Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/145

Rh from the allies that had rebelled. But on account of conservatism or selfishness, the Romans did not grant the faithful colonies citizenship, and thus avail themselves of this excellent opportunity to strengthen the middle classes and to promote the Latinization of Italy.

Other Italian Allies. — The allies of central Italy had to a large extent escaped the ravages of the war. But Rome in some cases had had reason to be suspicious of their loyalty, and now continued to maintain in these regions the rigorous government which had been developed during the war.

Southern Italy had not only suffered the most from the actual devastation of the war, but was prevented from recovering, and was permanently ruined by the harsh policy of the Romans. Capua, the second city in Italy, lost its municipal constitution and became a village. Its lands, with a few exceptions, became Roman public domain, and were afterward let to small tenants on a temporary lease. In this way they formed an important source of public revenue, but the national prosperity suffered. The Bruttians became a sort of bondsmen to the Romans (dediticii). Others were punished in different ways. With the exception of comparatively few, these allies felt that their name was meaningless and that they were simply the subjects of Rome. In many cases a portion of the territory of an allied community was seized. A part of the confiscated land was colonized, but the larger part was retained as public domain and occupied by the rich.

Other Results of the War. — The immediate results of the war outside the Italian peninsula were: the establishment of two provinces in Spain, the incorporation of the kingdom of Syracuse into the province of Sicily, and the conversion of Carthage into a dependent mercantile city. Rome was now the queen of the western regions of the Mediterranean.