How the Roman Empire Conquered England

The Roman conquest of England began almost 2,000 years ago in 43 AD under the Roman Emperor Claudius. Prior to this, both Julius Caesar and perhaps Caligula had tried to conquer the island of Britain, but they were largely unsuccessful. Following his second invasion of Britain in 54 BC however, Caesar had managed to establish a system where some British tribes of ancient south-east England paid tribute to Rome, with these arrangements potentially still in place by the time of Claudius' invasion. This system built links between Rome and these tribes, with the elites of these British tribes of south-east England developing a passion for Roman customs, having a love of wine and fine imported tableware for instance. Furthermore, some of these elites of south-east England may have grown up in Rome after being exchanged as children during negotiations with Rome. Despite this, most of Celtic England still remained outside of Roman control in any strict sense, something Claudius sought to change. But why was Rome so intent on conquering ancient England and Britain? Obviously, a great conquest like Britain would look great on Claudius' CV. The initial pretext for the invasion however was to reinstall the exiled British client king of Rome, Verica. He had recently been expelled from the lands of the Arthrobates, which occupied an area around Sussex during a revolt. Britain may also have been seen, in the eyes of many Romans, as more of an enemy than an ally. During the Roman conquest of Gaul, led by Julius Caesar for instance, the Gauls of modern France, Belgium, and other regions had received reinforcements from the Britons. More importantly however, the Roman Empire wanted to control Britain because of its natural resources, as it was home to cattle, vast deposits of tin and iron, whilst the inhabitants of ancient Celtic Britain used gold coins. In 43 AD, the invasion began when Roman legions landed in coastal Kent. The legions were comprised of Roman soldiers mainly from Italia, Hispania, and Gaul, and they probably departed from Bologna. The English Channel was patrolled by a Roman naval fleet known as Classus Britannica, or British Fleet. Under the command of the Roman Senator-in-General, Aulus Plotius, the Romans made progress in taking large parts of southeastern England. Along the way, Rome won important battles, including in 43 AD, at the Battle of Medway on the banks of the River Medway in the modern county of Kent. In a battle that raged for two days, the Roman eagle finally triumphed. The Romans then soon consolidated their position in the southeast, using war elephants in the process, with 11 British tribes eventually surrendering and pledging loyalty to Roman rule. The Romans celebrated by establishing their capital in England at Camulodunum, which is modern-day Colchester. The Romans had to overcome many instances of resistance in the early period of their campaign in England, however, a notable rebel against Roman conquest was Caractacus. Caractacus initially fled from Colchester to South Wales to stir up resistance to the invading Romans, going on to resist Roman rule for years. Caractacus was particularly effective when he and his army utilised guerrilla warfare tactics. In pitched battles, however, the organised and disciplined Roman army tended to prevail. After defeat in one such battle, Caractacus fled north to a territory controlled by Queen Cartomandua of the Brigantes tribe. Queen Cartomandua, who was loyal to Rome, captured Caractacus in 51 AD and turned him over to the Romans in chains. He was taken to Rome and sentenced to death, but after making an impassioned speech before the Emperor Claudius, his life was spared. He later died in Rome after consolidating their position in south-east England. The Romans moved west, under the leadership of the Roman general Vespasian, who would later become the Emperor of Rome between 69 and 70 AD. Vespasian and his legions overcame all resistance as they moved west, reaching as far west as Exeter in south-west England. Exeter became a major base of Roman operations between 55 and 75 AD. It was not all plain sailing for the Romans however. Resistance to Roman rule continued in areas, with the Druids serving as a core point of Celtic resistance against Roman rule, and in fact, it was during an attempt to quell the Druids of Anglesey and Wales that the most famous rebellion against Roman rule in England occurred in 61 AD, under the leadership of Boudicca. Initially, things were very different for Boudicca. When the Romans invaded Britain decades earlier, Boudicca's husband, Prasatagus, who was king of the Encini tribe at the time, allied his kingdom with the Romans. Whether Prasatagus allied with the Romans after attempts to resist Roman conquest were defeated, or whether he surrendered without a fight are not quite clear. Regardless, the Encini tribe was an independent ally of the Romans going forward up until his death. In his will, he left half of his kingdom to his daughters, and the other half to the Roman Emperor Nero. When he died, however, his will was ignored, and his kingdom was annexed by Rome and his property taken. His wife, Boudicca, was flogged and abused in the streets, and his daughters were raped. Naturally, Boudicca, as a mother and a widow, snapped. Boudicca, who was known as a very tall woman with a fierce gaze, organised others who had been aggrieved by the Romans. She led her Encini tribe, which occupied the region around the Norfolk area of eastern England, along with other tribes, including the Trinovantes, which occupied the region corresponding to parts of modern-day Essex and greater London, in rebellion against Roman rule. It started when the Roman governor of Britain, Gaius Setonius Paulinus, who was on campaign against a Druid stronghold in Mone, modern-day Anglesey in Wales. With Paulinus and his army out of the way, Boudicca seized her opportunity. The Celtic queen and her army sat Camelodenum, modern-day Colchester, overpowering and surprising the Romans guarding the city. Boudicca quickly moved on to attack Londinium, modern-day London. Paulinus, who had received word of Boudicca's success in Colchester, marched straight for Londinium to head off Boudicca's advance. Paulinus did not have sufficient numbers to defend Londinium and ended up having to evacuate the city, leaving it for the Celts. Boudicca and her army torched Londinium as a demonstration of power and moved on to sack and burn other Roman-controlled towns in England. In her campaign, Boudicca and her army killed an estimated 70,000-80,000 Roman troops, many by torture. Her uprising was so impactful that it apparently even made Nero, the Roman emperor at the time, to consider withdrawing his forces from Britain altogether. Paulinus eventually reorganised his forces and despite being outnumbered, the Romans defeated Boudicca's army in a decisive battle that suppressed the revolt. The fate of Boudicca is debated however. Some sources argue that she killed herself to avoid being captured, whereas others say she died shortly after the battle due to illness. With Boudicca's rebellion suppressed, and much of southeastern and southwestern England under Roman control, Rome looked north. The northern parts of England were finally conquered by Gaius Julius Agricola in around 78 AD. This region was controlled in large part by the Brigantes tribe. The leadership of the Brigantes had changed hands around a decade prior to the Roman conquest, after Queen Cartimandua, who we met previously in the story when she handed over Caractacus to the Romans, was forced to flee to the Roman side after a rebellion led by her husband, Venetius, removed her from power. After conquering the Brigantes, Agricola moved north to tackle Caledonia. By this point, Celtic England was under Roman control. The Roman position in England was fully consolidated after the completion of the Stangate Road in 87 AD. The Stangate was a Roman road that ran across northern England between Carlisle and Corbridge, linking two Roman forts that patrolled river crossings. Hadrian's Wall was later built just north of the Stangate, with construction of the wall starting in 122 AD. The Roman Empire would go on to control most of England and large parts of Britain for hundreds of years, until around 410 AD, when Roman imperial authority was withdrawn by the Emperor Honorius. The legacy left by the Romans is still felt today, from the cities they established, to the roads they built.