Italian Merchant From The First Century BC To The Second Century AD

Freedmen appeared in the Monarchy at Rome,but at a small scale.With the frequent wars of foreign countries,the number of slaves was increasing,more and more slaves got their manumission,they could get their freedom in a variety of ways.The freedmen were widely involved in social life.Teachers and doctors were two important occupations,the freedmen were also engaged in occupations such as architects,messengers,secretaries,etc.But the freedmen were not allowed to hold a public office.In economic life,freedmen were also chosen as representatives of the masters and engaged in commercial activities.The involvement of freedmen in business activities was an important phenomenon in Roman society.The business activities of the freedmen were mainly divided into two aspects: urban business and trade activities.Among them,urban business mainly included handmade retail and banking.In the retail industry,freedmen were mainly profited by selling goods at stores.The bakery was a relatively complete category of evidence.In addition,the freedmen also operated laundry shops and shops that sold knives.In the banking industry,the freedmen who were released were mostly private bankers.Their business activities mainly included currency identification and exchange,receiving deposits,lending and organizing auctions.Trade activities mainly included inter-provincial trade and foreign trade.Inter-provincial trade involved trade in cereals,trade in olive oil and wine;foreign trade was with the eastern region.Spices,satin dyes and other items shipped back from the East can bring great wealth to the Romans.A business organization was an alliance of people from the same industry,and a commercial alliance of freedmen existed in Rome.The reasons why the freedmen were engaged in business can be analyzed fromfour aspects.The first was related to the tradition of Rome’s heavy peasant light business.The second was that the freedmen who had been released received the trust and trade-offs of the master.Third,the freedmen themselves had two advantages:on the one hand,they had a large number of people,on the other hand,the freedmen from certain ethnic groups had the gift of doing business.Finally,the development of social economy was also an important reason for the commercial activities of the freedmen.The most obvious feature of the freedmen engaged in commerce was that they linked with their former owner.It was initially supported by the owner from the business.This kind of connection could be divided into two types: part of the freedmen still attached to the owner;part of the freedmen established their own economic links.From the composition of the Roman merchants and the role in commercial activities,the freedmen had an important position.The involvement of freedmen in commercial activities had a dual impact on Rome’s economic development.On the one hand,they promoted the development of the Roman economy.Compared with the aristocratic class,the freedmen had no so-called honors to defend,so they could make the most of their talents and devote themselves to business activities,doing well in business activities.On the other hand,the involvement of freedmen in commercial activities brought certain drawbacks to economic development.Their participation had made the social hierarchy more strict,prevented free people from participating in labor to get paid.In short,the freedmen were an important part of the Roman merchants and played an important role in the commercial activities of Rome.