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There is a variety of reasons which applied severally or singly, according to the use of the slave. A non-exhaustive lis is: 1. It provided cheap labour. 2. It provided specialised labour for employments where other peoples were more adept, eg sculpting, teaching Greek language and culture. 3. It saved Romans having to do the more noxious, menial and dangerous tasks eg mining, sheepherding, agricultural labouring. 4. It expanded the workforce available. 5. It allowed households to be run with trusted slaves rather than hiring in dubious locals. 6. It could be a good investment, as children of slaves became the property of the owner. 7. When they freed slaves, either in their will, or when slaves bought their freedom, they remained clients of the family, and were useful to assist the family financially and politically. 8. Some families, tired of raising children who ran wild and disgraced them, would select a trusted slave as their heir.

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16y ago

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