The establishment of the Roman Republic was the result of a series of struggles against kingship in ancient Rome. The circumstances that led to the establishment of the Republic can be traced back to the overthrow of the last Roman King, Tarquin the Proud, in 509 BC. The Roman people were dissatisfied with the rule of the Etruscan kings and sought to establish a more democratic form of government that would limit the power of any single individual. One of the key elements of the Roman Republic that made it democratic was the system of checks and balances that was put in place to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful. The Republic had three main branches of government - the Senate, the magistrates, and the assemblies.