Caius Licinius Stolon

Caius Licinius Calvus Stolon , is a Roman politician of the IV E which contributed to the accession of the plebeian to the political power by obtaining their access to the consulate.

Biography

Of plebeian origin , it marries the girl junior by the Patricien Marcus Fabius Ambustus, alliance matrimonial which will be to him of a great help in its political career.

Rome at that time dominates only one reduced territory of the Latium and undergoes a social crisis marked by the debt growing many small farmers delivered without recourse to the usurers and by political tensions due to the political inequality between the dominant class of the Patriciens.

Powerful orator of the plebs

In 376 av. J.C, Licinius Stolon is elected Tribun of the plebs with Lucius Sextius Lateranus thanks to the support of his/her Fabius father-in-law. He proposes with Sextius several laws to improve the situation of the Plébéien S:

on the problem of the debts, deduction of the capital of the interests already paid and spreading out of refundings of debts over three years, and suppression of the Nexum (of Latin to connect , right for the usurer to charge with chains its insolvent debtor and to sell it like slave);
against the monopolization by the Patrician S of the grounds recently annexed around Rome, prohibition to occupy more than 500 Jugères on the Ager publicus ;
re-establishment of the Consul At, with obligatorily a Plebeian elected official among the two consuls.

Political blocking

The Patricien S make stopping with the tender with the popular vote of these projects via the veto of the other powerful orators of the plebs who were favorable for them. Sextius and Licinius uses in their turn of their veto to block any election other than those of the powerful orators of the plebs. Sextius and Licinius Stolon are re-elected powerful orators of the plebs year after year, and persist in their political blocking: according to Tite-Live during five years, no magistrate can be elected, as long as their private bills remain blocked.

In 370 av. J. - C., an external war makes evolve/move the situation, by obliging several years of continuation the election of six military Tribuns to consular capacity to lead military operations. Constantly re-elected, the powerful orators of the Licinius plebs and Sextius finish in 368 av. J. - C. by passing in addition to the veto of their colleagues and join together the Comices tributes to make vote their bill. The Patricien S react to this takeover by force by naming dictator Camille, savagely opposed to the reform, then after its resignation for obscure reasons, a new dictator Publius Manlius Capitolinus, who diplomatically takes as Maître cavalry Licinius Stolon itself, which becomes the first Maître of cavalry Plébéien. Licinius Stolon and Sextius Lateranus must await a tenth mandate of Tribun of the plebs to submit their project again.

Vote laws licinio-sextiennes

Skilfully, Licinius Stolon submits its three projects to only one vote, to make admit the election of Consul Plébéien by amalgamating it with its two other proposals on the debts and the agrarian law, which had the favor of the voters. The Lois licinio-sextiennes are thus voted in 367 av. J. - C., in spite of the opposition of Camille, again dictator.

First plebeian consuls

After the election of his/her friend Sextius Lateranus in 366 av. J.C like first plebeian Consul, it itself is elected consul in 364 and 361 av. J.C.

In 357 av. J.C, Licinius Stolon is condemned to have enfreint its own law agrarian with 10.000 ace of fine to the instigation of Marcus Popilius Laenas. To prove the going beyond of the limit of the 500 jugères, the charge cumulated the fields of Licinius Stolon, and those of his/her son whom it had émancipé.

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