Cataclysm 90 BC: The Forgotten War that Almost Destroyed Rome

by Philip Matyszak

One reason why the Latin Right was so desirable was because Rome sponsored it and therefore the privileges of the Latin Right were protected by Roman law. Consequently someone with the Latin Right who held a land contract could insist that the Roman courts enforce that contract. It has been seen that the Roman courts were often lax in their duty, but even this was better than nothing. Other Italians had not even that much recourse. So now Gaius Gracchus proposed that the present holders of the Latin Right become Romans, and the other Italian allies should get the Latin Right. From there, with the precedent established, a process would exist by which conquered people could first become involuntary allies, then Latins and finally Roman citizens. This, as with much of Gaius Gracchus’ other legislation, was reasonable, far-sighted and addressed one of the fundamental problems underlying the structure of the Roman Republic.