"The political use of veteran's colonies" During the late republican period veterans were offered the opportunity of settling at public, or conquered, lands in the provinces. Most of the veterans were plebeians of either a rural background or part of the most populous social group inhabiting the Roman urban centers, the poorest of the poor, or proletarii. For the veterans who enjoyed no further financial support by the state once their term of service was concluded, coming'home' meant return to extreme poverty. Still loyal to their Legion, or army unit, as is rightfully the case with veterans, they chose to settle near the camp or fort where they had spent a great part of their lives. There they intermarried with the locals, had families, cultivated the land, built towns and practiced a free trade. For Rome, and the worried patricians, this measure was a welcome state of affairs. Why? Instructions Posts should be well written; syntax and grammar count. There is no limit to a post's extent and no word-count but an average post should be contained within a 200 word paragraph. Clarity is important. So is language; the author of a post should be polite and considerate to his/her colleagues. Discussion is a collective / collaborate effort. In Discussions there is not a single 'truth' to be revealed. By addressing a concept or a historical issue, one first establishes an argument. The first sentence of the post's paragraph carries the bases of the argument to be made; this is the 'main idea sentence'. Sentences which follow elaborate on that main idea. Example: "My view on the matter is...", "It seems to me that..." Then follows the argument; the reason(s) why this is so. Responses to a post (as many as each student wants, although at least one should always be offered) need to be collegiate in manner. All arguments need be respected as such. The dialogue created in Discussions is on a collective / all-class-included context. There is not to be any personal attacks and not any dialogue between two persons alone. Responses are not to be people targeted. This is a public discourse and it should be approached as such.