As it turned out, the defection of the Latins and the colonies started and stopped at Venusia. Had it not, Rome would not have survived. The military significance of the colonies goes without saying. The military significance of the other Latin tribes is less remarked upon, but they were the weight that finally tipped the scales. Every tribe and region that rebelled counted as double in this coming war, because apart from the somewhat bemused Gallic regions of northern Italy, there were few neutrals. You either fought for Rome, or you fought against it.
