Adoption and Slavery in Ancient Rome
Adoption
There were two kinds of adoption: alieni iuris (adoptio) and sui iuris. Adoption in ancient Rome required the presence of a pontifex. Someone being adopted had to be sui iuris. A meeting of 30 curies had to occur for the adrogatio. Lictors represented the emperor through a rescriptum. There was a minimum age difference of 18 years between the adopter and adoptee. No one under 25 could be adopted. Adoptio had the objective of making someone alieni iuris, representing a change in family, from the paternal cognatic line to another. This changed the agnatic lineage. Three mancipaciones were required, regulated by law. The child was given to an acquirer. The child did not lose their citizenship or freedom, but the act was similar to manumissio. The acquirer freed the child, and the process was repeated with the original father. The child became mancipi of the acquirer a second time. Freeing the child again made them sui iuris, not alieni iuris. Remancipatio returned the child to the original father. In iure cessio involved the father reclaiming his son. The father remained silent, assenting to the claim, and the praetor declared the child alieni iuris, the son of the claimant, through addictio. Adopting a woman or grandchild involved mancipatio, remancipatio, and in iure cessio.
With Justinian, adoption was called Adoptio, a single institution before the magistrate, with two types: adoptio plena (full adoption by an ascendant, breaking agnatic ties with the natural father) and adoptio minus plena (adoption by a third party, maintaining inheritance rights with the natural father but gaining inheritance with the adopter).
Extinction of Paternal Power
Paternal power ended with the death of the father or child, loss of liberty or citizenship by either, adoption, or emancipation of a daughter or elevation to high dignities.
Emancipation
Emancipation was the relinquishing of paternal power. The procedure for emancipation was similar to adoption, requiring three mancipatio followed by in iure cessio instead of manumissio. If a prepubescent minor was emancipated, they needed a tutor. A pubescent child only needed a curator. A formal declaration before an official was required.
Slavery
Slavery was an institution of ius gentium and ius civile. A slave was considered a thing and could be born into slavery or enslaved through captivity. They had no legal standing. Postliminium allowed a captive who escaped and returned to Roman territory to regain their rights. If a captive died, it was sometimes pretended they died before capture to avoid invalidating their will. Enslavement could occur for debt, where a convicted defendant became the slave of the plaintiff. Violation of public law or commission of a crime could also result in enslavement. In 56 AD, a senatus consultum addressed the relationship between senators and slaves. Slaves could not participate in legal proceedings, could not be witnesses, but could be held liable for private offenses like theft (Lex Aquilia) and offenses related to private property. They could acquire property (mancipi) and act as acquirers and promisers.
Adyecticias Actions
A father or master could use slaves or children in business dealings. This action required the slave to have a peculium (savings), paternal authorization for the business, and any profit to benefit the father.
Peculium
Slaves could have a small amount of money to spend, called peculium. Peculium profecticio was a portion of the estate given to a slave to manage. Peculium castrensis was earned during military service.
Extinction of Slavery
Slavery could end through regaining freedom (liberalis). An adsertor libertatis could claim a slave’s freedom in court. Manumissio was the granting of freedom by the owner. Formal manumissio granted citizenship but with limitations. Types of formal manumissio included vindicta (a mock trial), censu (enrollment in the census), and by will. Informal manumissio included inter amicos (declaration among friends), per mensam (eating at the owner’s table), and per epistolam (letter with five witnesses). The Lex Fufia Caninia limited the number of slaves that could be freed, and the Lex Aelia Sentia prohibited certain manumissions if the owner was under 20 or the slave under 30, or if done to defraud creditors.