Roman Republic

Roman Republic

Discuss the social, economic and political problems that contributed to the Republic’s internal instability starting in the 2nd century BCE.
The main social problems that faced the Roman Republic starting in the 2nd century were the implementation and operation of latifundias. These are plantations that are owned by the wealthy and operated by slaves. This use of plantation slavery aided to the downfall of the Roman Republic for many reasons but it mainly crippled the traditional Roman society. Before slaves were brought onto these plantations it was the Roman farmers and citizens that did the heavy lifting for the Roman society. These Roman workers were the quintessential backbone of their society and by implementing slaves to take their place; it was only a matter of time before the republic began to crumble. These slaves were under absolutely horrendous working conditions and the wealthy population viewed them as interchangeable assets rather than people. Once a slave was utilized to their full potential, the wealthy land owner would simply go out and buy another one. This treatment led to many slave revolts that impacted every Roman as well as the society as a whole. There were many slave revolts between 104-101 BCE that took place in Sicily and resulted in thousands of dead slaves and Roman soldiers. However one could argue that the biggest slave revolt was in 73 BCE when Spartacus led thousands of slaves on a warpath to cripple and destroy the Roman Republic. By employing slave labor it also forced massive migrations into the capital city of Rome which, in turn, impacted the society as a whole and the economy. Farmers, migrated to the capital in search of employment and cultural benefits, even though the living conditions remained neglected for all but the wealthiest elements. Thousands of slaves were imported to engage in labor for the city and it is estimated that 60% of the urban population consisted of slaves or people of slave origins. Rome then had a...

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