Roman Abolitionism

[DominusNovus]

In the US, much of the abolitionist movement was based not just on the pure righteousness of the cause, but also the objection of many workers (farm and otherwise) of competition of slave labor (esp after Dred Scott). In this, they had something in common with the Populares of the late Roman Republic. I would hardly be the first, after all, to draw a comparison between the Roman Latifundia and Southern Plantations.

So, what if there was an abolitionist - or at least anti-slave - streak to Roman politics? There certainly was a manumission movement that peaked around the time of Augustus, but that was entirely about slave owners choosing to manumit their slaves.

One possibility could be that the Gracchi and/or the successors suggest, rather than trying to break up the vast estates in Italy, they set limits to the number of slaves that a single citizen can own. Or maybe they ban slave labor from the ager publicus (which could benefit rich Senators who could lease out land to citizens who would end up as clients). Maybe something extreme, like making the ownership of slaves a government monopoly, and renting out said slaves (think of prison labor in more recent times).

Or perhaps this actually grows to include an objection to slavery as an institution. That is the least likely, but if the masses are agitating against slavery for economic reasons, and enough of the elite are manumitting their slaves, perhaps such a message could emerge.

 

[SuperSage125]

Abolitionist only came with a religious reasons(zoroastrianism forbade slavery), population reasons(China had very little slaves due to having a massive pop i.e farmers and workers) and industrial reasons, neither of which the Roman's had

 

[SlyDessertFox]

One possibility could be that the Gracchi and/or the successors suggest, rather than trying to break up the vast estates in Italy, they set limits to the number of slaves that a single citizen can own. Or maybe they ban slave labor from the ager publicus (which could benefit rich Senators who could lease out land to citizens who would end up as clients). Maybe something extreme, like making the ownership of slaves a government monopoly, and renting out said slaves (think of prison labor in more recent times).

The Roman glut on slaves in by the late 2nd-early 1st century was at insane levels. Nobody was going to seriously advocate for abolition, or get a decent following while doing so.

 

[ArmageddonZ4747]

Abolitionist only came with a religious reasons(zoroastrianism forbade slavery), population reasons(China had very little slaves due to having a massive pop i.e farmers and workers) and industrial reasons, neither of which the Roman's had

Make Christianity be against slavery from the get go?

 

[DominusNovus]

Perhaps abolition as a goal wouldn’t work, but there certainly was a lot of opposition to slavery taking good Roman jobs.

 

[Neoteros]

Perhaps abolition as a goal wouldn’t work, but there certainly was a lot of opposition to slavery taking good Roman jobs.

Yeah, even then everyone could see that the large latifundia were driving the good old Roman farmer out of a job, and into the sorry life of the proletarius.

Because of this, ironically, the cause of abolition (even just as a philosophical theory) could pick up steam among the most mos maiorum-minded segments of the literate populace, but I doubt we'd see some kind of Roman Lincoln, even many revolting slaves ended up gaining slaves of their own in the aftermath of their (brief) successes; the status of slave was seen as just the lower rung of the social ladder rather than as an abuse, a lower rung people could and did climb out of through means that were widely accepted and recognized.

Now, if those means were to not exist, now that would make such a notion appealing.

 

[DominusNovus]

Notice that I didn’t suggest the Romans would likely abolish slavery itself, but that they might make it economically untenable, at least in italy.

 

[The Ranger]

Being anti slave then would probably be like being anti tech now. Slaves were the technology of those times.