Over the course of 200 years, the working class of ancient Rome organized with unprecedented force and creativity against the patrician ruling class in what became known as the secessions of the plebeians. Their tool of choice – mass exodus of the city – marked the first recorded general strike in history.
Perhaps one of the most notable chapters of ancient Roman history is the Conflict of the Orders, a period of class struggle which lasted over two centuries, from roughly 495 to 287 BCE. Also referred to as the secessions of the plebeians – secessio plebis in Latin – the series of five mass protests and general strikes over two hundred years is remarkable for its successful organization, mobilization, and revolution of working-class people against the elite to demand both more social rights and governmental representation.
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