What were the social and economic problems with early Roman expansion?

Answer 1

The earliest Roman expansion was the expansion into central and southern Italy in the 4th century BC. This helped to ease some economic problems, especially the shortage of land for poor peasants. There were sent to colonies (settlements) around Italy where they were given land.

The Second Punic War led to further expansion, but also the the growth of the landless poor. Many peasants lost their lands either because they had to neglected due to prolonged military service or they lived in areas that had been ravaged by Hannibal. The owners of large landed estates took advantage of this to buy their land cheaply. Large scale enslavement also created an abundant slave labour for these land owners to expand their property. Poverty became an explosive political issue.

The depletion of propertied peasants also led to a depletion of army recruits, who were levied among their ranks. As a result, the army was made voluntary and open to poor propetertyless the who joined in their droves for a career, pay and a lump sum or a plot of land on retirement. More colonies were built to settle veterans. However, the career soldiers became separated from civilian life and became loyal to their commanders who could rely on their support to wage civil wars.

Answer 2

Like Rome controlled a vast area, its government had to change.

Problems:

1. The new territories were governed loosely.
2. The Roman farmer/soldiers who returned from war found their homes in ruins and their farmings uprooted.
3. Rome became dependant on others for food.
4. People depended on the government for food because now they didn't had a job and was hard for them to get one on the city.
5. The gap between rich and poor, powerful and powerless continued to grow.

Answer 3

The gap between the rich and the poor grew. Large wealthy landowners took over the "abandoned" farms of those serving in the military. These soldiers came back and found that they had no land. They were basically homeless. Without land, they had no basis for earning a living and no say in the government. Without farms to earn an income, these men could fall into debt. This could lead to becoming slaves of the landowners. When the next census was held, they might even lose their citizenship if they didn't own Roman property. Citizenship was an important factor in the government of the republic. Citizens were expected to perform certain civic duties, such as voting. Without citizenship, the people would lose their voice.

Answer 4

The economic problems were because of the inflation and the use of mercenary.