We continued taking notes on Rome.
General information
- Ancient Rome depended on slaves
- Most slaves were foreigners and unlike most places it did not depend on race
- Slaves worked everywhere
- Slaves were captured soldiers, children of slave parents
- Not uncommon for desperate Romans to sell their children into slavery
- When freed, they could work the same jobs as the Plebeians.
- People thought that slaves were OK to have.
- Debt slavery was common, where a person could work off a debt by becoming a slave for a certain period of time, depending on the debt
- Some slave were forced to become gladiators
- Saturnalia- a Christmas for the slaves in which the slaves and masters switched places
- During this celebration the master preformed all the task a slave would
- It was a way that masters would show appreciation and respect for slaves
Jobs
- Manual labor
- Domestic services
- Could be highly educated and skilled, worked as teachers and physicians
- Slaves task include working on farms-produced the food and materials the cities depended on
- Businesses-managed shops for store owners, in charge of shopkeeping, lending of money and selling of merchandise
- Public buildings- worked on aqueduck systems, built roads and bridges and arenas
Treatment
- Testimonies in court would only be accepted if the slave was tortured so the master could not persuade the slave to give a false testimony
- Depending on the master, the slave was treated accordingly
- Some slaves were treated like sons and daughters by their masters
- Some favored slaves had many privileges and comforts
- They were whipped, branded, and mistreated.
- Owners could kill slaves for no reason without punishment.
- Some slaves were treated better and could earn their freedom easier than others, for example a Greek slave working in a rich man’s house was treated with respect and was spared manual labor
- Slaves could not own land but some had the right to earn money to eventually buy their freedom
- Eventually a law was made where a slave could file a complaint against their master
- Crucifixion was the ultimate punishment for slaves, traitors, and bandits.
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