Explain the Economic and Social Contribution of Slaves and Freedmen to Roman Society

Rome is an Agrarian society; its economy is based on agricultural production. Evidently, the majority of the elite invested the majority of their wealth in land. All agricultural industries were driven by slave labor. Elite owned agricultural estates such as large farms and vineyards often have large numbers of slaves working in chain gangs and housed in slave prisons, which were notorious for their severity. An overseer would be chosen among the slaves to run the estate on behalf of the master. Slave breeding was encouraged on rural estates. From Columella, "... a mother of three children received exemption from work, a mother of more, her freedom as well." …