Chapter 5: Greco-Roman Slavery

Slavery was much more prominent in Greco-Roman civilization that it was in either India or China. During second wave civilization, slavery was often a result of war and conquest. I think that is the most obvious reason as to why there were so many more slaves in the Greco-Roman empires. After the destruction of Carthage, Rome took 55,000 slaves. We’re just talking about the fall of Carthage. People from modest means all the way to the top had slaves. Beyond that, there is also the matter of the economy. The economies of India and China were not reliant on slave labor. Greco-Roman economies on the other hand were heavily reliant upon it. A part of this was the highly structured caste system of India. The lower castes were already carrying out the majority of hard labor. India also had laws to protect the rights of slaves. Owners could not abandon slaves in their old age as was common-place in Greece. Laws to protect the rights of slaves disincentivized their use in India (Strayer, 2016 p. 200-206). 

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