Let's start at the beginning with the item that you knew best, with our incipit being the information that you are able to provide right now, a mixture of correct information you provided then and things you've realized since then in the flight of your error.
NEXUM was the Roman term for contractual Debt Bondage. As a means of credit in the face of debt a paterfamilias could sell himself or members of his family into indentured servitude, to be done until the debt had been completely paid off. This practice eventually evolved into a significant social problem, as poor citizens found themselves unable to unburden themselves and the numbers of the free population began to decrease. Nexum was outlawed by the Lex Poetalia Papiria in 321 BC.
All right, let's see where we're wrong. A quick glance at Wikipedia seems to support most of this, except for your date.
Nexum dates back to the 12 Tables and was outlawed by the Lex Poetalia Papiria in 321 BC (Livy) or in 313 BC (Varro). Not that knowing precise author-and-date is the most important, but a nice tidbit to offer. While nexum as a contract no longer existed after that date, there were still situations where insolvent debtors could be taken in bondage.
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