How did the advantages gained by some early farmers affect romes development?

Answer 1

In the Early Republic the patrician aristocracy were large landowners. Peasant farmers, instead, were given allotments which were barely enough to feed their families. In the early days these rich landowners secured the labour of peasants through debt bondage/slavery (nexus). The poor were locked into perpetual indebtedness at unaffordable levels so that debt was repaid through labour services. This was a system which lent itself to the abuse. The poor plebeians (commoners) rebelled because the Roman state, which at that time was patrician-controlled, refused to meet their demand for protection from defaulting creditors who imprisoned them, tortured them and sometimes sold them as slaves. They formed the plebeian movement which fought for the grievances of the poor which also included high interest rates and shortage of land for the poor.

These problems were relieved when Rome expanded into central and southern Italy and colonies (settlements) where people could go to set up farms were created around Italy.

During the Middle and Late Roman Republic there was mass impoverishment. Loss of land by peasants was a big problem from the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) on. Many small farms were ravaged by Hannibal's forces during his invasion of Italy and many more were neglected due to the peasants' prolonged military service during that war. The owners of large landed estates took advantage of this to buy land on the cheap from distressed peasants. They were also advantaged by the abundant supply of slave labour created by the war (slaves were war captives). The majority of slaves were bought by rich landlords and were employed in the fields of the large estates. This abundant supply of labour facilitated the productive expansion of the estates. This trend continued and Rome was flooded by dispossessed peasants who migrated there to eke out a living, swelling the masses of the poor.

The issue of poverty became a political hot potato and was a factor behind the series of civil wars which led to the fall of the Roman Republic and its replacement by absolute rule by emperors.