Ancient Roman Agriculture, Common Crops, Business Models and Landlord Classes
A common item in ancient Rome.
1.Grain cultivation.
Cereal cultivation dominated agriculture in ancient Rome, with spelt being a common grain (used for fodder), but other legumes, root crops, and canola were also grown.
2 Viticulture.
As the list of Roman festivals shows, viticulture was not introduced to Italy by the Greeks. This can be seen from the fact that the list of festivals existed long before the arrival of the ancient Greeks. Three Dionysian festivals are included in the list of festivals, but not in honor of the later Greek god of wine"Father of the Savior", but in remembrance"Jovis, the father of the gods"。
An old legend says that Mertentius, the king of the city of Cari, levied a wine tax on the Latins or Rutulis. According to a story circulated in Italy, the Celts knew that Italy was rich in precious fruits, especially grapes and wine, so they crossed the Alps for their own benefit, and came to Italy from thousands of kilometers away. It is clear that the Latins were proud of the grapes they grew and were the envy of other peoples. Early Latin priests taught the method of cultivating grapes with great care on a large scale.
In ancient Rome, only Ignis, the high priest of the city-state and a tenant of Jupiter, had the right to pick the first bunch. Similarly, in the Tashkent region, the sale of newly-brewed wine is prohibited by decree, and all sales must wait until the priest announces the beginning of the open barrel festival. Other examples of early widespread grape cultivation include not only the extensive use of wine offerings in sacrificial ceremonies, but also the rule established by Roman priests and incorporated into King Numa's law that wine could not be made from uncircumcised grapes as sacrifices to the gods. Similarly, they introduced the practice of soaking grain in the sun for physical and spiritual benefits, and forbade people to offer unfermented grain to the gods.
3 Cultivation of olive trees.
The cultivation of olive trees was developed relatively late, and of course the earliest was introduced to Italy in ancient Greece. Olive cultivation on the western shores of the Mediterranean is said to have begun in Rome at the end of the 2nd century AD. This statement coincides with the historical fact that the olive branch and olives were much lower in ancient Roman ceremonies than grape juice.
However, this did not prevent the ancient Romans from respecting these two precious trees, planting a vine and an olive tree in a public square** near Lake Kurti.
4.Plant fig trees.
One of the most important fruit trees cultivated by the ancient Romans was the nutrient-rich fig tree, which originally grew in Italy. Legends about the origins of ancient Rome are also related to fig trees, many of which grew in or near ancient Roman squares.
Agriculture. The farmer and his son pull the plough and do most of the farm work. Ordinary farms usually do not employ slaves or day laborers. Bulls or cows were used to pull plows, and horses, donkeys, and mules were used to transport goods. Although cattle and dairy farming did not develop into a separate livestock industry, many people developed animal husbandry, at least in the areas occupied by the tribes. Pigs and poultry, especially geese, can only be kept in the backyard, with the exception of calves, who must be driven together to graze on common pastures. The fields were often plowed repeatedly without rest. If the furrow spacing is too large, a rake must be used to loosen the soil, and the field will be under-cultivated.
Fox Woods Roadscape thinks this method of operation is more serious than smart. In addition, there were problems with harvesting and threshing operations due to the lack of improved plough design, resulting in slow development of farming. The main reason for this series of consequences is the underdevelopment of theoretical mechanics, not because the peasants stubbornly use old-fashioned agricultural tools. Pragmatic Italians do not understand the obsession of their ancestors with the agricultural methods of the past.
In the early days, they either developed their own research and development or Xi learned from their neighbors how to grow fodder plants and irrigate grasslands, and the progress in agriculture was evident. Even the development of ancient Roman literature began with the discussion of agricultural theories. After hard and proper labor, the peasants could rest. Religious beliefs penetrate into the hearts of everyone (even the lower classes), freeing them from the shackles of life, making them happy physically and mentally, and more relaxed in activities and socializing. Every eight days, or an average of four times a month, the peasants would go to the towns to do business and other business. But strictly speaking, they can only rest on holidays, especially during the festive period after winter sowing.
In these festivals, God"Command"Plows were not to be used, and all peasants, their slaves, and cattle were to rest. Perhaps this is how the average farm in Rome mainly operated. Farms are often mismanaged by heirs, and those who squander their inheritances are looked down upon like lunatics. In addition, women have little control over their personal property, and if they marry, the male spouse must be a member of the same clan to ensure that the property remains the property of the clan. Ancient Roman law tried to control the phenomenon of excessive property debts. In the case of a land-secured loan, if the debtor is unable to repay the debt after a certain period of time, the law must be complied with to temporarily transfer the ownership of the land to the debtor;For ordinary loans, if the debtor is unable to repay the debt after a certain period of time, the legal procedure must be strictly adhered to, and the debtor must be declared bankrupt quickly. The latter method, while serving its purpose, is not perfect, and the law does not restrict the forced free distribution of property.
It is also desirable for co-heirs to inherit property in common without dividing it, but the oldest laws give each party the right to abolish the joint property at any time. It would have been nice if the siblings could coexist peacefully, but forcing them to do so would have violated the spirit of freedom under ancient Roman law. In addition, the political system of the Serbian period shows that even in the time of kings, there was no shortage of peasants and gardeners in ancient Rome who cultivated their land with pickaxes rather than plows. Tradition and the ingenuity of the people have avoided the excessive division of the land, and they are not wrong in thinking this way. According to the general Xi of ancient Rome, land was generally well protected and permanently named after someone. In such cases, the city-states often intervened indirectly, sending settlers to clear new land, which undoubtedly took up most of the land held by the farms, eventually pushing the small farmers into the position of dispatching settlers.
The landowning class of ancient Rome.
The position of the big landowners is even more difficult to understand. Given the early development of the knightly class, these large estates were certainly not uncommon, which is not difficult to explain. On the one hand, the number of clans and the size of the land acquired by each clan differed, and on the other hand, the influx of merchant capital into Rome led to the distribution of clan land, which gave rise to a large landowning class.
Strictly speaking, however, the operation of large farms required the employment of a large number of slaves as labor, and although we later saw this in ancient Rome, we cannot assume that this was the case at that time. Instead, we should use the old definition of this period, calling the patriarch a father, because they distribute the land to all people, just as a father bequeaths the land to his children. Initially, the landlord had to divide the part of the land that he could not cultivate to others, or even divide the entire plot of land into small pieces to be cultivated by his family.
This practice is still practiced in Italy today. The person who acquires the land may be a family brother or a family slave. If it is a free man, his identity is ultimately called"Implied possession"(also known as freehold, can be cancelled at any time). The person who acquires the land may retain the right to use the land as long as the landowner wishes, but this right is not protected by law.
On the contrary, landowners can evict them at any time. In this relationship, the party who owns the land use rights does not have to pay a fee to the landowner, but the party who uses the land usually pays a fee, which is usually part of the proceeds of the land. While this relationship is similar to the later land lease relationship, there is always a difference between the two. On the one hand, there is no time limit on the lease, and on the other hand, neither party can file a lawsuit, and the landlord can legally claim the rent because he has the right to evict. It is clear that this relationship is essentially based on the integrity of both parties, and it cannot exist without the strict restrictions of religious Xi.
Fortunately, the ancient Romans preached fairness. There is no doubt that this system of borrowing and lending with moral and religious restrictions was fundamentally dependent on the distribution of land revenues, which did not materialize with the abolition of common farming. In fact, before the abolition of co-farming, the clan allocated land for common use by clan members. After the abolition of co-farming, individuals allocated land for family use. In ancient Rome, this lending relationship was not personal, and the borrower and his clan had to ask the landlord and his clan for protection and swear allegiance from the beginning.
This primitive form of land borrowing in ancient Rome also explains why the large landowner class in ancient Rome was a landed aristocracy rather than a city aristocracy. Because the ancient Romans had abandoned the abhorrent system of intermediaries, Roman landlords were no less affectionate to land than tenants and peasants. They are very practical, the rich of ancient Rome will"Good landowner"Regarded as the highest honor. They live in the countryside and have only one dwelling in the city;When they went to the city on a business trip, they stayed there.
In the middle of summer, they also go to the city to get some fresh air. Most importantly, these regulations established moral boundaries between the upper classes and ordinary people, greatly reducing the danger. Thus, the peasants, their families, and the family's bankrupt free slaves became docile groups of free tenant farmers, forming the backbone of the Roman lower classes, who were not as dependent on the big landowners as the petty tenant farmers. There is no doubt that the number of slaves who farmed for their masters was far less than that of free tenants.
In any case, in some places, the number of slaves seemed very limited at first, because displaced people did not immediately become slaves, so when free laborers appeared in ancient Rome, they played a very different role. In many cases, the ancient Greeks initially employed day laborers, which were later replaced by slaves. Some peoples, such as the Lolka people, have never had slavery in recorded history.
Although slavery originated in Italy, the relationship between the Volkan, Sabine, and Etruscan prisoners of war and their masters was very different from that of the Syrians and Celts of later generations. In reality, they were tenants, and although as landowners, they owned land, livestock, flocks, wives, and children, but these were not protected by law. It wasn't until the state began to emancipate the slaves that they ushered in the day of freedom.
If the first big landowners had relied on them, they would never have left the country in a difficult situation for a long time;On the contrary, they will be of great help to the country. On the one hand, they, like small and medium-sized landowners, provided a livelihood for many families, but on the other hand, landlords had a higher status and enjoyed greater freedom, and some of them of course became leaders and rulers of the state. At the same time, the peasants and poor tenants made material preparations for the colonial policy of the ancient Romans, without which no colonial program would have succeeded. Because although the state can distribute land without it, it cannot teach those who know nothing about agriculture the courage and strength to use the plow.