1. Key terms: Italy’s Geography Latins Patricians Plebeians Coach Smith

2. Italy is a country in western Europe.

3.  Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula in western Europe.  Italy is a long, narrow, boot-shaped peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea.  The seas and the Alps mountains in the north protected Italy from most invaders. Coach Smith

4. Rome was a city-state located on a fertile plain in the middle of Italy.

5.  The Latins were a group of people who lived on a plain called Latium in Italy.  They learned many ideas from their Greek neighbors.  The Etruscans lived in the north. The Etruscans conquered Rome and the plain of Latium. Coach Smith

6. The Etruscans conquered Rome and the plain of Latium.

7.  The early Roman city-state contained two main social classes: patricians (wealthy landowning families) and plebeians ( small farmers, craftsmen, and merchants).  Eventually, the Romans overthrew their Etruscan king and made Rome into a republic.  A republic is a form of government where citizens have political power. Coach Smith

8. A republic is a type of government in which a few people represent many people. Rome was a republic and the United States is a republic.

9.  In 509 B.C., the patricians rebelled against their cruel Etruscan king and established a republic.  In a republic, citizens vote to elect representatives.  The Roman Republic lasted from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. – almost 500 years. Coach Smith

10. Only patricians were allowed to vote. They were from the oldest and richest families in Rome. They made up only 10% of Rome’s population.

11. Coach Smith The Plebeians were citizen-soldiers. The Patricians needed them to defend Rome.

12.  In 494 B.C., the Roman Republic gave the plebeians the right to elect two tribunes.  These two representatives protected the rights of the plebeian class.  The tribunes could veto any law they did not like. The senate could only pass laws to which the tribunes said yes. Coach Smith

13. The Roman Senate was a governing body.

14.  List two geographic features of Italy and state an effect for each.  Who were the Latins?  Describe Rome’s Republic.  How did Patricians differ from Plebeians?  Why did Plebeians gain greater political rights?  What were tribunes?  Define veto. Coach Smith