Who are the brothers Caius and Tiberius Gracchus and what did they do at a political level: the reforms of the Gracchi presented in a schematic way.The Punic Wars brought about a great change in the management of Roman politics (and in some cases even in culture).This led to the so-called “Gracchi Reforms” and, subsequently, to the civil wars. At the end of the Punic Wars, the farmers returned to their fields, now unfruitful.
Furthermore, the great competition from the numerous prisoners of war, reduced to slaves (who therefore worked for free) left farmers faced with two choices:
- Find some new job (practically impossible)
- Selling your land to aristocrats (most popular choice)
When the peasant sells the land to the aristocrat, he usually asks if he can work it. But instead he uses a slave.
The peasant , now without any property, seeks his fortune in the city: the Urban Proletariat is created .
The senator , who is becoming richer and richer (governing the provinces) and has more and more territories, decides to increase his possessions and misappropriates public lands.
The equites , an active and enterprising social class who earned their living through trade with the colonies, disagreed with all this.
Among them, Tiberius and Gaius, the two Gracchus brothers , gained great prominence . In fact, they wanted an agrarian reform and tried to implement it by becoming tribunes of the plebs. This reform was not accepted: this fact was the prelude to the civil wars.
TIBERIUS AND CAIUS GRACCHUS
Tiberius Gracchus, 133 BC His proposals:
- Establishment of a maximum land quota for each senatorial family (maximum 1000 ingeri of public lands – private property). → Returned lands → Peasants (30 ingeri / person – state property)
- Release to the small landowners a part of the kingdom of Pergamon
Tiberius runs again → Assassination.
Gaius Gracchus, 123 BC His proposals:
- Promotion of Agrarian Reform (improvement of that of Tiberius)
- Wheat Law: Free Distribution of Grain to the Plebs
- Judicial law: the senators, some of whom governed the provinces, were to be controlled by the equites and no longer by the senators (to avoid favoritism)
- Latins could obtain Roman citizenship, while Italics obtained what was Latin citizenship (which included a few fewer rights than the Italics).
Gaius ends his term → The Senate passes a law according to which both Gaius and his followers must be killed → Prelude to the Civil Wars .
