In Chapter Seven of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, he specifically discussed colonies, comparing European colonies with those of Ancient Rome and Greece.
In the early days of the Roman Republic, there was once a law stating that no citizen could possess more than 500 jugera of land. However, it rarely took effect. Adam Smith said he only knew of the law being enforced once or twice, while Pomona had never heard of it being enforced at all.
First came land reclamation. These former wastelands were publicly owned, but once people cultivated them, they were occupied by the pioneers. This was also why there were so many estates in southern Italy, where there had once been much wasteland.
Yet as circumstances changed, through marriage, inheritance, cession, and the like, the original distribution was disrupted. Land that had once supported several families often ended up in one person's hands. According to the customs of the time, one could not retain one's status as a citizen without land.
Combined with the existence of slavery, poor free men without land found it difficult to make a living. They could only receive gifts from candidates during the annual elections.
Victorious generals also gave money to the citizens. Every military victory brought new land and slaves, and those slaves were often the "former owners" of the lands incorporated into Rome's new territory.
When tribunes wished to stir the commoners against a senator or consul, they would remind them of the ancient land distribution system and proclaim that laws restricting private property were fundamental laws of the Republic. The people would then clamor for land, but the wealthy would never give them any. To satisfy their demands to some extent, the senators would often propose establishing new colonies.
New colonies were not always uninhabited or