Re:Min wage would be $44 / hour if it had grown at same rate...
by indigo945 on Sunday April 11, 2021 @03:56PM
(#26772918)
I mean, you are right, but this is nitpicking and doesn't really relate to my argument. Exploiting slaves and robbing Gallia aren't that far apart, as far as technological sophistication goes.
Re:Min wage would be $44 / hour if it had grown at same rate...
by TheCoelacanth on Monday April 12, 2021 @12:30PM
(#26781424)
How do you think conquest made someone wealthy?
It was through gaining ownership of land and by capturing slaves.
Not exactly.
Crassus amassed his fortune first through conquest, and then through real estate speculation. Caesar and Pompey's fortunes were a mixture of family wealth and the spoils of war.
There was certainly a class of wealthy Romans that derived their wealth -- and Rome's food supply! -- from land worked by slaves (mostly captured in war and brought in from all over Europe). But the wealthiest were, by far, the political-military ruling class, who accrued their wealth through bribes and conquest.