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Book chapter 1321 views

‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’

Tracey Rihll

Slave Systems: Ancient and Modern, Pages: 127 - 147

Swansea University Author: Tracey Rihll

Abstract

This paper develops a general model of slavery and technology in ancient Greece and Rome. Seven parameters are identified: the skill or care level of the work being performed; the motivation provided to the workers; the technical education of the workers; the material or cash capital investment requ...

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Published in: Slave Systems: Ancient and Modern
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2008
Online Access: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/classical-studies/ancient-history/slave-systems-ancient-and-modern
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa633
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last_indexed 2018-02-09T04:27:24Z
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spelling 2013-11-07T12:16:52.0929990 v2 633 2011-10-01 ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’ 1bc10e170e481442b544ff38c33c5092 Tracey Rihll Tracey Rihll true false 2011-10-01 ACLA This paper develops a general model of slavery and technology in ancient Greece and Rome. Seven parameters are identified: the skill or care level of the work being performed; the motivation provided to the workers; the technical education of the workers; the material or cash capital investment required by an innovation; the physical and socio-economic benefits of an innovation; the physical and socio-economic risks of an innovation; the physical mobility of skilled workers and transaction costs. As a result of the analysis I argue that slavery was not antithetical to technical progress when the slaves were motivated by reward, especially manumission. I also argue that there was a great deal of technological progress in classical antiquity, and that slavery, which forced people with diverse technical skills and education across linguistic and cultural boundaries, was the main agent of technology transfer and innovation in the ancient world. Book chapter Slave Systems: Ancient and Modern 127 147 Cambridge University Press Cambridge 31 12 2008 2008-12-31 http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/classical-studies/ancient-history/slave-systems-ancient-and-modern Chapter 5. pp. 127-147 COLLEGE NANME Classics COLLEGE CODE ACLA Swansea University 2013-11-07T12:16:52.0929990 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Tracey Rihll 1
title ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
spellingShingle ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
Tracey Rihll
title_short ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
title_full ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
title_fullStr ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
title_full_unstemmed ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
title_sort ‘Slavery and technology in pre-industrial contexts’
author_id_str_mv 1bc10e170e481442b544ff38c33c5092
author_id_fullname_str_mv 1bc10e170e481442b544ff38c33c5092_***_Tracey Rihll
author Tracey Rihll
author2 Tracey Rihll
format Book chapter
container_title Slave Systems: Ancient and Modern
container_start_page 127
publishDate 2008
institution Swansea University
publisher Cambridge University Press
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology
url http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/classical-studies/ancient-history/slave-systems-ancient-and-modern
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description This paper develops a general model of slavery and technology in ancient Greece and Rome. Seven parameters are identified: the skill or care level of the work being performed; the motivation provided to the workers; the technical education of the workers; the material or cash capital investment required by an innovation; the physical and socio-economic benefits of an innovation; the physical and socio-economic risks of an innovation; the physical mobility of skilled workers and transaction costs. As a result of the analysis I argue that slavery was not antithetical to technical progress when the slaves were motivated by reward, especially manumission. I also argue that there was a great deal of technological progress in classical antiquity, and that slavery, which forced people with diverse technical skills and education across linguistic and cultural boundaries, was the main agent of technology transfer and innovation in the ancient world.
published_date 2008-12-31T03:03:17Z
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score 11.036706

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