Roman SlavesBY: JACK

Who are Slaves?

Slaves are people who are frequently captured in battle and sent back to Rome to be sold as slaves.

Abandoned children could also be raised as slaves. If a family was in desperate need of money, the law stated that

fathers could sell their children into slavery.

Runaway slaves

Rome forbade the harboring of fugitive slaves, and professional slave catchers were hired to hunt down runaway slaves.

Posters were posted with precise descriptions of the escaped slaves and offered large rewards.

If caught, fugitives would be punished by being whipped, burnt with iron, or even killed.

Those who lived were branded on the forehead with the letters “FUG” for fugitives.

How did Slaves Gain Freedom

Once a slave was bought, often they would be a slave for life. The most common way for a slave to buy freedom was to

somehow make the amount of money they were sold for. They could eventually gain freedom and citizenship, Masters

often freed loyal slaves in gratitude for their faithful service, Conditions for slaves in Rome gradually improved, although slaves were treated cruelly in the countryside.

How was slavery bad for Rome?

Even though slavery was advantageous to Rome, it was also disastrous in many ways.

The manipulation, the degrading, and the dependency of slaves played some role in the fall of Roman civilization. The cruel and inhumane treatments which some Romans gave their slaves partly led to its downfall. For example, the condition in which slaves were kept after being captured was very humiliating.

When slaves were first captured, they were brought to auction blocks stripped naked as the buyers examined and placed cards on the slaves that listed all the qualifications of the slave. Other ways in which masters degraded their slaves was by selling them into prostitution, especially, the females.

Questions

How did slaves gain freedom? What happened to runaway slaves?

Answers

Slaves gained freedom by making the amount of money they were sold for.

Runaway slaves were either burnt with iron, whipped, or killed.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery

http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-life/roman-slaves.htm

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_slaves.htm

http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/slavery.htm