave inДЄncient Rome. Wealthy Roman might have as many as 400 or 500 slaves! That's because slaves did everything in the Roman world. Slaves were an important part of Roman life.