Download 100 B.C. Slavery Rome

100 B.C. Slavery Rome One of the main reasons the Roman Empire ran so smoothly was because of the massive amount of slave labor. In 100 B.C., one third of the Roman population was enslaved. Slaves were brought from all over the Mediterranean from Roman­conquered cities. Another Roman Army victory, meant a new shipment of slaves. Roman slaves were bought and sold like property, to the wealthy. Unlike American slaves, Roman slaves were not picked by color, race, or country, but by skill. For example, a Greek scholar could be bought at a high price for his skill and become a teacher to a patrician’s child. Slavery was a key part in Rome’s economic prosperity. Slavery was still a hard amount of work for the slaves, many of whom would work in fields. Slaves had no legal status, and were treated mainly like property. The work a slave did impacted how the slave lived. Slaves that were bought to be gladiators and miners had specifically dangerous jobs. While farm slaves and house slaves had it a bit easier. Slaves were owned by the small portion of rich people in Rome known as patricians. Marriage between slaves really had no legal impact, children born from slaves were the masters property as well. Many slaves would kill their children not to experience the hard life of being a slave. Poor Romans would also sell children to be slaves for the money. There were only two ways for a slave to become a free man or woman in ancient Rome: the first, and less likely method, was to raise as much money as your master bought you for. The second was by master’s decision. Although slavery was hard for many slaves, it helped the Roman Empire to be stable economically, and to perform many jobs for a small price.