Historian Verene Shepherd identifies the most widely used term for freeing enslaved people as gratuitous manumission. This phrase describes the conferment of freedom on the enslaved by enslavers before the end of the slave system. The motivations behind these acts were complex and varied across different societies. Sometimes a master freed a devoted servant after many years of service as a sentimental gesture. A trusted bailiff might be manumitted to show gratitude for long labor. Agricultural workers or those in workshops rarely received such recognition from their owners. It was more common for older slaves to receive freedom than younger ones. Legislation under the early Roman Empire put limits on the number of slaves that could be freed in wills. The lex Fufia Caninia law passed in 2 BC suggests this practice had been widely used previously. Freeing slaves served pragmatic interests for the owner beyond simple kindness. The prospect of manumission worked as an incentive for slaves to be industrious and compliant. Manumission contracts found at Delphi specify in detail the prerequisites for liberation.
Ancient Greece And Rome Practices
In Ancient Greece, affranchisement came in many forms depending on the specific context. A master choosing to free his slave would most likely do so only at his death. He would specify his desire in his will rather than during his lifetime. In rare cases, slaves who earned enough money in their labour bought their own freedom. These self-purchasing individuals were known as choris oikointes. Two 4th-century bankers named Pasion and Phormion had been slaves before they bought their freedom. A slave could also be sold fictitiously to a sanctuary where a god could enfranchise him. Athens liberated everyone present at the Battle of Arginusae in 406 BC as a notable example. Even once freed, a Greek slave was not generally permitted to become a citizen. He became a metic instead with the former master acting as his prostatès or guarantor. The former slave remained bound to continuing duty and commonly lived near the former master. Ex-slaves were able to own property outright while their children were free of all constraint. Under Roman law, a slave had no personhood and was protected mainly as property. A manumitted slave became a libertus or liberta and gained citizenship status. Manumissions were subject to a state tax that varied by region and time period.