If you live in Ancient ages, will you buy some slaves?

[Spike]

Well, this doesn't meant to support slavery, but I told you, this is ancient ages. I got this idea after reading much about slavery in ancient ages.

But this time, for the references' sake, that practice would be more like in Classical ages (roman-greek, east asian, and middle eastern slavery system, not racially based). And mind you, this time, the average "free men / citizen" will have at least a personal slave per family (more like a maidservant today) - and assume you have the money.

I must admit that if Slavery was legalized again, I may bought a slave or two to help with household chores, just like maids, but cheaper - just need to give them proper food and basic stuffs and it was ok. Maybe some of you would say I'm cruel inhuman monster, but mind you, in ancient ages, sometimes, it's far better becoming slaves than end up dying of hunger.

what about you?

[Khassaki]

Well, this doesn't meant to support slavery, but I told you, this is ancient ages. I got this idea after reading much about slavery in ancient ages.

But this time, for the references' sake, that practice would be more like in Classical ages (roman-greek, east asian, and middle eastern slavery system, not racially based). And mind you, this time, the average "free men / citizen" will have at least a personal slave per family (more like a maidservant today) - and assume you have the money.

I must admit that if Slavery was legalized again, I may bought a slave or two to help with household chores, just like maids, but cheaper - just need to give them proper food and basic stuffs and it was ok. Maybe some of you would say I'm cruel inhuman monster, but mind you, in ancient ages, sometimes, it's far better becoming slaves than end up dying of hunger.

what about you?

Slaves aren't cheap unless they are kidnapped or POWs from other societies. A local person who sells themselves into slavery because of a debt means you have to taken on their debt to meet the contract.

[Logios]

In that setting my household would most probably would own some slaves. I am quite sure though that most slaves where inherited or born into serving their master families. Actual organized slave trade came later when the need for manual labor on the plantations in the new world arose.

[Exarch]

judging by HBO's Rome a slave could be even better off than your average freeman;

i'd have a bevy of slaves to serve my my wine and feed grapes and bring on the dancing girls <claps>

and let's not get into the sedan chairs, the late night footrubs, the clean villas etc etc

of course having a bevy of slaves means u gotta hire a slavemaster as well and who's to say the slavemaster won't try to your favourite handmaiden?

[Erwin Rommel]

judging by HBO's Rome a slave could be even better off than your average freeman;

i'd have a bevy of slaves to serve my my wine and feed grapes and bring on the dancing girls <claps>

and let's not get into the sedan chairs, the late night footrubs, the clean villas etc etc

of course having a bevy of slaves means u gotta hire a slavemaster as well and who's to say the slavemaster won't try to your favourite handmaiden?

Would you prefer eunuchs?

[Exarch]

Would you prefer eunuchs?

an excellent suggestion; eunuchs were reputed to be loyal even as they amassed great wealth and gorged themselves and played power politics behind their master's backs.

won't hire a male slavemaster, and maybe will only have two maid slaves for one to do clean up chores and one to do the cooking

well i'm thinking what would be my profession in ancient rome? surely plantation owner means u need slaves to tend the crops or gladiator school owner like batiatus means u need muscle to keep things in line.

what was it thomas jefferson was saying about his slaves and raping them to produce more slave children?

[Spike]

what was it thomas jefferson was saying about his slaves and raping them to produce more slave children?

really? how could he do that?

[Spike]

of course having a bevy of slaves means u gotta hire a slavemaster as well and who's to say the slavemaster won't try to your favourite handmaiden?

I won't hire a male slavemaster, and maybe will only have two maid slaves for one to do clean up chores and one to do the cooking

[basics]

Strageos Lykos,

Like most things in life it all comes down to supply and demand or in modern terms, the market. Possessions have always been a measure of people, a display of ambition and wealth, so I guess that if there was a middle class and upwards, having slaves would be part of that.

Would I then have slaves? Perhaps I would have had I been then what I once was now but having lost everything I would have had to set them free or hand them over to my creditors for their advantage. The point I am trying to make is that as most slaves began as prisoners of war at the market they just became another commodity, another part of what it was to be wealthy.

[Gromovnik]

A child born to the slave woman was considered a slave.

[RO Citizen]

Considering every man would be thought otherwise than we are thought today about human property, then yes, I'd definitely buy slaves if I'd had money, but I would treat them good, whatsoever.

[Juvenal]

Interesting assumptions from the OP.

Given my origins, if I lived in Antiquity, then I would probably be a slave.

Anyway, weren't slaves very expensive? Out of reach of most freedmen?

[Stario]

NO, due the the high value I put on freedom personally. Therefore, I would probably consider owning slaves too dangerous.

[Col. Tartleton]

Slave and servant are basically interchangeable in the old days. It was just how things were done. Feudalism was the same thing. We don't call the peasants slaves, but they were. What happened in the Americas was no different. Which I'd why I think it's silly that blacks have developed this unique slave complex as if it wasn't how our white ancestors had been treated.

What happened over here was slavery at it's ugliest, but it shouldn't be considered the norm.

[Stario]

Feudalism was the same thing. We don't call the peasants slaves, but they were...

That is because not all peasants were slaves. For example, freemen (i.e peasants that owned their own business like carpenters, blacksmiths, bakers etc. ), and paid the lord a type of rent for using the lord's land. The other type were villeins.

Villeins lived on the land without paying any rent but in exchange worked on the Lord's land on a certain number of days per week. However, villeins were also allowed to own their own land, and had the privilege of passing on such land through inheritance after their death. Villeins would farm their own lands when not farming the Lords. Villeins also had grazing, field, and building material rights in the area (they did not have the rights to hunt most wild game). Villeins also had political rights and were allowed to form their own memorial courts- there they were allowed to constitute decrees that governed the action of the villagers' etc. With that said the Lord did have considerable control over his peasants, for example he could tax the peasants (not to dissimilar to present day), he had the right to grant marriages, and held absolute rights in establishing punishments for various offences with regards to matters not appropriate to the memorial courts. One disadvantage was that villeins could not leave the lands of their Lord without permission from the Lord. The only other way to leave is to marry a freeman or running away and living in a town for an extended period (usually 1 year), to earn your freedom; although this course involved the loss of land and agricultural livelihood.

Slaves on the other hand owned no land, had no political rights, worked for the lord exclusively, and survived exclusively on the Lords on donations. Further, escapee slaves if caught could be beaten/killed.

[Col. Tartleton]

Yes, but you see my point though. People have treated each other like crap forever. Human rights are granted as charity by the strong to the weak. Being poor isn't really any different from being a slave when the rich made up laws willy nilly.

[The Despondent Mind]

I would certainly buy hundreds of slaves to work on my fields .

[Taiji]

I suppose I may well be a slave myself, and in which case the answer would be no.

[Exarch]

those among you with a burning wish to lose your virginities would get your wish as a slave;
imagine getting used and abused by your Roman Master until he gets bored of you and decides to assign you kitchen duties

[Count of Montesano]

I'd prefer to hire servants on a part-time basis rather than have slaves, as I'd always be nervous about when they might revolt and murder me in my sleep. As far as thoughts on personal freedom goes, the modern me is completely repulsed at the idea of slavery. But I probably wouldn't have those same notions of freedom in an ancient society. For one, all women and children would be de facto slaves. I would have grown up knowing that my father was master of the house and that he could do almost whatever he wanted to me short of murder. Child protective services wouldn't come save me if daddy broke my arm or scourged me for not cleaning my room. I'd also know that there's no such thing as the Geneva Convention and that my enemies would be just waiting for any chance to come in and enslave me. In that brutal world, I think I would at least have a morally ambiguous attitude towards slavery, seeing it as a necessary evil.

Oh, and many ancient philosophers saw slavery as a moral alternative to outright genocide, which is what many barbarian peoples practiced.