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debt
The debt problem has always been a pain point in the hearts of the common people at the bottom, and it is also a major problem that troubles the common people in Rome
The origin of the debt problem is closely related to the division of the people and the common people in the early Republic and the establishment of the political structure of the Republic
The Senate's clear distinction between the people and the plebeians at the beginning of the Republic's inception placed the plebeian collective at a distinct disadvantage in the politics and society of the Roman Republic
After the founding of the Republic, wars were frequent, and peasants went out for wars year after year, and "the debt function of borrowing to raise money to buy weapons and equipment was borne by individuals, and the economic pressure was huge";
Or the fields were destroyed and could not be cultivated, and the successive wars caused great harm to the low-level civilians living outside the city, who had no protection from the city walls, and when the war broke out, they could only resign themselves to their fate, so the harvest was sharply reduced, food and daily necessities were seriously lacking, and they were under more serious economic pressure than the nobles and upper commoners, and industry and commerce were often brought to a standstill by the war
Therefore, the inferior position of the civilians at the bottom in the republic, and the challenges brought to the living conditions of civilians by the destruction of the economic tools of the civilians at the bottom of the war, naturally became the background and premise for the outbreak of the debt problem later
The formation of the debt burden and the outbreak of the debt problem
Based on the background of the economic hardship of the low-level commoners in the early years of the Republic, the debt problem intensified mainly because of the opportunity of the poor commoners, mainly by the nobility, usurers, and the lack of protection of the low-level commoners in the Republic's unfair and unjust judicial environment
Under the intense oppression of the armed forces composed of civilians and the destruction of the means of civilian survival.
Rome's economic difficulties were numerous, and the nobles and the commoners who had money and grain in the upper class lend, but the interest was extremely high, and the loans with high interest made it impossible for the commoners to eventually repay
Underpinned by harsh unwritten debt laws, creditors can arbitrarily detain debtors, impose hard labor, or make them "debt slaves" for creditors
That is, "if the debtor does not pay by the specified date, the debt is capable of subjecting the debtor to him directly through a procedure known as confinement and the threat of creditors against the debtor's person"
In addition, "the judges are all aristocrats, it is difficult for the commoners' lawsuits to be judged, and the debtor peasants have no way to ask for help, and they can only let the noble creditors arbitrarily poison and suffer hardship."
Therefore, the growing strength of the noble power in the early period of the royal government and the republic, as well as the increasingly serious vicious circle caused by economic problems, forced the commoners to organize and fight for their own interests, which became an important reason for the outbreak of debt problems in the struggle between the commoners and the nobles in the early period of the Republic and the continuous struggle movement
The gravity of the debt problem "Debt was a very popular phenomenon in the ancient world, but debt slavery on debtors was more evident in the early Roman Republic"
The debt problem arose from the oppression of the commoners at the lower levels by the aristocracy, but it gradually became a weapon for the plebeians against the Senate at the instigation and use of the upper plebeian commercial capitalists
Since the debt problem is mainly manifested as "the contradiction between the rich and the poor, especially the contradiction between the rich and the property seized or threatened property,"
Therefore, it was natural to become the focus of confrontation between commoners and nobles
The vigorous social contradiction between the nobility and the commoners is not only the main thread running through the history of the Republic, but also an important source of driving force for the development of the Republic, and the serious problem of interest and debt is the basis of this important social contradiction
In the early years of the Republic, when the status of the commoners was extremely unequal compared to the nobility, "the question of usury became a typical social problem, the cause and primary component of social contradictions, a fundamental contradiction, which appeared immediately after the fall of the king and became no longer merely a fuse, but transformed into a real driving force of the republican system and history."
The question of debt slavery, together with the land question, constituted two key points in the economic aspects of the struggle between the plebeians and the nobility in the early years of the Republic
The struggle over debt before 367 BC
"Debt was a very popular phenomenon in the ancient world, but debt slavery on debtors was evident in the early Roman Republic, "and the question of debt began to enter the arena of struggle with an anecdotal account.
When the Volseys invaded Rome in 495 BC, the Senate encountered a different accident in its daily conscription, caused by the crying of a poor commoner in the square led by a commercial capitalist from the upper echelons of the common people
According to Li Wei's record, before the Senate began to recruit troops, a ragged and unkempt old man suddenly appeared in the square, crying to passers-by that he had made many achievements in the army as a centurion, but after the victory of the war, he returned home to find that his house and land were destroyed, and he had to borrow debts in order to survive, but because he was unable to pay back, he was occupied by the creditors and forced to become a debt slave
The tragic contrast revealed by the old man of his military achievements but being imprisoned and beaten by creditors aroused the empathy and dissatisfaction of the onlookers, and when it almost caused civilian riots, the Senate broke the usual procedure and urgently convened a Senate meeting to quell it
Although there are many doubts in the outbreak of debt problems this time, such as whether the poverty of the old man was caused by the war, how the foreign wars of Rome were fought outside the city, how to destroy the houses of the old people in the city, and why most of the poor people lived outside the city and suddenly gathered in the square, etc., there was a suspicion of being manipulated by the upper civilians, but under the pressure of war;
The Senate also compromised in this seemingly conspiratorial struggle to the plebeian's demand for better treatment of the civilian population: "It is forbidden for any Roman people to illegally intern other civilians, and no one shall seize or sell their property and children while they are serving in the army."
The first withdrawal campaign on the debt struggle
Shortly after these events, the first frontal conflict under civilian organizations over debt and debt slavery broke out
The compromise made by the Senate in 495 BC did not actually make sense, because Rome had never allowed the Roman people to illegally intern other civilians since its founding, which was recognized by civilian leaders, but when they knew moderation, they put the security of the country first
Thus, after repulsing the Voltsy, the sober civilians launched the first organized evacuation movement in the history of the struggle for the Republic in the true sense
In 494 BC, a major force of the plebeians retreated to the Holy Mountain, declaring a separate state from Rome, with a clear demand: "The Senate must fully settle the problem of the debts of the plebeians and abolish the power of creditors to dispose of debtors."
The Senate was initially extremely dissatisfied with such an unreasonable demand, which hid a huge political trap by the commercial capitalists of the upper classes of the common people, and unanimously opposed it, putting aside the actions of the common people, and the scene was deadlocked
However, due to years of war and the covetousness of surrounding tribes, the Republic urgently needed the strength of a large number of civilians, and under the pressure of external forces, the Senate's proposal for compromise also gave the civilians a step to end the struggle: first, the settlement of the debt problem, requiring creditors not to arbitrarily detain and enslave debtors;
The second is the creation of the civilian tribune, who is elected from the upper class of the civilian propertied people, as the representative of the commoners, speaks for the commoners, establishes the tribune's right to self-preservation, the right to help and the right to veto, and "helps the commoners to file complaints and protests to the consuls and the senate, against any official abuse of power", "thus also opened the anti-usury tradition of Roman law In Rome at that time, the usury issue was indeed a political and constitutional issue"
The results of the fight against debt in the Law of the Twelve Tables
The formulation of the Law of the Twelve Forms in the mid-5th century BC was the initial result of the struggle between the plebeians and the nobility in the early political system of the Republic, and this formulation work was "closely linked to the class struggle that profoundly affected social life, and to a certain extent can be regarded as a victory in the plebeian struggle."
The 12-Form Law covers "litigation procedures, court rules, debts, paternal rights, parental rights, guardianship, inheritance, wills, contracts, trade and various property rights and injuries law, sacred law, etc.", including provisions conducive to resolving debt problems, such as:
First, the original intention of the law was to curb the aristocracy from abusing their position of power in law enforcement and social life from oppressing debtors;
Second, there are more reprieve provisions for debtors, such as a 30-day reprieve on the debtor after the court judgment, and humane treatment of the debtor during detention; The third is the regulation of procedure, although there are still situations controlled by nobles, high officials and high priests, but at least it is the beginning of the culture of litigation;
Third, it is the codification of various customs and customs, such as clearly stipulating the people's right to appeal, which is conducive to the settlement of the civilian debt problem and the protection of personal safety and economic interests
Except for high-level political power, the Law of the Twelve Forms was basically based on the principle of equality before the law, without considering the differences between commoners and nobles
Thus, "in the early days of the establishment of the state order, this written law became the objective basis for the rational and restrained settlement of disputes in the deeply contradictory Roman society."
After that, even if the Senate continued to issue policies on debt problems and land problems, for example, in 405 BC, considering that the farmland of peasant families was deserted or impossible to do business due to long wars abroad,
The Senate's decision to provide salaries to soldiers to help them support their families, etc., and "the satisfaction of the common people is limited to the moment they receive a salary or land", and the debt problem remains one of the long-standing problems of the Republic