In the Second Punic War, Fabius was the dictator of Rome. He chose to stay inside the walls of Rome to wait out Hannibal's attack, and this continued for ten years. Meanwhile, the farmland was destroyed and the farmers could not make any use out of the lands. The farmers then sold the land to the wealthy people (patricians) for very little money. These rich people used conquered slaves to work these newly bought lands. These massive plantations were called as the latifundia. This put the farmers and the poor people out of work. The slaves were the only people who were productive in the Roman society. To keep the poor, jobless people from rebelling, the government issued the dole and the bread and circuses. The dole was the feeding of the poor. The bread and circuses was entertainment for the poor people (plebians). The poor people were only interested in entertainment, so naturally, they were only interested in the bread and circuses.
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