3.2 Life in the Roman empire

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

3.2 Life in the Roman empire

Learning goals 

1. You can explain the big economic change that took place in the countryside 
2. You can explain what kind of consequences the changes in the Roman countryside had for the cities
3. You can give a description of the position of slaves and women in Roman society 

Fill in the 5 blanks. One word remains.

senators

monarchy

Julius Caesar

republic

Carthage

Augustus

Roman monarchy

Roman republic

Drag the words to the correct box.

consuls

king

senate

Julius Caesar

Augustus

Emperor

senators

dictator

Life in the countryside 

Up until 200 BC most people lived in the countryside 

After 200 BC farmers had to fight in the Roman army 

Some farmers were away for years to fight the wars for the army 

Life in the countryside 

A lot of land was sold to big landowners. 

These men profited from wars and bought up all the small farms to create one large scale farm.

All their products would be sold on the markets in cities. 

Life in the city 

The changes in the countryside had big consequences for the Roman cities.

Cities grew fast because of proletarians (poor families) 

They depened on the elite. (the richest people of Rome) 

Elite handouts

The elite feared for an uprising of the proletarians. To avoid this they did the following. 

1. Food handouts 
2. Good drinking water 
3. Entertainment 

Slaves and women 

Enslaved people had the lowest position in Roman society. 

Around 100 BC. 1/3 of the Roman population was a slave. 

Women also had very few rights 

Tasks control of the household. 

Sometimes influental through there husbands. 

There were a lot of slaves in Roman society
What was an important reason for this? Explain your answer.

Would slaves have had difficulty getting food, like the proletarians in the cities?

Which statement about life in a Roman city in the time of the republic is true?

1. The elite did nothing for the poor
2. The proletarians played an important role in the economy
3. The social differences were not very big
4. The differences between the rich and the poor were enormous

Free farmers

Slaves 

Merchants and crafspeople 

Proletarians 

Elite