Download The Romans - Slaves

The Romans - Slaves
A slave's life was hard. Slaves were usually
prisoners captured in war, but some were people
who had been kidnapped in Italy.
Slaves were sold at a slave-market. They were put
on show, naked, with a notice around their necks.
anyone who had enough money could buy them. Once sold they were
the property of their new owner and had to work for no money.
Sometimes a rich man would have as many as 400 slaves.
Some slave owners beat their slaves and slaves that ran away could
be killed. Slaves could not argue with their masters, they had to do
exactly as they were told or else they would be punished. If a slave
killed his master then all the other slaves in the household would be
killed.
Both men and women were sold as slaves and
young boys were the most expensive slaves to
buy. Some slaves were well educated, especially
those from Greece, and they would be used to
teach the children of the house.
Women slaves would be used as hairdressers,
dressmakers, cooks and servants for rich women.
Other slaves worked in small workshops making leather or silver
goods or pots and pans.�
The slaves who had the hardest lives were those who
were put to work in the mines. They had to spend long
hours underground in hot, cramped conditions. The
mines were also unsafe and often slaves were killed in
accidents. Farmers used slaves to do the hardest work
on their farms like digging and ploughing.
Some slaves were called public slaves; they worked for Rome. Their
job was to build roads and other buildings and to repair the aqueducts
that supplied Rome with fresh water. Other public slaves worked as
clerks and tax collectors for the city.
Although they, and other slaves, would be killed if they ran away,
many did try to escape. However, this was very difficult because they
had no one to help them and many of them did not speak Latin.
Spartacus was a famous Roman slave who did manage
to escape and form a group of slaves who defeated the
Roman army in battle. However, their success did not
last for long as the army managed to stop more slaves
from joining Spartacus and killed those that had survived
the battle.
1. Roman slaves had an easy life.
2. Slaves were sold at the slave market.
3. Slaves were the property of their owner.
4. Slaves were paid a wage
5. Slaves that ran away could be killed.
6. Young boys were the cheapest slaves.
7. Working in the mines was the easiest job for a slave.
8. Public slaves worked for Rome.
9. It was easy for slaves to escape because they spoke Latin.
10. Spartacus was a famous slave.