Slavery in the Roman World

Slavery in the Roman World

• Roman slaves had no status.
• Roman slaves did not have: liberty, rights, the ability to leave employment, the choice of what to do, the power of life and death, family life and marriage, their own property, and their own name.
• Slaves were not distinguished by race or skin color.
• There was no movement to abolish slavery, indicating it was widely accepted.
• Slaves were considered part of a Roman familia because "familia" meant "household," and slaves were part of the household.

How Were People Enslaved?

• Romans acquired most of their slaves during the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. through war.
• In 70 A.D., Romans enslaved Jews after a war.
• If sold on the Greek isle of Delos, slaves were likely captured by bandits or pirates and brought to the island.
• Romans wanted more slaves after the destruction of Carthage and Corinth, according to Strabo.
• Vernae are home-born slaves whose status was determined by their mothers' status.
• A foundling made a slave would have to prove they were a freeborn Roman to become free.
• Romans might choose to be slaves if they were in great debt or poverty.
• Rome's two slave markets were in the Forum Romanum and Campus Martius.

The Life of a Slave

• Columella indicates farm slaves were kept chained in the farm prison.
• Columella saved women to be freed sometimes after they had raised several children. Greek slaves were often teachers, doctors, and librarians, a contrast to Black slaves in the South where education was eventually forbidden.
• Pliny felt bad for his sick slave because he knew the slave loved to read but was unable to.
• Vedius Pollio punished a slave who broke a crystal cup during dinner with Emperor Augustus by throwing him to the lampreys as food.
• Martial mourned his salve who died because he cared for her.
• Slaves did not want to be sent to the mines.
• Diodorus Siculus noted that in the mines, slaves were never allowed to pause to rest, were beaten until they resumed work, and could never do anything else with their lives.

Seeking Freedom

• Seneca stated "You have as many enemies as you have slaves", meaning that slaves hate their masters, so will be there enemies.
• The Senate decided against requiring slaves to wear uniform clothing because it would give them a sense of unity and could encourage a revolt.
• Three slave revolts took place during the Roman Republic in Sicily and southern Italy.
• The most famous revolt was led by Spartacus from 73 to 71 B.C.
• Slaves not killed in battle during Spartacus' revolt were crucified along the road from Capua to Rome.
• It is unknown if Spartacus wanted to abolish slavery or just win freedom, because there is no evidence documenting their motivation, only documents from the enslavers' point of view.
• Small acts of resistance by slaves included working inefficiently or stealing.
• Besides professional slave hunters, slave owners looked to friends for help in returning runaways.
• Dionysius committed the crime of stealing a large number of books against Cicero.
• Three things that could happen to a runaway slave that was caught included branding on the face, wearing a collar, and death.

Manumission

• Wealthy households would regularly free slaves.
• Slaves could buy their freedom with money known as a peculium.
• Manumissiō means: Manus: Hand, Missus: Sent
• A slave's new status when freed was Libertus or Liberta.
• Male slaves took the first two names of their master, with their slave name as their third, helping to further the connection between freedperson and former master.
• Manumission gave slave owners incentive for their slaves to work harder, could use the money to buy new slaves.
• A Roman could free never more than 100 slaves.
• Masters would also use the occasion of Saturnalia to free slaves.
• The likelihood of farm or mine slaves being freed was extremely small.