Economic Collapse of the Roman Republic

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Recommended: The history of the progress and termination of the Roman republic

The Roman Republic was one of the three phases of the ancient Roman civilization that began with overthrowing the monarchy and ended with the imperial period from 509 B.C.E to 29 B.C.E. It was the biggest civilization at the time (Roman republic, 2014). Starting from First century B.C.E., the Republic’s complex constitution and laws started to weaken as the Republic grew. Because of its size and population, corruption and a continuous power vacuum are more likely to occur (M. Beard, 2011). The Republic was constantly expanding because the Romans needed slaves from wars (V. Gossack, 2012). The social inequality began to widen due to slavery and led to severe conflicts between different social classes (History.com, 2014). With its economy and agricultural production in decline, the Republic lost its grip on the empire and led to Octavian’s turnover in 27 B.C.E. Problems including social inequality, debt problems, deflation, slavery, urban decay and unemployment interconnected and pushed the Roman Republic to an imperial period.
The Romans created the largest slave society in history after the Hellenistic age, and it is the key to the Republic’s success and failure. Cato The Elder, a senator, replaced individual small farms with latifundias (large plantations) using slave labor. In a result, small farmers had to shut down and move to cities to work. Cato The Elder and other patricians benefited from this by getting more land and wealth(J. Moody). The number of slaves increased exponentially during the first two centuries of the Roman Republic as they continued to expand. Slavery led to a decline in morale and a “dark age” of technological developments. Romans did not just rely on the slaves for labor; the slave class was an essential...

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... 13, 2014, from Notre Dame
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Krugman, Paul. "Why Is Deflation Bad?" Why Is Deflation Bad Comments. New York Times, 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 14 May 2014.
"Life in Roman times." PBS. PBS, 2006. Web. 13 May 2014.
Williams, John. "Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco." Economic Research. Federal Reserve Bank San Francisco, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
Grabmeier, Jeff. "Higher Crime Rate Linked To Low Wages And Unemployment, Study Finds." Higher Crime Rate Linked To Low Wages And Unemployment, Study Finds. Columbus, Ohio, 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 May 2014.
Mazurek, Elizabeth. "The Fall of the Republic, Part 1: The Reforms of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus." — Notre Dame OpenCourseWare. University of Notre Dame, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

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