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In the time of the first Roman invasions
of Julius Caesar, 55 BC and 56 BC,
Britain was split into many tribal
regions, each with their own king. These
tribes were often at war with each other.
Caesar noted some of the tribes painted
themselves blue, making them fearsome
looking in battle.
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The Romans only returned to
Britain in 43 AD after the Roman
Emperor, Claudius, ordered Britain
to be conquered so it could be
added as a province of the Roman
Empire.
When general Aulus Plautius, and
an army of 40,000 arrived in
England, things were made easy for
them as some of the warring tribes
welcomed them. Those tribes saw the
Romans as a way of defeating their
neighbours.
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The Romans made their base in the
region of Kent. They then moved north to
the River Thames where they built a
wooden bridge just east of the present
day London Bridge. For about the next
seven years, they fought a series of
battles against the tribes north of the
Thames. By the time things had settled
down, the Thames was being used to birth
ships, and with the Roman roads leading
to the bridge, the City of Londinium was
founded in that area.
Boudicea was the wife of King
Prasutagus of the Iceni Tribe located in
Norfolk north of London. When Prasutagus
died in 60 AD, having no sons, he left
his personal wealth to his two daughters
and the then Roman Emperor, Nero. He
thought that would ensure the Romans
would look after his family and their
land. The Romans however, took full
control of the land and repeatedly raped
the daughters and humiliated the Iceni
hierarchy.
Boudicea led an uprising against the
Romans aided by the neighbouring
Trinobantian Tribe. They attacked the
Roman town of Camulodunum (Colchester)
burning the town to the ground and
slaying everyone in sight. They then
moved south towards Londinium, destroying
the Roman military garrisons on the way.
When they reached Londinium, all had fled
except the old and sick. The Britons
slaughtered them all before advancing
toward Verulamium, a settlement of the
Catuvellauni Tribe who were allies of the
Romans. There they met the Roman 14th
Legion.
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Boudicea led the Britons into
battle on her chariot. The battle
is said to have ended with around
80,000 Britons dead and 400 Romans
dead.
Boudicea survived the battle but
died soon after, it is thought she
poisoned herself rather than be
captured by the Romans, it is
unknown what happened to her two
daughters.
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Statue of Boudicea in
London
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By 79 AD, the Romans had England and
Wales firmly under control. The then
Roman Emperor, Vespasian, instructed the
Roman Governor in Britain to gain control
of Scotland. By 81 AD, the southern
tribes were subdued, this allowing the
Romans to march north to confront the
Caledonians in Aberdeenshire. Although
the Romans won that battle, the surviving
Caledonians retreated to the hills from
where they began engaging the Romans in
gorilla warfare.
Hadrian became Roman Emperor in 117
AD. On his visit to Britain in 122, he
ordered the building of a wall from the
Solway Firth, near Carlisle, to the River
Tyne, near Newcastle, to mark the
boundary of the Roman Empire. Also, to
keep the Scottish tribes from entering
the Roman Empire.
By 406, the combined forces of the
Suevi, Alans, Vandals and Burgundian
tribes had swept into Gaul (France)
severing all contact between Rome and
Britain.
With the western Roman Empire week,
and in danger, the last Roman legions
were recalled from Britain in 407. The
following year, Roman Britain was
attacked by Picts, Scots and Saxons. In
410, Britain gained its independence from
Rome.
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