Importance of Slavery in Rome - Case Study Example

Importance of Slavery in Rome 2 April Importance of Slavery in Rome 0 Background Information Rome started out as a very small community that largely depended on agriculture about fifteen miles from the Mediterranean Sea. The community had a monarchical system of leadership and was thus considered stable. Later on, Rome became very powerful, conquering various neighboring territories that ended up with the establishment of the Roman Empire.1 The making of the empire resulted from the expansion of the Rome territory in areas of Italy and other regions outside Italy with most being along the Mediterranean strip. Rome is regarded to be one of the five major slave societies in history with others including the Ancient Egypt and Greece. Typically, Rome sourced most of its slaves from areas outside its territory especially those that it had conquered in wars. However, it has also been observed that the art of slavery had long been in existence since the early inception stages of the territory’s development. The growth of slavery, however, was observed as the empire grew with thousands of slaves being brought in from battlefields where the Romans soldiers sent back the defeated soldiers and their families to Rome. Additionally, it was observed that during this time that the demand for slaves grew with virtually all aspects of the society embracing slavery as an acceptable practice. These saw the government use slaves for most of its structural work such as roads construction and other public services. Additionally, Christian churches were seen as embracing the practice as well with some churches seeking services of slaves.2 Slave trade increasingly gained popularity as a booming business in Rome as the demand for slaves continued to soar (Bradley, Slaves and Masters, 53). 2.0 Ways through which slaves were acquired As earlier mentioned, slaves to Rome were primarily acquired through conquering of other jurisdictions especially those lying along the neighboring Mediterranean strip. This included areas such as Macedonia, Carthage and Greece among others which were later incorporated into the Roman Empire. Other areas that were annexed and made part of the empire later on included Spain, Corsica, Sardinia, Egypt, Tunisia and Sicily among other parts of the Northern Africa. These areas served as sources of slaves for the Rome Empire as well.3 In some cases, slaves were sourced from within the Rome Empire and the larger Italy as well. This took place through ways such as kidnap of residents such as the abandoned children and the poor in the society. Additionally, the government would also convert the people who were unable to pay their taxes to slaves. In some cases, the poor in the society would occasionally sell off their elder children into slavery in order to accumulate some wealth. The prices of slaves differed in the slave markets with slaves who were deemed to possess certain skills such as medicine or culinary skills highly regarded and thus more expensive. Once the slaves had been purchased by the respective buyers, they were regarded as the property of those buyers. This left the slaves with no right and only lived under the mercies of their masters. The slaves also had no rights such as the freedom of movement or citizenship meaning they could not vote as well. Earlier in the history of Rome, the masters had the absolute control over their slaves and could even kill them without having to face the laws. To most, slaves were only properties meant to serve and who could become enemies if allowed a large measure of freedom (Bradley, Slavery and Society, 37). Life as a slave was described to be much of unbearable especially due to the tag as the property of their owners. In most cases, their lives were characterized by harsh living conditions that entailed jobs such as mining (lead, silver, gold and tin among others) and working on farms while the skilled slaves were tasked with roles such as weaving, teaching, medicine and accounting among others. In most of these roles, slaves were not paid although, in other cases, they were paid peanuts that they would save and use the proceedings to buy their freedom. The process of buying the freedom was referred to as manumission.4 3.0 Manumission Manumission is simply defined as the ability of the slaves to regain freedom. It was not a common practice during the slave trade era, and thus the fact that it was being practiced in Rome facilitates the differentiation of the Empire from other parts of the world at the time. Manumission was a clear indicator of the open nature of the slavery practice in Rome. Manumission entailed the action of the masters to relieve their slaves of their responsibilities through two ways. One, the slaves were allowed to buy their freedom through accumulating some wealth using the payment that they received in some cases from their masters. Though this process took quite long to attain the freedom, the masters could set the slave free if they were satisfactory in carrying out their responsibilities. In other cases, the masters allowed the old and the weak to gain their freedom back after years of service (Bradley, Slaves and Masters, 97). Manumission was either performed in a formal or informal way. Formal manumission entailed intervention of a magistrate who facilitated the freeing practice for the slaves. Through this way, the freed slave was entitled to various privileges otherwise not attainable by slaves. For example, the law allowed the provision of full rights of citizenship to the children born to the freed slaves after formal manumission. On the other hand, there was the informal manumission that provided relatively fewer rights than the formal type. For example, despite the slaves having gained back their freedom, they did not gain the right of citizenship nor that of their children. Additionally, any properties accrued after the manumission was to go back to the initial master after the freed slave had died. A slave who secured this form of freedom was subsequently referred to as a freedman or a freewoman. Manumission had a positive effect towards the productivity of the slaves and their contribution to their masters. For example, it was noted that the prospects for the possible freedom that came with manumission was a motivating factor to most slaves in that they were more diligent in their work and were also found to be more obedient. It was observed that the slaves’ desire to gain their freedom from slavery served as the protection of the master against vices such as irresponsibility and laziness. In cases where the slaves accumulated assets for use in manumission, the master was left with the assets at the end which they could use to acquire new slaves. There were other ways through which the owners of these slaves employed to ensure that they (masters) got the best out of their slaves. For example, despite the ethnic background of the slaves playing quite a minor role in the selection process of the slaves, there was an evidence of the use of the slaves’ ethnicity in the assignment of roles by the masters. For instance, the Germanics and the Gauls who seemed to be more physical and stronger were used in the more compatible war duties. This was seen to be a nobler job in which any lack of delivery on their side resulted in relegation to more despicable jobs such as mining and other labor-intensive industries. On the other hand, it has been found that Greeks were used to provide medical assistance considering their expertise and background in the field. Other treatment and jobs categorization among the slaves by their masters were determined by the existing circumstances which greatly influenced the productivity of these slaves. 4.0 Ways through which slavery impacted Rome The slavery practice had an enormous impact on the growth of Rome in aspects such as economy and culture. On the contrary, slavery has also been found to have played a role in the failure of the Empire at the end. This section will outline the importance of slavery to the Roman Empire in terms of economic growth, culture and how it impacted the general life of Rome and the Romans.5 4.1 Economic impact of slavery Ancient Rome was a vast land that was very rich in both the natural and human resources. The economy of Rome relied heavily on trade as well as farming with only a little reliance on manufacturing and industrial activities during the slavery age. During this time, slavery was practiced widely especially with the increased wars that the territory engaged in its quest to expand its territories. At some point, the number of the slaves was estimated to account for about twenty percent of the Roman Empires’ population. Expectedly, the increase in number of slaves meant that labor became readily and cheaply available, thereby serving as a factor towards increased economic activities in the empire (Bradley, Slavery and Society, 65). The input of slaves has been recognized to be a major factor that led to the prosperity of Rome since they provided services in most of the hard work. The slaves were responsible for works such as mining, farming and participation in wars among others. The shift of trading methods from barter trade to the use of money (currency) was facilitated by the increased mining of various minerals such as brass, bronze as well as other precious metal coins that became the preferred mode of exchange. This enhanced a more efficient collection of tax by the government as well as making trade exchanges especially across borders more effective due to the portability of the coins among other. The development of more accountable trading methods such as the use of counting boards and other intricate methods were introduced by the skilled slaves who helped to transfer the skills to Rome. The business and commercial nature of the Romans was further supplemented with the skills introduced by the slaves thus enhancing the longevity of the Empire in this era. A notable contribution to the development of the Rome’s economy came from the freedmen who have been found to run shops and other market-related businesses. Additionally, the participation of slaves in wars was also phenomenal in enhancing the strength of the Roman Empire towards acquiring other territories and subsequently increasing the empire’s economic activities. The establishment of urban areas and other business hubs in the Empire was largely facilitated by the inputs of the slaves in roles such as the construction of connecting roads and transportation of goods among other responsibilities. 4.2 Impact of slavery on Rome’s culture As earlier mentioned in the discussion, slaves brought to Rome largely came from areas outside of Italy which was largely through conquering other territories. The incoming slaves carried with them various forms of cultures and expertise that have been regarded to be quite influential in the growth of the Rome Kingdom. For example, various arts such as weaving, medicine, and education systems were introduced by the slaves into the kingdom (Bradley, Slavery and Society, 71). Most of these cultures have been found to have largely originated from the Greek culture, and this has chiefly been attributed to the proximity of the territory to Rome. Other notable contributions observed regarding the impact of slavery infiltration into Rome include nursing, accounting and teaching among others. The collective contribution of these varying cultures made the Rome Kingdom increasingly complete and sufficient leading to the continued prosperity during the slavery era. 4.3 Impact of slavery on the general lives of the Romans With the infiltration of slavery becoming a commonplace in Rome, the number of slaves rose over the centuries resulting in over-supply and subsequent cheap availability. This meant that the slaves’ labor grew cheaper as their demand declined. The increased infiltration of the slaves had a huge impact on the existing Roman citizens especially those on the average to low living scale. As expected, the citizens were more expensive in terms of labor as compared to the slaves, which led to an increased preference for the slaves. This resulted in most of the average and poor Romans losing their employability and thus resorting to overreliance on the governments and politicians. Additionally, most of these citizens lost their lands to the rich in the society as they were displaced, and their lands converted into large-scale estates for use by the rich. In the end, wealth was left in the hands of a few in the society as outcries and abject poverty affected the majority of the citizens. In the end, this led to revolts, both by the poor citizens and the slaves which resulted in the downfall of the Rome Kingdom. 5.0 Conclusion The paper has discussed the slavery practice in Rome and how it was carried out over the years. It is evident that the Roman Empire heavily relied on its slaves and the slave trade in becoming one of the most prosperous kingdoms in history. The slaves were used to contribute to the economic activities such as mining and farming that were key contributors of the kingdom’s economic success. Additionally, the use of the slaves in the kingdom’s expansion activities through warfare has also been lauded as an evidence of how much the role of slaves remains to be a key factor in the success of the empire. In conclusion, the discussion has found out that the infiltration of the slaves into the economic system of Rome affected the living conditions of the Romans citizens who later led a revolt leading to the downfall of the kingdom. Works Cited Bradley, Keith R. Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire: A Study in Social Control. Bruxelles: Latomus, 1984. Print. ---. Slavery and Society at Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996. Print. Read More