What caused farmers to lose their jobs after the Punic Wars?

Answer 1

Before the reforms of Gaius Marius, the Roman army was organized sort of like a militia. When mustering for war, male citizens of fighting age were required to pay for their own equipment, and then go off to fight. The soldiers were paid, but it wasn't much, and their food and supplies were deducted from their pay. Thus, it was important for the army to win- if the army won, they could take slaves and valuables from their vanquished foes.

While the men were gone, it was difficult for the women, children, and elderly to continue maintaining the farms on their own. The men were gone for so long- or were killed, like in the horrendous massacre at Cannae- and the farm would go bankrupt. Thus the poorer farmers were forced to sell their land to wealthy landowners who would then use slaves to run the farm. This type of large scale, slave-run farm is called a "latifundus", which is basically Latin for "huge farm".

Some time after the Punic Wars, a wealthy politician named Gaius Marius is credited with reforming the army so that the poor farmers no longer were required to go off to war, but by then, it was too late. Not only that, but his reforms contributed to the start of the era of civil wars, culminating in the reformation of the Republic into the Empire under Augustus.