Roman Britain.
The first Roman invasion of the lands we now call the British Isles took place in 55 B.C. under war leader Julius Caesar, who returned one year later, but these probings did not lead to any significant or permanent occupation. He had some interesting, if biased comments concerning the natives: "All the Britons," he wrote, "paint themselves with woad, which gives their skin a bluish color and makes them look very dreadful in battle." It was not until a hundred years later that permanent settlement of the grain-rich eastern territories began in earnest. In the year 43.A.D. an expedition was ordered by the Emperor Claudius, who showed he meant business by sending his general Plautius and an army of 40,000 men. Only three months after Plautius's troops landed on Britain's shores, Claudius felt it was safe enough to visit his new province. He wasn't wrong. Establishing their bases in what is now Kent, through a series of battles involving greater discipline, a great element of luck, and general lack of co-ordination between the leaders of the various Celtic tribes, the Romans subdued much of Britain in the short space of forty years. They remained for nearly 400 years. The great number of prosperous villas that have been excavated in the southeast and southwest testify to the rapidity by which Britain became Romanized, for they functioned as centers of a settled, peaceful and urban life. The highlands and moorlands of the northern and western regions, present-day Scotland and Wales, were not as easily settled, nor did the Romans particularly wish to settle in these agriculturally poorer, harsh landscapes. They remained the frontier -- areas where military garrisons were strategically placed to guard the extremities of the Empire. The resistance of tribes in Wales meant that two out of three Roman legions in Britain were stationed on its borders, at Chester, in the north; and Caerwent, in the south.
For Imperial Rome, the island of Britain was a western breadbasket. Caesar had taken armies there to punish those who were aiding the Gauls on the Continent in their fight to stay free of Roman influence. Claudius invaded to give himself prestige; his subjugation of eleven British tribes gave him a splendid triumph. Agricola gave us the most notice of the heroic struggle of the native Britons through his biographer Tacitus. Agricola also won the decisive victory of Mons Graupius in present-day Scotland in 84 A.D. over Calgacus "the swordsman," that carried Roman arms farther west and north than they had ever before ventured. They called their newly conquered northern territory Caledonia. The Caledonians were not easily contained; they were quick to master the arts of guerilla warfare against the scattered, home-sick Roman legionaries, including those under their ageing commander Severus. By the end of the fourth century the Romans had had enough; the last remaining Roman outposts in Caledonia were abandoned. Further south, however, in what is now England, Roman life prospered. The native tribes integrated into a town-based governmental system. Agricola succeeded greatly in his aims to accustom the Britons "to a life of peace and quiet by the provision of amenities." He consequently gave private encouragement and official assistance to the building of "temples, public squares and good houses." Many of these were built in former military garrisons that became the coloniae, the Roman chartered towns such as Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, and York (where Constantine was declared Emperor by his troops in 306 A.D.). Other towns, called municipia, included such foundations as St. Albans (Verulamium). The complex of baths and temples in the present-day city of Bath show only too well the splendor of much of Roman life in southern Britain. Chartered towns were governed to a large extent like Rome. They were ruled by an Ordo of l00 councillors (decurion) who had to be local residents and own a certain amount of property. The Ordo was run by two magistrates, rotated annually. They were responsible for collecting taxes, administering justice and undertaking public works.
The first Roman invasion of the lands we now call the British Isles took place in 55 B.C. under war leader Julius Caesar, who returned one year later, but these probings did not lead to any significant or permanent occupation. He had some interesting, if biased comments concerning the natives: "All the Britons," he wrote, "paint themselves with woad, which gives their skin a bluish color and makes them look very dreadful in battle." It was not until a hundred years later that permanent settlement of the grain-rich eastern territories began in earnest. In the year 43.A.D. an expedition was ordered by the Emperor Claudius, who showed he meant business by sending his general Plautius and an army of 40,000 men. Only three months after Plautius's troops landed on Britain's shores, Claudius felt it was safe enough to visit his new province. He wasn't wrong. Establishing their bases in what is now Kent, through a series of battles involving greater discipline, a great element of luck, and general lack of co-ordination between the leaders of the various Celtic tribes, the Romans subdued much of Britain in the short space of forty years. They remained for nearly 400 years. The great number of prosperous villas that have been excavated in the southeast and southwest testify to the rapidity by which Britain became Romanized, for they functioned as centers of a settled, peaceful and urban life. The highlands and moorlands of the northern and western regions, present-day Scotland and Wales, were not as easily settled, nor did the Romans particularly wish to settle in these agriculturally poorer, harsh landscapes. They remained the frontier -- areas where military garrisons were strategically placed to guard the extremities of the Empire. The resistance of tribes in Wales meant that two out of three Roman legions in Britain were stationed on its borders, at Chester, in the north; and Caerwent, in the south.
For Imperial Rome, the island of Britain was a western breadbasket. Caesar had taken armies there to punish those who were aiding the Gauls on the Continent in their fight to stay free of Roman influence. Claudius invaded to give himself prestige; his subjugation of eleven British tribes gave him a splendid triumph. Agricola gave us the most notice of the heroic struggle of the native Britons through his biographer Tacitus. Agricola also won the decisive victory of Mons Graupius in present-day Scotland in 84 A.D. over Calgacus "the swordsman," that carried Roman arms farther west and north than they had ever before ventured. They called their newly conquered northern territory Caledonia. The Caledonians were not easily contained; they were quick to master the arts of guerilla warfare against the scattered, home-sick Roman legionaries, including those under their ageing commander Severus. By the end of the fourth century the Romans had had enough; the last remaining Roman outposts in Caledonia were abandoned. Further south, however, in what is now England, Roman life prospered. The native tribes integrated into a town-based governmental system. Agricola succeeded greatly in his aims to accustom the Britons "to a life of peace and quiet by the provision of amenities." He consequently gave private encouragement and official assistance to the building of "temples, public squares and good houses." Many of these were built in former military garrisons that became the coloniae, the Roman chartered towns such as Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, and York (where Constantine was declared Emperor by his troops in 306 A.D.). Other towns, called municipia, included such foundations as St. Albans (Verulamium). The complex of baths and temples in the present-day city of Bath show only too well the splendor of much of Roman life in southern Britain. Chartered towns were governed to a large extent like Rome. They were ruled by an Ordo of l00 councillors (decurion) who had to be local residents and own a certain amount of property. The Ordo was run by two magistrates, rotated annually. They were responsible for collecting taxes, administering justice and undertaking public works.
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