The Plebs were all Romans who were not in the few hundred Particians – including some very rich and powerful elements. So the effect varied – some got richer and some poorer. The major effect was that some rich Plebs and Patricians took advantage of the absence of the small landholding citizens (who formed the army) on military duty to takeover (steal in effect) the common land when they were away for extended periods. This left their farms unviable as the common land provided forage for their plough oxen and other supplementary food products.

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In addition the slaves generated from Carthage’s defeats meant that they displaced free labourers, leaving the poorer Plebs even more superseded – big land holdings worked by slaves left little scope for small farmers.

This situation brought the counter-moves by the Gracchi brothers – Tiberius and Gaius, both murdered – to restore their position as the backbone of the state and the army. This laid the foundations of the civil wars which followed over the next century.

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