Similarity of Roman Slavery to American Based on the Movie Gladiator

Slavery from the movie Gladiator ( 2000 )/ Rome differs from the type of race-based chattel slavery that developed 1,500 years later in america; however, both forms of slavery is also similar in some ways as well. Some of the ways slavery in America and in Rome differs and acts alike are: who were put into slavery, the type of slaves ( what services they provided ), and how slaves helped the economies of America and Rome.

When it came to slavery in Rome, there really wasn’t any racisim involved. Many of the slaves in Rome were Europeans and captives of war. Even though some slaves came from socities that Romans thought were barbarins, there kids still could be relased from slavery and given roman citizenship. But if a slave had a child born in the american slave period, than that child would automatically become a slave to whoever the parents are a slave to.

Slavery in America was very racist because, majority of the slaves in America were African Americans. (White) Europeans would go to the continent Africa and kidnapped Africans, than bring them back to America ( on nasty infected boats) to be forced into becoming slaves. It would have been not only unreasonable but also illegal for a white person to enslave another white person. That itself is another reason why slavery in america was very racist. In America slavery was justified by the color of your skin, while in Rome slavery was justifyed by conquest and law.

Another big difference in slavery from America and Rome was the type of slaves. In Rome unskilled slaves, or those senteced to slavery as punishment worked usually at farms, mines, and mills. Besides the manual labor type of slaves, there were also many slaves that did other services as well. For example, a skilled slave could have been an accountant and/or a physician. The skilled slaves also had a chance at earning money to use for their personal use depending on how good they were. A servus publicus is a type of slave that works for the roman people not owned by a private individual. Their services consist of working in temples and in other public buildings.

In America, slaves were usually only used for agriculture, housekeeping and industrial type purposes. The women that were enslaved by a white man would often bear the white man’s child to add to his slave population as well. Industrial type slaves in America were exposed to the most harm. Mainly because the services they had to do required machinery, and at the time it was new and had a lot of problems with it. The simplest of mistakes could easily lead to the loss of a foot, hand, or even death.

Slavery in the Rome and in America also had similarities. Slavery in Rome helped Rome become a richer place overall, also meaning it helped with the econmey. Rome's main concern was feeding the vast number of citizens, and slaves helped that become possible. Mainly because they had slaves doing labor on farmlands to produce more goods. Slaves was also used as a form of entertainment for Rome as well. One of the biggest forms of entertainment ( the slaves in Rome were used for ) was Gladiator games. Gladiator games are games that consist of people ( slaves ) that fight each other and/or animals for survival. It could be a really taxing life unless you were the best and never lost.

Slavery in America also helped America become a richer place overall, meaning the ecomey was becoming better too. American’s main concern was to earn more profit for themselves, and enslaving people to do free labor was the option most Americans were picking. Not only were slaves used as a form of entertainment for Romens, they were also used for a form of entertainment for Americans too. American’s would have slaves fight each other and/ or animals to the death for entertainment, which is similar to gladiator games. Slave owners would also have slaves box and/or wrestle as a source of entertainment. It really just depended on the way the slave owner was feeling/mood. Some slaves were also put on display for white people to view as a form of entertainment as well. For example, slaves were placed in side shows and circuses.

All in all, slavery in Rome and in America had many differences. From who were put into slavery and the type of slaves ( what services they provided ). But they also had similarities too. One of the similarities was how slaves helped the economies of America and Rome.