Slavery in the Roman Empire

A book about European Slavery from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Transatlantic Trade

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Griffith is an independent scholar whose research has centered on early modern Europe. She has presented many papers at academic conferences in the U.S. and Europe, including the Renaissance Society of America, the Medieval Academy of America, and the European Business History Association; has two chapters in academic volumes forthcoming; and works actively with the Medici Archives Program. She has also given many adult education lectures, at the Smithsonian and on board Viking Ocean Cruises. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement she began doing racial equity consulting work, researching the history of slavery and its aftermath in the United States, as well as the history of Hispanic and Asian Americans. Earlier in her career she worked in museums and public broadcasting. She received her doctorate from Georgetown University.

What’s In The Book

Slavery in the Roman Empire and the transatlantic slave trade, are widely known

But what about the 1,500 years between the two? European Slavery from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Transatlantic Trade answers this question.

Slavery in the Roman Empire, and the transatlantic slave trade, are widely known. But what about the 1,500 years between the two? European Slavery from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Transatlantic Trade answers this question.

Five years in the making, and utilizing over 1,000 sources, this book looks at slavery over this long period in each major region of Europe, synthesizing what is known now and what is currently being studied.
Slavery indeed existed in Europe between the fall of Rome and the rise of the transatlantic trade. People in every European region – from the British Isles to European Russia, the Nordic lands to the Mediterranean islands – practiced or experienced enslavement, and traded in captive people, during some part of this time frame.
Likewise, emancipation efforts – some ephemeral, some with lasting effects – dot the timelines of all these regions.
Slavery in Europe over this period differs from what “slavery” signifies to most readers today. While plantation slavery of the Americas was race-based, agricultural, and involved men, women, and children, much European slavery was religion-based, was not agricultural, and used men, women, and children in different roles.
European Slavery from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Transatlantic Trade is a synthesis of secondary and published primary work, with emphasis on scholarship of the last 15 years.

The book is accessible for general readers and undergraduates, while the annotations provide scholars ample pathways into this rich and growing area of research.

Contact Elizabeth

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