Greek Colonisation
Greek Colonisation in the Archaic Period
Rachel So-Mahng Truong Yr11 Ancient History
The city states of Cyrene and Sicily were founded by the Greeks in ancient times, circa 7th century BC. These colonisations were due to the land hunger, need for trade, overpopulation and political and civil disputes that were prevalent during the time period, making it necessary to colonise other parts of the Mediterranean such as the Italian islands and northern Africa. This colonisation also led to changes in class structure, trade practices, lifestyles, agriculture and the spread of Greek ideas.. Agriculture was always a huge foundation of the ancient Greek economy with nearly 80% of the population being involved with its progression. Therefore, it was no surprise when near the beginning of the Greek age of colonisation; people began to realize the considerable lack of arable land in the Greek Peninsula. In addition to this lack of land, the majority of suitable farmland was owned by rich aristocrats who passed down their lands through primogeniture, leaving poorer peoples and their own younger sons in shortage. The lack of farming area and the rapidly growing population made it urgently necessary to relocate to other lands. The 7th century BC in Greece was usually rife with political and civil discontent, mostly due to disputes over land, resources and the aristocracy. There was often fierce competition between nobles for government control and often the losing party would either be exiled or leave of their own volition to start a settlement of their own. The method of primogeniture in inheritance also contributed to discontent. The keeping of land, resources, and power securely within a noble family angered the lower class and provoked rebellion against the wealthy upper class. These rebellions were also now even more likely to succeed due to the rise of the hoplite and the middle class. The system of primogeniture also served to create discontent between brothers in
Rachel So-Mahng Truong Yr11 Ancient History
The city states of Cyrene and Sicily were founded by the Greeks in ancient times, circa 7th century BC. These colonisations were due to the land hunger, need for trade, overpopulation and political and civil disputes that were prevalent during the time period, making it necessary to colonise other parts of the Mediterranean such as the Italian islands and northern Africa. This colonisation also led to changes in class structure, trade practices, lifestyles, agriculture and the spread of Greek ideas.. Agriculture was always a huge foundation of the ancient Greek economy with nearly 80% of the population being involved with its progression. Therefore, it was no surprise when near the beginning of the Greek age of colonisation; people began to realize the considerable lack of arable land in the Greek Peninsula. In addition to this lack of land, the majority of suitable farmland was owned by rich aristocrats who passed down their lands through primogeniture, leaving poorer peoples and their own younger sons in shortage. The lack of farming area and the rapidly growing population made it urgently necessary to relocate to other lands. The 7th century BC in Greece was usually rife with political and civil discontent, mostly due to disputes over land, resources and the aristocracy. There was often fierce competition between nobles for government control and often the losing party would either be exiled or leave of their own volition to start a settlement of their own. The method of primogeniture in inheritance also contributed to discontent. The keeping of land, resources, and power securely within a noble family angered the lower class and provoked rebellion against the wealthy upper class. These rebellions were also now even more likely to succeed due to the rise of the hoplite and the middle class. The system of primogeniture also served to create discontent between brothers in