Tag: Chattel

I wrote an essay titled “Slavery in Greece and Rome as a Parallel to New World Slavery” which explored the reality that chattel slavery existed as a reality in Greco-Roman societies long before the developed of racial chattel slavery in the Americas. The point that I made is that the two...

Chattel slavery’s name should tell you it’s ancient. The Old French chatel comes from Latin capitalis, meaning “of the head”. Chattel referred to movable property in general—the word “cattle” also comes from capitalis. In ancient Rome, sl...