Expansionism
When the Roman constitution was established after the overthrow of the Etruscan kings in 509 BC, Rome was a small city-state. It’s government, social structure and morals were all consistent of a small agrarian state. However, with Rome’s capture of provinces across the Mediterranean, this system of governance was becoming inadequate.
During the Second Punic War, Hannibal ravaged the countryside, destroying many small farms and properties. Having fled to Rome, the plebs who lived in the countryside now found themselves without any wealth whilst the richest had secured their money in Rome when the threat of the Carthaginians had first appeared. This meant that rich Romans, who had gained more wealth through the spoils of war, bought many of the destroyed farmlands at cut prices. Many of these now homeless plebs began to flood Rome.
Following the successful Macedonian Wars and Punic Wars, Rome and its territories became flooded with a large number of slaves. Although slaves had been present in Roman society before, this was a massive increase. It could be argued that Rome went from a labour economy to a slave economy. These masses of slaves undercut the small farmers, lowering not only job prospects but also wages. The displaced farmers also fled to Rome. This meant that there was a large number of poor and angry free Roman citizens in Rome.
These landless and jobless Roman citizens sold the only thing they could, their vote. This meant that populist politicians could become incredibly popular by supporting the plebs.
Expansion also brought about an increase in trade between the provinces. The equestrians (merchants and tradesmen) became rich enough to be influential enough to inject their economic issues into politics. The size of the power of the equestrians was a new phenomena in Rome.
During the Second Punic War, Hannibal ravaged the countryside, destroying many small farms and properties. Having fled to Rome, the plebs who lived in the countryside now found themselves without any wealth whilst the richest had secured their money in Rome when the threat of the Carthaginians had first appeared. This meant that rich Romans, who had gained more wealth through the spoils of war, bought many of the destroyed farmlands at cut prices. Many of these now homeless plebs began to flood Rome.
Following the successful Macedonian Wars and Punic Wars, Rome and its territories became flooded with a large number of slaves. Although slaves had been present in Roman society before, this was a massive increase. It could be argued that Rome went from a labour economy to a slave economy. These masses of slaves undercut the small farmers, lowering not only job prospects but also wages. The displaced farmers also fled to Rome. This meant that there was a large number of poor and angry free Roman citizens in Rome.
These landless and jobless Roman citizens sold the only thing they could, their vote. This meant that populist politicians could become incredibly popular by supporting the plebs.
Expansion also brought about an increase in trade between the provinces. The equestrians (merchants and tradesmen) became rich enough to be influential enough to inject their economic issues into politics. The size of the power of the equestrians was a new phenomena in Rome.