Slavery and Warfare
In certain periods, a great number of slaves for the Roman market were acquired through warfare. The Roman military brought back captives as the booty of war, and ancient sources cite anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of such slaves captured in each war. These wars included every war of conquest from 177-101 BC, as well as the Social and Samnite wars (91-88 and 82 BC, respectively). The prisoners taken or re-taken after the three Roman Servile Wars (135-132, 104-100, and 73-71 BC, respectively) contributed to this number. The Thracian slave traffic added many more numbers of imported persons, including perhaps the most famous Roman slave of all, Spartacus. Later generations of slaves worshiped the genius of Spartacus.
Piracy has a long history of adding to the slave trade, and the Roman Republic was no different. Piracy was one of the many crises with which the Republic had to contend, at least until 85 BC. In those days, an increase in piracy always led to an increase in slavery.
Read more about this topic: Slavery In Ancient Rome
Famous quotes containing the words slavery and, slavery and/or warfare:
“He was discontented and wasted his life into the bargain; and yet he rated it as a gain in coming to America, that here you could get tea, and coffee, and meat every day. But the only true America is that country where you are at liberty to pursue such a mode of life as may enable you to do without these, and where the state does not endeavor to compel you to sustain slavery and war and other superfluous expenses which directly or indirectly result from the use of such things.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The trouble with our people is as soon as they got out of slavery they didn’t want to give the white man nothing else. But the fact is, you got to give ‘em something. Either your money, your land, your woman or your ass.”
—Alice Walker (b. 1944)
“And God would bid His warfare cease,
Saying all things were well;
And softly make a rosy peace,
A peace of Heaven with Hell.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)