Profitability and Economic Rationality of Slavery in a Historical Perspective

Profitability and Economic Rationality of Slavery in a Historical Perspective examines slavery as an economic institution across the longue duree, from the ancient Near East and classical Mediterranean to the modern Atlantic world. Moving beyond traditional moral or ideological interpretations, the volume investigates how systems of slavery were justified, organized, and sustained within different historical, social, and economic contexts. Particular attention is devoted to the historiographical legacy of the modern abolitionist debate, which introduced analytical categories such as profitability, efficiency, and rationality that continue to shape the study of slavery in both modern and ancient societies.

Bringing together specialists of modern, ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman history, this book adopts a deliberately comparative and diachronic perspective. The contributions explore themes including pro‑slavery thought in Enlightenment Europe, the persistence of slavery in 19th‑century Cuba, the valuation of enslaved persons in Mesopotamia and Egypt, female and child labor in the ancient world, slave markets, manumission practices, and the relationship between enslaved and free labor. Collectively, the essays challenge simplistic assumptions about slavery’s inherent irrationality or inefficiency and instead highlight its adaptability as a system of labor organization, capital investment, and social control.

This volume will be of interest to scholars and students of slavery studies, ancient history, economic history, labor history, and comparative historical sociology, as well as to readers interested in the long‑term historical dynamics of coercion, labor, and economic institutions.

Elena Devecchi is Associate Professor of History of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean at the University of Turin. After earning her Ph.D. at the University of Venice, she held research and teaching positions in Germany, Belgium, and Austria. Her work focuses on international relations in the Late Bronze Age, especially historical and diplomatic texts from Anatolia and Syria, as well as the socioeconomic history of Kassite Babylonia.

Marcello Valente is Associate Professor of Greek History at the University of Eastern Piedmont. After earning his Ph.D. at the University of Chieti‑Pescara, he held research and teaching position at the University of Turin. His work focuses on social and economic history of ancient Greece and Greek historiography.