Read Online The Roman Guide to Slave Management by Jerry Toner - Free Book Online
Authors: Jerry Toner
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type is put in a position of authority over your estate this can cause speedy and irreparable damage to the fabric of your property.
You must choose a man who has been toughened up by farm work from his infancy, one who has been tested by experience. If you do not own a slave of this type, put in charge a slave who has worked steadily in the labour gangs. Make sure he is not a young man but in his thirties. If he is too young it will reduce his ability to order the other slaves to do things, especially the older slaves who will be reluctant to take their orders from a youth. But he shouldn’t be too old either, as you don’t want him to beunable to keep up with the heavy workload. He should have wide experience of the work on the farm or, if not, he must be something of a perfectionist so that you know he will learn what he needs to know properly. And he will need to know everything because in his position he cannot give orders to those who are teaching him how to do something. It probably doesn’t matter much if he is illiterate so long as he has a good memory. In fact this can bring advantages in that if he cannot read or write then he will be far less able to falsify the accounts.
He should be skilled in animal husbandry, but he should also be in possession, as far as this is possible with a servile character, of a sense of empathy that means he can exercise authority without being either soft or cruel. He should always humour some of the better slaves, at the same time as being able to put up with the worse slaves, so that they will fear his sternness rather than detest his brutality. The best way for him to do this is by being thorough in his own job, which will make it far less likely that his subordinates will do the wrong thing because they will have been well directed. He will also act as an example for them to follow. There is no better way to supervise even the most wretched slaves than by making sure they work hard: make sure the overseer knows that you want him to watch them at all times. And get him to check on their work to see that everything has been done properly. Otherwise you may find that the foreman misses things and will give up on the difficult slaves, when in fact these are the very ones he should be watching most closely.
Incentivise your managers and overseers with bonuses to make them work harder and be more conscientious.Allow them to keep their own money and possessions and let them cohabit with a woman of their choice, so long of course as the partnership is acceptable to you. Having a wife and children will calm them down and give them an even bigger stake in making your household prosper. You will win over your managers and foremen by treating them with a certain degree of respect. If they return the trust you have put in them by performing well, then it is also good to consult them about what needs to be done and by whom. If you do that, they will feel that you are treating them as almost an equal rather than looking down on them as a slave. They can also be motivated by being rewarded with more generous rations of food and clothing and the usual perks one uses to encourage slaves to work harder.
I teach my new managers the following things, which I think helps them to become more honest. (These are mostly well-known sayings and old-fashioned advice but they are all the more excellent for that.) I tell them not to use slaves to do anything except the master’s business. Otherwise, you often find that new managers take advantage of their power by getting their slaves to run around doing errands for them, when the slaves should be working for the benefit of the estate. Managers should not eat unless it is with their underlings and they should eat the same food as them. Nothing is so likely to antagonise a weary slave as seeing his foreman tuck in to some tasty luxury when he himself is being fed plain fare. It also means that the manager will make sure the common bread is made properly,
You must choose a man who has been toughened up by farm work from his infancy, one who has been tested by experience. If you do not own a slave of this type, put in charge a slave who has worked steadily in the labour gangs. Make sure he is not a young man but in his thirties. If he is too young it will reduce his ability to order the other slaves to do things, especially the older slaves who will be reluctant to take their orders from a youth. But he shouldn’t be too old either, as you don’t want him to beunable to keep up with the heavy workload. He should have wide experience of the work on the farm or, if not, he must be something of a perfectionist so that you know he will learn what he needs to know properly. And he will need to know everything because in his position he cannot give orders to those who are teaching him how to do something. It probably doesn’t matter much if he is illiterate so long as he has a good memory. In fact this can bring advantages in that if he cannot read or write then he will be far less able to falsify the accounts.
He should be skilled in animal husbandry, but he should also be in possession, as far as this is possible with a servile character, of a sense of empathy that means he can exercise authority without being either soft or cruel. He should always humour some of the better slaves, at the same time as being able to put up with the worse slaves, so that they will fear his sternness rather than detest his brutality. The best way for him to do this is by being thorough in his own job, which will make it far less likely that his subordinates will do the wrong thing because they will have been well directed. He will also act as an example for them to follow. There is no better way to supervise even the most wretched slaves than by making sure they work hard: make sure the overseer knows that you want him to watch them at all times. And get him to check on their work to see that everything has been done properly. Otherwise you may find that the foreman misses things and will give up on the difficult slaves, when in fact these are the very ones he should be watching most closely.
Incentivise your managers and overseers with bonuses to make them work harder and be more conscientious.Allow them to keep their own money and possessions and let them cohabit with a woman of their choice, so long of course as the partnership is acceptable to you. Having a wife and children will calm them down and give them an even bigger stake in making your household prosper. You will win over your managers and foremen by treating them with a certain degree of respect. If they return the trust you have put in them by performing well, then it is also good to consult them about what needs to be done and by whom. If you do that, they will feel that you are treating them as almost an equal rather than looking down on them as a slave. They can also be motivated by being rewarded with more generous rations of food and clothing and the usual perks one uses to encourage slaves to work harder.
I teach my new managers the following things, which I think helps them to become more honest. (These are mostly well-known sayings and old-fashioned advice but they are all the more excellent for that.) I tell them not to use slaves to do anything except the master’s business. Otherwise, you often find that new managers take advantage of their power by getting their slaves to run around doing errands for them, when the slaves should be working for the benefit of the estate. Managers should not eat unless it is with their underlings and they should eat the same food as them. Nothing is so likely to antagonise a weary slave as seeing his foreman tuck in to some tasty luxury when he himself is being fed plain fare. It also means that the manager will make sure the common bread is made properly,
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