The Romans and Britannia
The Roman general, Julius Caesar, decided to make a reconnaissance expedition into the island, which he called Britannia. This was in 55 bc. It was not prompted by mere curiosity; there was close contact between the inhabitants of Britain and those of Gaul, and this included military help against the Romans. Caesar himself reported that some British tribes, hard-pressed by their neighbours, had offered to surrender to Roman rule in order to obtain Roman support. His landing was opposed at first, but the Britons surrendered, only to attack again. Caesar returned to Gaul with his forces, but the Romans considered it a great victory. A year later he returned with a more substantial expedition, five legions and two thousand cavalry, on six hundred specially constructed ships. This time the Romans remained for two months. The Britons of the south-east united against them under a single commander, Cassivellaunus, but in the only battle, they were defeated, and they resorted to harassing tactics as the Romans pressed inland, fording the Thames and entering Essex. But British unity did not last, and Caesar stormed Cassivellaunus's base. The British leader made peace, hostages were given and an annual tribute was to be paid to Rome. Caesar returned satisfied. Britannia was not colonised, or annexed to Rome, but it acknowledged Roman supremacy.
Almost ninety years went by, with Britannia still beyond the limit of the Roman Empire, but linked through a steady pattern of trading and diplomatic contacts. Some British tribal leaders made alliances with the Romans, while others remained aloof. In 43 ad, under the reign of the emperor, Claudius, the Romans made the decisive move to reduce Britannia to an imperial province. Four legions were landed, at Richborough in Kent, and met little resistance as they pushed northwards to capture Camulodunum, now Colchester, centre of the strong kingdom that had until a short time before been ruled by Cunobelinus. The emperor himself made a brief visit to this remote and exotic new addition to the Roman world. His general, Aulus Plautius, extended Roman rule over the south-east regions, from the Wash to Southampton Water. But the further the invaders went from the south-east, the more fierce and hostile were the native inhabitants. In the south-west, and west of the Severn, and north of the Trent, only hard fighting and military occupation secured the Roman position. In 61 a rebellion broke out in a region they had thought pacified, when the East Anglian Iceni tribe rose, under its queen, Boudicca, and attacked and destroyed the Roman camp-towns of Camulodunum, Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium (London). Boudicca, who had no son, had claimed to rule after the death of her husband; the Romans refused this and whipped her and her daughters. The governor, Suetonius Paulinus, who had been campaigning in north-west Wales against the tribe of Ordovices, hastily returned and defeated the Iceni, with heavy and drastic reprisals. Boudicca killed herself. The British tribes had certainly not lived in a state of mutual peace, but the organised terror of Roman colonial warfare was a new and horrifying experience for them. If the Roman army brought civilisation in its wake, it first prepared the ground by burning, rape, plunder, extortion and mass killings.
It was with a campaign of virtual genocide that the governor, Agricola, appointed to Britain in 78 and in charge until 85, smashed the Ordovices and established control of the great tribe of the Brigantes, whose territory lay right across the country north of the Humber. Three great legionary fortresses were set up to sustain Roman rule, at Eboracum (York), Deva (Chester) and Isca (Caerleon): each placed to give quick access to the still doubtful hill districts. For three hundred years the country would be Romano-British, though most of the garrison soldiers were not Roman or even Italian, but from eastern Europe: present-day Romania and the Adriatic coastal states. Many of them settled after long service, and veterans' colonies were set up at Lincoln, Colchester and Gloucester. Roman life and influence was strongest in the towns, and the countryside retained its Brittonic speech and Celtic lifestyle. The Romans had however eradicated, or tried very hard to eradicate, their druidical religion, whose great centre had been the island of Anglesey. The druids, priests, counsellors, prophets and lore-masters, had been seen as the prime source of anti-Roman agitation, and a torrent of propaganda was turned on them, as well as military force. Though worship of the Celtic gods and nature spirits certainly continued, and the Romans were not hostile to the local gods, the campaign against the druids and their cult may have helped to create a religious vacuum from which Christianity would later benefit.
Almost ninety years went by, with Britannia still beyond the limit of the Roman Empire, but linked through a steady pattern of trading and diplomatic contacts. Some British tribal leaders made alliances with the Romans, while others remained aloof. In 43 ad, under the reign of the emperor, Claudius, the Romans made the decisive move to reduce Britannia to an imperial province. Four legions were landed, at Richborough in Kent, and met little resistance as they pushed northwards to capture Camulodunum, now Colchester, centre of the strong kingdom that had until a short time before been ruled by Cunobelinus. The emperor himself made a brief visit to this remote and exotic new addition to the Roman world. His general, Aulus Plautius, extended Roman rule over the south-east regions, from the Wash to Southampton Water. But the further the invaders went from the south-east, the more fierce and hostile were the native inhabitants. In the south-west, and west of the Severn, and north of the Trent, only hard fighting and military occupation secured the Roman position. In 61 a rebellion broke out in a region they had thought pacified, when the East Anglian Iceni tribe rose, under its queen, Boudicca, and attacked and destroyed the Roman camp-towns of Camulodunum, Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium (London). Boudicca, who had no son, had claimed to rule after the death of her husband; the Romans refused this and whipped her and her daughters. The governor, Suetonius Paulinus, who had been campaigning in north-west Wales against the tribe of Ordovices, hastily returned and defeated the Iceni, with heavy and drastic reprisals. Boudicca killed herself. The British tribes had certainly not lived in a state of mutual peace, but the organised terror of Roman colonial warfare was a new and horrifying experience for them. If the Roman army brought civilisation in its wake, it first prepared the ground by burning, rape, plunder, extortion and mass killings.
It was with a campaign of virtual genocide that the governor, Agricola, appointed to Britain in 78 and in charge until 85, smashed the Ordovices and established control of the great tribe of the Brigantes, whose territory lay right across the country north of the Humber. Three great legionary fortresses were set up to sustain Roman rule, at Eboracum (York), Deva (Chester) and Isca (Caerleon): each placed to give quick access to the still doubtful hill districts. For three hundred years the country would be Romano-British, though most of the garrison soldiers were not Roman or even Italian, but from eastern Europe: present-day Romania and the Adriatic coastal states. Many of them settled after long service, and veterans' colonies were set up at Lincoln, Colchester and Gloucester. Roman life and influence was strongest in the towns, and the countryside retained its Brittonic speech and Celtic lifestyle. The Romans had however eradicated, or tried very hard to eradicate, their druidical religion, whose great centre had been the island of Anglesey. The druids, priests, counsellors, prophets and lore-masters, had been seen as the prime source of anti-Roman agitation, and a torrent of propaganda was turned on them, as well as military force. Though worship of the Celtic gods and nature spirits certainly continued, and the Romans were not hostile to the local gods, the campaign against the druids and their cult may have helped to create a religious vacuum from which Christianity would later benefit.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home