Download EFFECTS of CONQUEST

EFFECTS of CONQUEST
The conquests and the wealth that came with them changed Rome’s economy and
government. Among the changes were the replacement of small farms by large estates,
the coming of slavery, a movement from farms to cities, and the decline of the Roman
Republic.
FARMING CHANGES: Rome’s conquests brought changes in agriculture. One change
was in the size and purpose of farms. Most Romans had been small farmers during the
Punic Wars. Now, the small farms were replaced by large plantation-like estates called
LATIFUNDIAS. The small farms had grown wheat as their main crop, which provided food
for Rome. The latifundias grew some wheat but mostly cultivated other crops and raised
sheep and cattle. Some contained olive groves and vineyards. Because Rome was no
longer producing enough wheat to feed its citizens, they had to begin importing it from
other conquered areas like Sicily and northern Africa.
The main reason for this change in Roman agriculture was the Punic Wars. During the
Punic Wars, many farmers had joined the Roman army, leaving their farmland neglected,
and Hannibal himself destroyed thousands of acres of Roman farmland. After the Punic
Wars ended, many Roman farmers couldn’t afford to fix up their land and so were unable
to pay their bills and thus fell into debt. Wealthy patricians took advantage of this and
bought up many of the small farms (at very low prices) to create their latifundias.
FROM FARM to CITY: The farmers who sold their land had two choices: they could stay
and work the on the latifundias for the new owners or move to Rome. Because many
patricians used slaves to work the land, there was little opportunity for the Roman
farmers to find jobs in the countryside so most moved to Rome and Rome became
extremely congested. The farmers were unprepared for city life, however. Most could
not find jobs since they lacked the needed skills and slaves took many of the jobs
anyway. One of the few ways they could make any money was by selling their votes to
politicians.
Rome became overcrowded with wooden apartment buildings, six or more stories high.
The buildings often caught fire or collapsed because they were so poorly built and the
living conditions were awful. There was no sewage system for the area and diseases like
typhus spread rapidly.
DECLINE of the REPUBLIC: As Roman rule spread beyond Italy, the Romans began to
demand taxes, along with slaves, from the areas they conquered. Tax contracts were
sold to people called PUBLICANS. The publicans paid a set fee to the Roman government
and then made their money back by collecting the taxes from the conquered people.
Because no one really monitored the publicans to make sure they were collecting the
right amount of taxes, they could charge people whatever amount they liked, and they did.