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Agriculture in the Roman
Empire
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A Chronology
of
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Articles
Baths of Baiae; Observations and Inferences The Casamari Abbey Christianity- The First 400 Years Agriculture in the Roman Empire Pope Julius II Fonseca The Parthenopean Republic |
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Throughout the
Roman Empire, the basis for survival was agriculture produced to feed the
armies and the people. In each town, loans became available to farmers
at a rate of interest much lower than normal (Lewis
& Reinhold, 1990 p. 256). These loans were calculated based
on a fraction of the total value of the land. The land was used for
collateral to guarantee the principal of the loan and came directly from
the Emperor's privy purse (the fisc or the Emperor's personal funds) (Lewis
& Reinhold, 1990 p. 255). According to Christina Colyer,
the principal of these loans was non-repayable (personal communication,
Dec. 19, 1998). These loans had a low interest rate usually five
percent, but some as low as two-and-a-half percent. These rates were
considered affordable and reasonable (Lewis &
Reinhold, 1990 p. 255; Stobart, 1961 p. 25 1). The accrued interest
paid by farmers was deposited into a special municipal fund, which was
donated to the poor children of the Empire (Lewis & Reinhold, 1990
p. 255). The net result was ready capital for farmers to produce
crops and funds available to support needy children until they came of
age (Lewis & Reinhold, 1990 p. 256).
The needy children as well as the farmer's own family benefited from these
loans. There is evidence of these loans recorded on bronze tablets
found near Veleia in northern Italy and in Beneventum in southern Italy.
The following inscription was found in Veleia dated 109 -112 AD:
The Imperial Child-Assistance System, known as alimenta, was maintained for over 200 years beginning with Emperor Trajan (Lewis & Reinhold, 1990 p. 255). Alimenta, which meant food, was a system of loans paid to farmers with an overall goal of improving agriculture and stimulating the birth rate of Italians (Sinnigan & Boak, 1977 p. 309). The system of alimenta, which was introduced in Italy, was eventually extended to the provinces of the Empire (Lewis & Reinhold, 1990 p. 255). Evidence also exists on Roman coins commemorating the alimenta funding under Trajan. The coins depict the Roman goddess Abundentia who stood for abundance of either grain or corn (Trajan, 1999). The management of the Empire's agriculture can be seen in Rome through the prefect of the city's grain supply and in the Empire's municipal towns. The people of the Empire strove to produce what they needed as well as what they could produce for trade with others. The evolution into tenant farming resulted from the inefficiency of slave labor. Since the number of slaves throughout the Empire decreased resulting in the increase in the price of slaves. The overall efforts in obtaining slaves became expensive and tenant farming was the solution to Rome's agricultural needs. With the municipal expenditures on loans made to farmers, alimenta was an effort made to feed the poor children. It allowed many farmers the chance to borrow money so that they could produce the agriculture that was needed and take care of his own family.
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