The Roman Conquest of Britain

      In 43 CE, the most formidable army in Europe, the Romans, descended in Britain for conquest. This is long after the attempted seizure of the land by Julius Caesar, who only captured part of Britain to establish trade and tribute. What should have been a sweep of slaughter against untrained and hardly prepared group of civilians turned into a long, hard war. The superpower vs. civilian army was analogous to the revolutionary war, with the only advantage of one side being their knowledge of the land.

       Although the British were divided into many groups, Celts, Picts, Belgae, etc., many found unification to retaliate against the Roman invasion. As the island had been subjugated under Rome for 100 years, always paying tribute in fear of conquest, Emperor Claudius expected little resistance, and required a much larger military operation than expected. Claudius brought an army of 40,000 foot soldiers and cavalry, as he acknowledged their possible power. Some tribes immediately surrendered to the Romans upon seeing the fighting force, such as some Belgian tribes. Others put up a fight for many years, the Picts for example performed raids of Hadrian's wall in the north for decades to come. The south was the easiest part to capture, as many surrendered and there was little resistance. As the Roman army moved north, however, they struggled to push through the defense Caractacus had made by unifying many tribes. Along with having to defeat Caractacus and his Welsh army, the Celts lived in mid-England, and were very difficult to beat. The Celts were nomadic groups, led by their Chieftains and druids, their religious leaders. They fought nakedly and viciously, using the environment they knew so well to their advantage. To defeat them, the Romans used night raids to destroy their camps while they were asleep drunk. To deal with Caractacus and his army, the Romans merely fought them like they would anyone else, and won with their military dominance in experience, numbers, and weaponry. It became clear as the Romans continued north that their conquest would not be stopped, as any town or small rebellion could be easily destroyed, due to the power of Rome and Britain’s lack of unification.

     But what if Britain was unified, had an army with some experience, and an ally such as Gaul (before it was taken by Rome), and tried to attack Rome? Around 50 BCE, Julius Caesar was invading Gaul, which had received some help from various southern tribes. In the early stages of the invasion surprise assistance from a unified Britain may have crushed the Roman army, along with Caesar, and created a turnaround that could lead to a great hit to the Republic, as territories joined the revolt and fought back. I created a map that outlines would could have happened if the British invaded Rome, found here.

Works Cited

Deary, Terry. Rotten Romans. New York: Scholastic, 1994. Print.

Hill, Stephen, and Stanley Ireland. Roman Britain. London: Bristol Classical Press, 1996. Print.

Olwson, Donald W., and Russell L. Doescher. "Caesar's Invasion Of Britain." Sky & Telescope . 116.2    (2008): 18. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Roman Britain. Pitkin Guides. Print.

Roman Invasion And Conquest Of Britain B.C. 55 - A.D. 79." Great Events By Famous

Historians, Vol. 2 (2006): 166-172. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.