THE TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN ROME AND CHINA

Although slavery existed in most ancient societies, Rome was one of the few in which slave labor became the foundation of the economy. During the frequent wars of the second century B.C.E., large numbers of prisoners were enslaved. The prices of such slaves were low, and landowners and manufacturers found they could compel slaves to work longer and harder than hired laborers. Periodically, the harsh working and living conditions resulted in slave revolts. The following excerpt, from one of several surviving manuals on agriculture, gives advice about controlling and efficiently exploiting slaves.
When the head of a household arrives at his estate, ... he must go round his farm on a tour of inspection on the very same day, if that is possible, if not, then on the next day. When he has found out how his farm has been cultivated and which jobs have been done and which have not been done, then on the next day after that he must call in his manager and ask him which are the jobs that have been done and which remain, and whether they were done on time, and whether what still has to be done can be done, and how much wine and grain and anything else has been produced. When he has found this out, he must make a calculation of the labor and the time taken.
If the work doesn’t seem to him to be sufficient, and the manager starts to say how hard he tried, but the slaves weren’t any good, and the weather was awful, and the slaves ran away, and he was required to carry out some public works, then when he has finished mentioning these and all sorts of other excuses, you must draw his attention to your calculation of the labor employed and time taken. If he claims that it rained all the time, there are all sorts of jobs that can be done in rainy weather—washing wine-jars, coating them with pitch, cleaning the house, storing grain, shifting muck, digging a manure pit, cleaning seed, mending ropes or making new ones; the slaves ought to have been mending their patchwork cloaks and their hoods. On festival days they would have been able to clean out old ditches, work on the public highway, prune back brambles, dig up the garden, clear a meadow, tie up bundles of sticks, remove thorns, grind barley and get on with cleaning.
If he claims that the slaves have been ill, they needn’t have been given such large rations. When you have found out about all these things to your satisfaction, make sure that all the work that remains to be done will be carried out... The head of the household should examine his herds and arrange a sale; he should sell the oil if the price makes it worthwhile, and any wine and grain that is surplus to needs; he should sell any old oxen, cattle or sheep that are not up to standard, wool and hides, an old cart or old tools, an old slave, a sick slave — anything else that is surplus to requirements. The head of a household ought to sell, and not to buy. (Cato the Elder, Concerning Agriculture, bk. 2, second century B.C.E.)

"Cato, the Roman author of that excerpt, was notorious for his stern manner and hard-edged traditionalism, and while he does not represent the approach of all Roman masters—in reality, the treatment of slaves varied widely — he expresses a point of view that Roman society found acceptable. Slavery was far less prominent in ancient China. During the Warring States Period, dependent peasants as well as slaves worked the large holdings of the landowning aristocracy. The Qin government sought to abolish slavery, but the institution persisted into the Han period, although it involved only a small fraction of the population and was not a central component of the economy. The relatives of criminals could be seized and enslaved, and poor families sometimes sold unwanted children into slavery. In China, slaves, whether they belonged to the state or to individuals, generally performed domestic tasks, as can be seen in the following text".

Wang Ziyuan of Shu Commandery went to the Jian River on business, and went up to the home of the widow Yang Hui, who had a male slave named Bianliao. Wang Ziyuan requested him to go and buy some wine. Picking up a big stick, Bianliao climbed to the top of the grave mound and said: “When my master bought me, Bianliao, he only contracted for me to care for the grave and did not contract for me to buy wine for some other gentleman.” Wang Ziyuan was furious and said to the widow: “Wouldn’t you prefer to sell this slave?” Yang Hui said: “The slave’s father offered him to people, but no one wanted him.” Wang Ziyuan immediately settled on the sale contract.
The slave again said: “Enter in the contract everything you wish to order me to do. I, Bianliao, will not do anything not in the contract.” Wang Ziyuan said: “Agreed.” The text of the contract said:The gentleman Wang Ziyuan, of Zizhong, purchases from the lady Yang Hui of Anzhi village in Zhengdu, the bearded male slave, Bianliao, of her husband’s household. The fixed sale [price] is 15,000 [cash]. The slave shall obey orders about all kinds of work and may not argue.
He shall rise at dawn and do an early sweeping. After eating he shall wash up. Ordinarily he should pound the grain mortar, tie up broom straws, carve bowls and bore wells, scoop out ditches, tie up fallen fences, hoe the garden, trim up paths and dike up plots of land, cut big flails, bend bamboos to make rakes, and scrape and fix the well pulley. In going and coming he may not ride horseback or in the cart, [nor may he] sit crosslegged or make a hubbub. When he gets out of bed he shall shake his head [to wake up], fish, cut forage, plait reeds and card hemp, draw water for gruel, and help in making zumo [drink]. He shall weave shoes and make [other] coarse things.
[The list of tasks continues for two-and-a-half pages.] ... He shall be industrious and quick-working, and he may not idle and loaf. When the slave is old and his strength spent, he shall plant marsh grass and weave mats. When his work is over and he wishes to rest he should pound a picul [of grain]. Late at night when there is no work he shall wash clothes really white. If he has private savings they shall be the master’s gift, or from guests. The slave may not have evil secrets; affairs should be open and reported. If the slave does not heed instructions, he shall be whipped a hundred strokes.
The reading of the text of the contract came to an end. The slave was speechless and his lips were tied. Wildly he beat his head on the ground, and beat himself with his hands; from his eyes the tears streamed down, and the drivel from his nose hung a foot long. He said: “If it is to be exactly as master Wang says, I would rather return soon along the yellow-soil road, with the grave worms boring through my head. Had I known before I would have bought the wine for master Wang, I would not have dared to do that wrong.” (Wang Bao, first century b.c.e.).

"This story was meant to be humorous and no doubt exaggerates the amount of work that could be demanded from a slave, but it shows that Chinese slaves could be forced to work hard and engaged in many of the same menial tasks as their Roman counterparts. It also appears that slaves in China were legally protected by contracts that specified and limited what could be demanded of them".

By Richard W. Bulliet-(Columbia University), Pamela Kyle Crossley- (Dartmouth College), Daniel R. Headrick- (Roosevelt University), Steven W. Hirsch- (Tufts University), Lyman L. Johnson- (University of North Carolina—Charlotte) & David Northrup- (Boston College) in the book "The Earth and Its Peoples"- A Global History, Wadsworth (Cengage Learning), U.S.A.,2011, excerpts p.156-157. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

Share this post