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Slavery Influence On Slavery

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The sustenance of ancient Roman socioeconomic life was dependent on slavery, as slaves served as the backbone of the economy and were a source of status and wealth for their masters. By owning slaves, masters were empowered in society and able to accumulate great amounts of wealth, as slaves were considered property. Slaves also filled a wide variety of roles in the Roman workforce, making their unpaid labor essential to a balanced economy. All in all, Roman economy and society would not have functioned effectively without the presence and enforcement of slavery. Slave labor was used commonly in almost all occupational fields to the point where ancient Roman economy relied on it. No divisions existed between the work done by slaves and the work done by free people, with the exception of military service (Strayer, 206.) This meant that slave labor was a present force in nearly all sectors of the Roman economy. With the absence of slaves, each sector would have been unable to be as financially productive as they were. The lack of distinction between labor done by slaves and labor done by free people also draws attention to the simple normalization of slavery as an essential component of the Roman economy. Because of this, slaves could hold positions of great economic importance. A prime example of this can be seen in De Re Rustica, where the heavy responsibilities of a vilica, a female overseer slave, are described in detail (Doc H.) By placing slaves into roles requiring

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