Society thumb|A peasant fair in the Wallachian city of Giurgiu, with Gypsy musicians, 1837 thumb|Wallachian peasants in 1841 Slavery Slavery () was part of the social order from before the founding of the Principality of Wallachia, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the slaves were of Roma (Gypsy) ethnicity.Viorel Achim, The Roma in Romanian History, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2004, The very first document attesting the presence of Roma people in Wallachia dates back to 1385, and refers to the group as ațigani (from the Greek athinganoi, the origin of the Romanian term țigani, which is synonymous with "Gypsy").Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995. Although the Romanian terms robie and sclavie appear to be synonyms, in terms of legal status, there are significant differences: sclavie was the term corresponding to the legal institution during the Roman era, where slaves were considered goods instead of human beings and the owners had ius vitae necisque over them (right to end the life of the slave); while robie is the feudal institution where the slaves were legally considered human beings and they had reduced legal capacity.
Society thumb|A peasant fair in the Wallachian city of Giurgiu with Gypsy musicians 1837 thumb|Wallachian peasants in 1841 Slavery Slavery () was part of the social order from before the founding of the Principality of Wallachia until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s Most of the slaves were of Roma (Gypsy) ethnicityViorel Achim The Roma in Romanian History Central European University Press Budapest 2004 The very first document attesting the presence of Roma people in Wallachia dates back to 1385 and refers to the group as ațigani (from the Greek athinganoi the origin of the Romanian term țigani which is synonymous with "Gypsy")Neagu Djuvara Între Orient și Occident Țările române la începutul epocii moderne Humanitas Bucharest 1995 Although the Romanian terms robie and sclavie appear to be synonyms in terms of legal status there are significant differences sclavie was the term corresponding to the legal institution during the Roman era where slaves were considered goods instead of human beings and the owners had ius vitae necisque over them (right to end the life of the slave); while robie is the feudal institution where the slaves were legally considered human beings and they had reduced legal capacity