Boudica's Rebellion - Part I

-60 AD- the king of Iceni at this time was a named Prasutagus (his Romanized name, of course).
   - The Iceni were one of the most powerful tribes of the Britons, but they had decided to sell out to Rome years earlier so Prasutagus was allowed to continue on ruling his tribe as a puppet king of the Roman emperor.
      -Because of this, Prasutagus listed both Emperor Nero AND his wife and daughters (he had no son) as heirs to the throne after he croaked.
         -It's unclear as to why he did this, but of course there are a bunch of theories about this.
            -This is important because the Romans would have found this it to be really embarrassing if one of their client kingdoms was ruled by a woman (haha so dumb).
               -The Britons, of course, were much more egalitarian about this and probably wouldn't have thought a queen calling the shots would be all that weird.
               -Also, this was guaranteed to be a time bomb because Nero's foreign policy was much more aggressive than Emperor Claudius'.
                  -Claudius' style was to invade, establish dominance, and then allow these newly-conquered peoples to govern themselves through puppet rulers controlled by Rome.  In contrast, Nero's style was simply to dominate, subjugate, and assimilate (asshole).
   -Although the Romans still held Britannia, the natives were becoming increasingly pissed off at Rome over what they saw as unfair economic oppression, corruption, and extortion.
      -The Britons were a warlike culture, so living like slaves under their Roman overlords must have been maddening.
      -The Briton nobility also found themselves becoming more and more indebted to Rome over time, as they were unaccustomed to the concept of loans; they had always operated on a barter/gift-giving economic system.
         -Of course, the Romans took advantage of this to rip off the Britons as much as possible.
       -Besides the Iceni getting pissed off, they were also joined by the Trinovantes in terms of a strong anti-Roman sentiment.
         -The Trinovantes' capital at Camulodunum had been conquered by Rome and was made the capital of the province, which I'm sure was a wound that the Trinovantes still hadn't completely healed from yet.
   -The Romans also took full advantage of their subjugation of the Iceni by forcing them to offer up their young men for conscription into the Roman legions (or fight as auxiliaries maybe?), give up their weapons, and allow for the Romans to search their homes and shit for weapons at any time.  They were also taxed heavily in order to help finance the Roman occupation of their own land :)
      -To make matters worse, the Iceni were taxed in grain, so if there was a famine many of them ended up starving.
-So, after Prasutagus died, his wife Boudica was enthroned as queen and leader of the Iceni.
   -We don't actually know much about her, or even if "Boudica" was her real name (or even close to it!).
      -The Romans definitely found the concept of a warrior-queen to be a negative thing.  According to the Romans, the battlefield was no place for a woman!  So, they're not the most objective source of info.
      -She was described by the Romans as tall and fierce, and said to worship the Iceni goddess Andraste (a war goddess who may have also gone by other names of course and is believed to have possibly been related to the goddesses Nike (Greek), Bellona (Roman), Cybele (Anatolian), and Vacuna (Sabine)).
   -Unfortunately, the Romans conveniently interpreted the Iceni's status as a client kingdom to be nullified after the death of Prasutagus, so Roman troops were immediately sent in to ensure that the transition from client kingdom to provincial region went as smoothly as possible.
      -Of course, the Romans were probably not the most gentle when they went in to do this, and during the confiscation of the royal property the Roman soldiers had Boudica publicly flogged while they raped her daughters and had the Iceni nobles arrested and beaten before completely looting the area.
         -How could this have happened?   Weren't the Iceni at this point Roman citizens?
            -While the Iceni WERE technically Roman citizens, the Roman soldiers probably didn't give a shit; to them, the Britons were just subhuman savages and thus had no problems with doing this kind of bullshit to the people they subjugated.
-Of course, what the Romans did to "pacify" the Iceni completely fucking backfired, as the Iceni now believed that the Romans were pure evil, a sentiment the Trinovantes had been feeling at this point for years!
   -It was now obvious that no Briton, whether they were Roman citizens or not, was safe.
      -Soon, thousands of Britons from all over began arriving in the region to show their support for Boudica and unify against the Romans.
-Boudica now found herself as the leader (or at least one of the leaders) of a multi-tribal rebellion against the Romans. 
   -There may have been other leaders, too, but of course the Romans focused heavily on Boudica.
   -The Britons immediately began to eye Camulodunum as their first major target (due to its proximity, strategic location, and symbol of Roman power).
   -As they marched towards the capital, local Britons would just join them (including women and children!).
   -Apparently, the Romans either didn't take the rebellion seriously or they were being fed bad intel because when the Briton army arrived they found Camulodunum undefended, as the vast majority of the Roman forces were far to the west!
      -Panicked, Camulodunum immediately sent word for help from the nearest major Roman settlement- Londinium.
         -Londinium responded by sending a reinforcement army of...200 men haha.  In contrast, it's estimated that Boudica's army numbered in the tens of thousands (or maybe even over 100,000!).
   -According to legend, a bunch of ominous portents, supernatural visions, and strange occurrences began to occur in Camulodunum as Boudica's army approached.
   -When the Britons finally attacked, the defenders and everyone else still in the town were completely slaughtered (Roman and Romanized Britons alike!). 
      -It was a complete bloodbath; no one was spared! 
         -Clearly, the Britons were extremely fucking pissed off.
         -After the slaughter, the town was burned to the ground (except for the temple, which was made of stone).
            -By the time Roman reinforcements arrived it was too late, and they, too, were slaughtered by the Britons.
-It's worth noting, however, that there is actually not much in the way of archaeological evidence to verify that the Britons actually slaughtered all of the town's inhabitants, and this may have just been anti-Briton propaganda from Rome.  That being said, there is some evidence supporting that instead of being slaughtered during the attack on the city, the citizens were instead captured by the army and then killed in a mass sacrifice!

Suetonius, Part-Time Mountain-Climber and Full-Time Jerk

-41 AD- Gaius Suetonius Paulinus- governor of the province of Mauretania and the first Roman commander to lead troops across the Atlas Mountains (mountain range located in modern-day Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia).
-54 AD- Emperor Claudius dies (or was he murdered? Hmm...) replaced by his adopted son, Nero (although more likely than not it was his mother, Agrippina (the Younger), who was really calling the shots!).
   -During this time in Britannia Aulus Didius Gallus was governor, spending most of his efforts trying to quell rebellions in the lands occupied by Roman forces.
-57 AD- in the North, the Brigantes continued to raise hell, although they were also fighting each other too because they were divided.
   -One faction was led by the Brigantes king Venutius, the other was led by his wife (!), Queen Cartimandua.
      -The tension finally came to a head when Cartimandua captured and imprisoned Venutius' side of the family.
         -Because of this, Venutius' kingdom erupted into civil war.  Venutius took up Caratacus' banner in order to continue the fight against Rome, but also added the queen and her allies to his list of enemies (this was probably due to Cartimandua's treatment of Caratacus).
         -However, up until this time Venutius had just been quarreling with Cartimandua.  So, why did he decide to declare war on Rome and bring them into the mix?
            -It's possible he did this because he didn't have a large-enough force to support his side so he tried to get more anti-Roman factions (like the Silures (occupied modern-day Wales)) to his side in order to boost his numbers.
         -As a result of Venutius' attacks against Cartimandua's forces, Cartimandua reached out to Governor Didius for Roman military support.
            -However, Governor Didius most likely didn't want to get involved, as his priority (or orders from Rome) was containment, not invasion.  Plus, the Brigantes served as a nice buffer between Roman-occupied Britannia and the wild hordes to the north (modern-day Scotland).
               -So, Didius sent troops to the region to support Cartimandua (and also expand Rome's reach, of course).  The Roman forces arrived to find that the land was being ravaged by civil war. 
                  -Because of Rome's involvement, of course, Cartimandua's forces were now much larger than Venutius', and Venutius and his resistance had to go underground.
            -Eventually, Cartimandua also got a new dude to be her lover and king- Vellocatus (former squire to Venutius). 
               -This was an interesting choice because he was a servant and of common birth, so I'm sure the Brigantes nobility were thrilled to have a commoner as their new king.
                  -Thus, because of this (in addition to Venutius' continued attacks), Cartimandua was forced to rely more and more on Roman support.
-Meanwhile, back in Rome, Emperor Nero was faced wit ha tough decision- shit was getting so bad in Britannia that it probably would have otherwise been a wise decision to pull out, but he couldn't because this would have undermined all the progress that Emperor Claudius had made with conquering the region!  What to do??
   -Nero decides to recall Didius back to Rome.  Didius is then replaced as governor of Britannia by a general named Quintus Veranius, who would actually go on to do a pretty good job in pacifying the new province by implementing new, aggressive military strategies.
      -Apparently, upon returning to Rome Didius was made fun of by the senator/historian Tacitus. 
      -Also during this time, Rome and its Britannic allies pushed hard against the Silures in order to finally crush them once and for all.
-How was Rome able to get these armies of natives to fight against each other?
   -One way was the promise of Roman citizenship- if you were a non-citizen but fought for Rome for 25 years, then you could become a Roman citizen!
      -Because of this, things weren't looking too good for the resistance.
-Why was Rome having such a hard time pacifying this new province?
   -One problem was that Britannia had like 23 different tribes, each with their own territory and shit, and they also typically didn't get along with each other.
      -As is the same as the rest of human history, it's really hard to conquer a bunch of different people who don't like each other and then attempt to unify them under one (foreign) banner.
   -Rome had the most control in the south of the island, so that's where they decided to focus all of their attention (in terms of administration, development, and exporting Roman culture).
      -The north and the west of the island, however, were completely different stories of course, and were always having problems in terms of rebellion and shit.
-How did the Romans settle the region and make it more "Romanized"?
   -They would typically send in their forces to pacify the area and then set up a fort.  Naturally, after this trade and commerce would spring up around the forts in order to cater to the needs of the Roman soldiers.
      -Eventually, once there was no longer a need for the Roman fort to still be there, the Romans would allow for the locals to do with it what they wished (usually resulting in its demolition in order to free up more land for the settlement), and by this point the town would be pretty Romanized in terms of culture, it would essentially just another Roman town in the vast Roman Empire!
         -These new Roman towns in Britannia were different from the traditional Britannic towns that dotted the island.
            -The smaller Roman towns in Britannia may have had more in common with the traditional settlements of the island, but the larger Roman towns were usually rectangular in shape, well-organized and fortified, featured streets in a grid, and were designed to be as "Roman" as possible in terms of architecture and culture.
  -Unfortunately for the Romans, they always had a difficult time persuading the local nobility to live in these cities, as the nobility preferred to live in their rural estates and away from the hordes of commoners in the city.  Plus, many of these families had probably lived in these estates for decades (if not centuries!), so it wouldn't be expected for them to want to abandon their estates and luxurious ways of life just so they could go live in the nearby city with all the riff-raff!
      -The Romans desperately wanted the aristocracy to live in cities, of course, as they knew that commoners would want to follow the nobility if the nobility were doing it (whether it be living in cities, accepting and promoting or encouraging Roman fashion, religion, culture, etc.).  If the Romans could just get the nobles into these new Roman cities, it would make these cities seem more legit!
         -The Romans tried to attract these nobles by enticing them with cool shit like novel goods (wine, oil, etc.) and innovations (such as the hypocaust (Ancient Roman central heating), public baths, etc.).  This kind of worked, too, but the nobility still would insist on living at least part-time in their rural estates (depending on the season)).
      -Once the Romans got Britons to accept their rule, they encouraged them to continue doing this by offering citizenship to citizens (which came with a ton of benefits and made life under the Romans just easier in general).
   -Another fun fact- the Romans didn't have to try too hard to get the Britons to speak Latin, as they actually may have known some of the language (or at least were aware of its existence) prior to the Claudian invasions of Britannia (as indicated by certain Briton coins and other archaeological/historical evidence).
      -Of course, as Rome's grip on power in southern Britannia strengthened, the use of Latin spread throughout the island.
         -In fact, it's been argued that the Latin spoke by Britons was actually a more "pure" version of the language compared to the kind of Latin that was spoken in Rome.  Perhaps that was because the Britons were taught Latin usually in formal educational settings (instead of it being just a native tongue (and thus prone to all sorts of "corruption" (slang, bad grammar, etc.)).
-However, not all of the Britons were down with the Romans or being Romanized, of course.
   -One of the most hardcore anti-Roman forces were the Silures (of modern-day Wales).
      -Because of this, they soon found themselves fighting off Roman forces (commanded by Suetonius). 
         -Suetonius was especially brutal and methodical in his subjugation of the Silures.  By the time the Roman forces reached the west coast of the island they had already begun to make plans to attack the island of Mona (modern-day Anglesey), a stronghold for both the druids and Briton refugees who were still resistant to the Roman occupation.  Mona was also a main source for food (such as grain) for this anti-Roman resistance.
            -This resulted in a great battle.  Ultimately, the Romans were victorious, and they ended up slaughtering the island's inhabitants.
               -Although it seemed as if this was the last of Briton resistance in the south, there were soon reports of a massive rebellion in the east!  This particular rebellion was being led by a warrior-queen known as Boudica.
                  -It's also important to remember that during this time, the west still wasn't quite pacified.  Still, Suetonius knew that he had no choice but to quietly withdraw his forces from the west and quell Boudica's rebellion in the east ASAP!

Caratacus, the Home-Wrecker

-By 42 AD, many Briton tribes were surrenduring to Rome in order to reap the benefits and enjoy not being slaughtered.
   -Britannic nobles definitely would have experienced the most changes during this time in terms of of status, an increase/decrease in wealth, etc., but for commoners shit really didn't change all that much; as long as you didn't cause any trouble, you were probably fine.
      -The biggest difference for the masses in terms of the Roman invasion was most likely the presence of Roman military and tax collectors (who collected taxes from the locals who were paying for Roman "protection" (sound familiar?)).  Also, communities under Roman subjugation would slowly be disarmed and pacified, which in turn would make them increasingly dependent on the Roman military for protection from the hostile tribes who hadn't been disarmed!
      -The difference in religion between the Romans and the Britons was also likely to be a big issue as well. 
   -Anyway, one of the leaders of the rebels was still continuing the fight against Rome- Caratacus! 
      -Although he had been crushed at Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester, Essex), he gave zero fucks and was still a major player in the Britannic resistance against the Romans (who were now being led by a dude named Aulus Plautius, the first governor of this new province (officially annexed in 43 AD).
      -Under Plautius, the Romans were extremely ruthless; you either completely submitted to Rome or you and your people were slaughtered!
      -Caratacus was now holed up in modern-day Wales and was under the protection of (and leading I guess?) the Silures and the Ordovices (or a tribal confederation that they belonged to) tribes.  Other tribes soon began to flock to his banner.
         -It's unclear as to why exactly these tribes were still resistant to Rome, and it's possible that it could have been because of old tribal grudges, wanting to "live free or die", or even because of the the anti-Roman sentiment among the druids (now confined to the Isle of Mona (modern-day Anglesey (off the northwest coast of modern-day Wales)) since the Romans had no tolerance for the Britons' pagan religion.
            -Additionally, the druids were renowned for their roles and skills in diplomacy and brokering peace and/or uniting tribes together in the past, so it would make sense that the tribes of (modern-day) Wales would still be resistant to Rome if the druids hated them.
               -Also, there's evidence that Caratacus' family may have had ties to these tribes as well.
-47 AD- Plautius' term is up as governor, so he returns to Rome. 
   -He's replaced in Britannia by a former general named Publius Ostorius Scapula.
      -At this point, Caratacus' rebellion was in full swing, so Scapula immediately organized his troops to set up camp along the border between Roman occupied territory and Caratacus' allied forces' territory.
         -The idea was to make it more difficult for the Britons to wage guerrilla warfare.
         -Scapula then declared the area around Camulodunum an official Roman colony where the troops could retire after serving (which really pissed off the locals, of course).
            -Eventually, this would become the center of Roman power in Britannia.
         -Scapula also completely disarmed all of the tribes dominated by Rome, no matter how faithfully they had served their Roman overlords.
            -Of course, this plan actually backfired and caused many of the tribes to rebel, the most powerful among them being the Iceni tribe. 
               -However, the Iceni and the others were quickly defeated not long after this, and once again Caratacus' allied forces stood alone against Rome.
           -Following the defeat of the Iceni, a Briton named Prasutagas was installed as a puppet king of the Iceni (or maybe he had been king before and was "given back" his power?  It's unclear as to who this dude actually was, I think).
-48 AD- another rebellion against Rome broke out in the north (in modern-day Yorkshire), led by the Brigantes.
   -Because the Brigantes weren't a unified tribe but more of a loose confederation, they had only submitted in part to Rome, but not completely.  So, Scapula had to pause his war with Caratacus to go focus on putting down the Brigantes' rebellion (or civil war?).
      -After quelling this unrest, the Romans allowed for the Brigantes' queen, Cartimandua, to be restored to power as a puppet ruler (she had previously been queen before the rebellion but had pledged loyalty to Rome). 
         -The Romans then returned their focus to the fight against Caratacus, vowing to completely slaughter his forces.
            -Due to Scapula's absolutely ruthless behavior, the Britons had been flocking to Caratacus' banner in greater and greater numbers as time went on.
               -Still, overall the situation was looking grim for Caratacus, as the Romans had simply gained too much land and grown too powerful.  Also, due to Scapula's ruthlessness, the Britons were becoming completely demoralized.
   -Finally, Caratacus decided it was time for a final showdown!  So, his forces gathered at a hill fort (at either Caer Caradog (modern-day Church Stretton, Shropshire) or Herfordshire Beacon in the Malvern Hills of Herfordshire; it's unclear) to prepare for the final battle.
      -The legions soon arrived and began to overtake the fort, so Caratacus quickly made a hasty retreat out of the fort (leaving behind his wife and kids!) and hid amongst the Brigantes, some of whom apparently still harbored strong enough anti-Roman sentiments to take him in. 
         -Apparently, Queen Cartimandua wasn't at all happy with Caratacus' arrival, and she promptly had him arrested and sent to the Romans! 
            -It's unclear as to why she did this, exactly.  Regardless, there was a huge split among the Brigantes about this decision.
               -Cartimandua's husband, King Venutius, strongly disagreed with his wife's decision and so they began to quarrel, which soon spread to the nobility.
            -As for Caratacus, he was sent to Rome in chains with his wife and family.  He was presented to Emperor Claudius and apparently gave an impassioned and brilliant speech.  Because of this, Claudius allowed him and his family to live! 
               -After this, it's unclear what happened to him, exactly.
-52 AD- Scapula dies suddenly (supposedly due to exhaustion from fighting the Britons)!
   -He was replaced by a former proconsul, Aulus Didius Gallus.

The Claudian Invasion of Britannia

-So, Claudius was now emperor of Rome and he had to do something that would be seen as grandiose and powerful in order to show the Roman elites (and especially the Praetorians) that he wasn't a weak leader. 

   -In Ancient Rome, typically "making a name for yourself" politically meant being involved with or overseeing the conquest of foreign lands, so that was a big reason for why Claudius decided to invade Britannia.

      -Another reason was that an unconquerable Britannia meant an unstable Gaul, something the Romans saw as an existential threat to the empire.  This was because Britannia was still arguably the last bastion of the druids, and the Celts were still heavily influenced by the druids' involvement in their politics.

         -Britannia could also be a safe haven for anti-Roman Celts to run away to and hide if things got too dangerous for them in Gaul.

            -Although the Celts often fought with each other, what often united them (besides a common hatred of Rome, typically) was their pagan religion, which the Romans viewed as being potentially dangerous.

         -Another big reason for the Roman invasion of Britannia was economics. 

            -Rome's economy depended heavily on acquiring more slaves and conquering more territory.  

               -As the empire extended, the non-slave workforce shrunk due to the need for a larger military.  This caused the demand for slaves to grow, which in turn fueled the need to conquer more territory to acquire more slaves.

            -Additionally, due to some global warming before this (c. 750-150 BC), the climate grew warmer in Britannia (compared to how it is today), so you could have vineyards and shit there during that time.  

               -This was a very lucrative business prospect for the Romans.

            -Also, Britannia was rich in minerals such as copper, iron, tin, gold, etc.  

            -Britannia also had a shitload of sheep!

-Of course, Emperor Claudius did indeed meet some opposition to his idea of invading Britannia.

   -Because of the previous failures of trying to conquer the island (especially with the legendary Julius Caesar even failing to do so), no one had stepped forward to try and live up to the task.

      -For the average Roman legionary it was probably a matter of too much risk, too little reward.

      -If Julius Caesar couldn't conquer the island, then how the fuck was Claudius going to do this?

      -Britannia was quite possibly very scary to the Romans.

         -For one, it was so far away that perhaps the Romans felt that their gods had no power there!

         -The tales that Germanicus' shipwrecked soldiers had told (hurricanes, monsters, strange beasts, etc.) upon returning to Rome had probably also exacerbated these fears.

         -The Britons were probably also a scary concept for the average Roman soldier as well.

            -The Britons were said to be tall and strong, with long faces, light hair, and blue eyes, and wore multi-colored (plaid?) tunics.  They also liked for their faces to be clean-shaven (but with the exception of a long, drooping mustache).

            -Their daily life seemed to consist of farming, partying, and fighting, although some Britons were traders and the Romans would interact with them typically in Gaul when they were trading with mainland Celts.

            -The priests of their pagan religion were known as druids, who would conduct their religious ceremonies as well as act as historians by orally chronicling their proud history (they had no system of writing).

            -Technologically, during this time the Britons were a Bronze/Iron Age hybrid.

               -Their battles were typically not huge blowouts, but rather smaller affairs between rival clans and that sort of thing.

               -Their warrior culture was very "personal" (as opposed to the machine-like Roman legionaries), and the warriors would stiffen their hair with lime water until it was spiky, and then they would draw on themselves with blue paint (called "woad").  They would often go into battle only wearing trousers and a torque (metal neckband; the more precious the metal, the higher your status).

                  -Their style of fighting was wild and frenzied.

               -They lived in round cottages with thatched roofs (which was actually easier to make than the rectangular homes which the Celts typically lived in in Gaul).  These round huts were also more aerodynamic and were better at withstanding storms and shit.

-Anyway, so Claudius found his "in" to invade Britannia when Commius' son Verica (of the Atrebates) fled to Rome and appealed to the Romans to help him get his kingdom back (which ad been recently conquered by the Catuvellauni).  

   -So, Claudius' assembled four legions (the 2nd, 9th, 14th, and 20th) and about 20,000 auxiliary troops (including warriors as far-flung as the Thracians and the Batavians) for the invasion.  

      -The general leading this force was a dude named Aulus Plautius.

-43 AD- the Roman army arrived at what is assumed to be Bononia (modern-day Boulogne-sur-Mer, France) in northern Gaul, but the Romans suddenly became too scared to board the ships!

   -Plautius didn't know what to do, so he sent word back to Rome asking what should be done.

      -As a response, Claudius surprisingly sent Narcissus, one of his chief advisers (who was also a former slave) to deal with the problem. 

         -Unfortunately, when Narcissus tried rousing the troops it didn't go over too well, and some of the legionaries ended up mocking him.  However, after unrelenting and continuing to shame the legions for being "cowards", it seems as if being called out by an ex-slave was too much for the soldiers, and soon they ended up boarding the ships and heading for Britannia.

            -Was this Claudius' plan all along?  It's unclear...

      -Anyway, so the troops finally boarded the ships, sailed over to Britannia, and were fortunate enough to not have had to go through any storms or other disasters during this time and most-likely landed at what would become the roman port of Rutupiae (near modern-day Sandwich, Kent) and immediately began to march inland.

   -Initial guerrilla attacks began in the marshes and forests of modern-day Kent.  While this could have been a potential disaster for Rome, the barbarian auxiliary troops for Rome were accustomed to fighting in this kind of terrain, and this was huge boon to Rome's success in getting through these rough spots.

      -Because of this, the disorganized tribes of the region and its surrounding areas began to fall like dominoes.  This also probably helped boost the morale of the Roman soldiers as well.
-However, the Romans were finally confronted by a horde of Britons when they reached the River Medway (near Rochester, Kent).
   -The Briton army was led by brothers Togodumnus and Caratacus of the Catuvellauni. 
      -We don't know the exact numbers of their army other than that it was huge and that they had yelled a lot from across the river at the (silent) Roman legions.
      -Unfortunately for the Britons, they believed that they were safe on the other side of the river because in order to cross over the Romans would have to build a bridge.  However, they were mistaken.
         -While the Romans may have needed a bridge to cross the river, their barbarian auxiliary troops were able to cross the river without a problem.  So, the Romans commanded these warriors to sneak off and cross the river downstream, and by doing this they were able to perform a devastating surprise attack on the unsuspecting Briton army.
            -Taking advantage of the chaos, the Romans army (this time under the command of (future Roman emperor Vespasian!) were able to quickly build a bridge (or simply ford the river?) and conduct a proper frontal assault against the Britons.
               -The fighting lasted all night, but by the next day Briton reinforcements had arrived with an even BIGGER force!  Thus, the fighting continued on and on, and at one point it seemed like the Britons might even win!  However, the Romans were ultimately victorious.
                  -The Britons were able to escape for the most part since the Roman army was so slow due to its size, inexperience with the lay of the land, and were constantly being ambushed by guerrilla fighters (which the Britons excelled at against the Romans).
-When Togodumnus was finally killed during one of the battles against the Romans, the Romans possibly felt that the Britons' resistance was finally on the decline.  However, the Britons continued to fight ferociously under Caratacus, eventually retreating back to their oppidum at Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester, Essex).
   -It's unclear as to what happened next, exactly, but it took Plautius over a month to finally make the region safe enough for Emperor Claudius himself to arrive to oversee the end of the campaign.
      -Claudius arrived in mid-August with his Praetorians; he also brought some war elephants!
         -Camulodunum was finally conquered by the Romans.
-After all of this it's really unclear as to what happened because the sources vary wildly on the events that immediately followed, but it seems as if Claudius was in Britannia for about 16 days.
   -When Claudius finally left Britannia the region surrounding Camulodunum was more or less conquered by Rome.
      -Claudius left Plautius in charge to oversee future operations in the region.

The Heir of Caligula and the Son of Commius

-So, Julius Caesar was now gone for good (seeing as how he'd been assassinated in Rome in 44 BC) and Commius had gone to Britannia as an ambassador for the Romans but secretly was hoping to forge his own kingdom!
   -It is surprising that Commius was actually somewhat successful, as it would be assumed that he was just a Roman shill.  However, he gained popularity by renouncing the Romans and sticking true to his word.  Maybe it made him look good that the Romans had tried to have him assassinated. 
-34 BC- Octavian was now in power in Rome, and had put into motion plans to invade Britannia!
   -However, in the eastern half of the Roman empire Marc Antony and Cleopatra were out of control, so Octavian's Britannia campaign had to be temporarily suspended.
      -Unfortunately for Octavian, this kept on getting delayed again and again due to constant drama back in Rome and within the empire (even after Octavian became emperor (and thus became known as Augustus).
         -Meanwhile, because of this relatively peaceful time in Britannia, trade had picked back up between the island and the mainland.
            -Gold, livestock, slaves, etc. were exported for wine (British wine sucked ass, apparently), olive oil, and glass.
-After Augustus, Tiberius (Augustus' adopted son) was emperor of Rome.
   -Tiberius' adopted son, Germanicus, was commander over a number of Roman legions. 
      -During this time, a small band of his soldiers actually got shipwrecked in Britannia and returned to Rome with stories of magic, monsters, etc.  This really seemed to intimidate the Romans, and so they put off any ideas of invasion for the time being!
-After Emperor Tiberius died he was replaced by Caligula (son of Germanicus).
   -It seems as if he wasn't intimidated at all by the horror stories of Britannia, as he declared a complete invasion of the island in 40 AD.
      -However, it's unclear what exactly went down, but after sailing around the English channel for a bit just off the coast of Gaul, Caligula returned to land and ordered for the legions to start picking up seashells off the beach (??).
         -Caligula and the legions then returned to Rome, declaring victory or something.
-After Caligula was assassinated by Praetorian officers, Caligula's uncle Claudius was emperor.
-Meanwhile in Britannia, Commius' new kingdom of Atrebates was eventually divided up into three separate kingdoms by his three sons (or it was his two sons and some other dude; it's unclear) after Commius kicked the bucket.
   -Eventually, this kingdom was re-unified and ruled by Commius' son Verica (recorded by the Romans as "Bericus") in 15 AD.
      -Verica ruled as king of the Atrebates from the city of Calleva Atrebatum (outside of modern-day Basingstoke, Hampshire) from 15-40 AD.
         -During this time the Atrebates began fighting with their rivals the Catuvellauni. 
            -Eventually, the Catuvellauni were victorious in conquering the Atrebates, so Verica fled to Rome to appeal to the Romans for help to get their kingdom back!
               -This was great timing for Verica, as Claudius had been desperate to do something dramatic and grandiose that would show the Romans that he was a powerful guy.

The Island at the Edge of the World - Part 3

-54 BC- Julius Caesar begins to eye Britannia again...
   -This time around, however, he built up a massive fleet (600 transports and 200 warships) and five of his legions (out of the eight total under his control).
      -News spread among the Britons that Caesar's invasion was imminent, so they quickly began planning for negotiations and building up their defenses.
   -One important character during this time was a dude named Cassivallaunus, leader (most likely) of the Catuvellauni tribe (inhabited southeast Britannia) and the combined allied Britannic forces against Rome.
   -In July, Caesar's war fleet set sail for Britannia, aiming to land at the same beach where he landed last time.
      -Surprisingly, there was no resistance when they landed.
         -It's most likely that this was because Cassivellaunus knew that it would be foolish to attack Caesar's massive army on the beach, and instead it made more sense to retreat inland to attack from a more advantageous position.
         -After landing, they immediately set up camp, but without resting Caesar left behind a small force and immediately marched his forces out of camp in order to start kicking ass.
            -Early in the morning, they finally came across the Briton army (most likely at a crossing of the River Stour (near modern-day Kent).  The Romans were way too powerful, so much of the Briton army fled to a hill-fort nearby (most likely in modern-day Bigbury Wood, Kent).
               -By using the testudo ("tortoise") formation, the Romans were able to breach the hill fort's defenses and take it over.
   -At this point, shit was going pretty well for Caesar, but his luck was about to run out.
      -He soon received word that a vicious storm was on the way- just like when he landed last time!
         -The storm damaged his ships pretty badly, so Caesar was forced to recall his forces and regroup back at camp in order to figure out what to do.
         -Caesar then spent the next 10 days reorganizing, repairing, and fortifying everything.
-Meanwhile, the Britons were busy regrouping as well, and ultimately Cassivellaunus was officially selected to lead the allied resistance against the Romans. 
   -This was bad news for the Romans because before the Britons were unorganized, but now they were amassing huge numbers and far outnumbered the Roman forces.
      -Additionally, the Britons' method of using their chariots for charging and guerrilla warfare was still something that the Romans had trouble defending against.
         -Unfortunately for the Britons, Cassivellaunus made a fatal error when he tried to engage the Romans in a proper battle, not realizing that this is where the Roman legions excelled (especially when they had their cavalry, which they didn't have during their previous invasion)!
            -The Briton army was defeated badly in one huge battle, but luckily for the Britons Cassivellaunus escaped and was able to start raising another army.
               -Guerrilla warfare quickly started up again.  However, Cassivellaunus had difficulty sustaining the campaign this time around, as in actuality up to this point Britannia had always been plagued by inter-tribal warfare, and a lot of the other tribes hated the Catuvellauni and wanted to see their downfall.
                  -The Trinovantes (led by Mandubracius) especially hated the Catuvellauni because they had killed Mandubracius' father, Imanuentius).
               -Mandubracius began to plot to ally with the Romans in order to get back at the Catuvellauni, so he eventually pledged his loyalty to the Romans in exchange for their support!
                  -Many others began to follow suit (including the Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, and Cassi tribes).
      -Caesar was now in a great position in Britannia.
         -Unfortunately, there began to be numerous Celtic uprisings in Gaul during this time, and Caesar realized that he was on a major time crunch- he had to finish up whatever he was doing in Britannia because he had to go quell the rebellions in Gaul!
         -He soon received intel on the location of Cassivellaunus' secret hideout (near modern-day Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire), so he immediately sent Roman forces there to crush Cassivellaunus once and for all.
            -Desperate for relief, Cassivellaunus sent his troops to go attack Caesar's naval base in order to distract the Romans.  Unfortunately, the Britons failed to do much damage and were quickly routed.
            -Although the Romans were successful in taking out Cassivellaunus' oppidum (fortified settlement), Caesar didn't have enough time to sustain the campaign in Britannia, so instead he began to work on some sort of peace deal with the Britons which would hopefully cause a stall in hostilities (until he could return, of course haha).
                -The Romans sent Commius (chieftain of the Atrebates tribe of Gaul) to negotiate peace, and this actually worked!
-Caesar then ordered a complete recall of the Roman forces in Britannia back to Gaul in September 54 BC. 
   -Caesar would never return, of course, as he would be murdered 44 BC.
      -Britannia would be more or less safe from the Romans for another 100 years or so!
-The Romans didn't trust Commius, however, so they eventually tried to have him killed, but they were unsuccessful.  Commius then fled to Britannia where he started a new tribe (also called the Atrebates)!
   -Thus, the old Roman trade routes (with the exception of those of modern-day Essex) from Gaul were severed, and Britannia grew much more insulated. 
   -Oddly enough, although Commius hated the Romans with a passion, his descendants would ultimately sell out to the Romans the next time they invaded the island!

The Island at the Edge of the World - Part 2

-Although the Britons of the local area where Caesar had landed sued for peace by surrendering, Caesar knew that the island was far from pacified. 
   -By arriving here, he knew that he had possibly stirred up a hornet's nest and that the entire island would have to be neutralized if they were going to stay out of his invasion of Gaul.
   -To make matters worse, a violent storm was arriving, and it was seriously fucking up his fleet, so Caesar realized that he was in danger of getting trapped on the island because his fleet was so small, so after the storm Caesar decided to sail back to Gaul and regroup his forces.
      -Because of the storm, it's also possible that the Romans believed they had displeased the god Oceanus by daring to cross his borders or whatever.
      -Meanwhile, the Britons were realizing what a shitty situation the Romans were in, so a horde began amassing and surrounding his camp.  Acting fast, Caesar ordered one legion to forage/raid for food and supplies and another legion to repair/build ships.
         -This was risky because very little men were then available for defense.
         -Of course, while wandering the countryside, the legion came under attack by a horde of Britons.
            -The Britons' favorite method of attack was to plow their chariots straight into the Roman line and then the chariot warriors would jump off and attack the stunned Roman infantry before a chariot (the same one or a different one) would crash through the line again and pick up any survivors and take them back to safety.  Rinse, repeat. 
               -As a response, Caesar was able to gather a reinforcement force to save the legion from complete slaughter, and they were able to then drive off the horde.
   -Because of more storms along the coast, the hordes refrained from attacking, but used this time to gather their forces while Caesar's men feverishly worked to repair their fleet.
      -The Romans were an efficient killing machine, but were still no match for the sheer number of brutal barbarians that were amassing to attack, and the Britons soon began mounting full-on assaults.
         -This was a dumb strategy in the long run for the Britons because the Romans were already used to these kinds of attacks (due to fighting with the Gauls), so the Britons were unable to break the Roman defenses.
         -They were just two completely different styles of warfare fighting against each other- the Romans were methodical, slow, and mechanical in their killing, whereas the Britons were a warrior people who believed in 1-1 combat and honor.
            -The Romans, of course, were not about to break rank and fight the Britons individually, so the Britons were ultimately unsuccessful.
   -Overall, the Britons failed to annihilate the Romans because they had a terrible strategy- they should have played it slow (e.g. guerrilla warfare, sabotage, starving them out, etc.).
-In response to the Briton assaults, Caesar ordered his legions to go out and slaughter the local population of farmers and villagers, something that most likely horrified the Britons as even they probably didn't do shit like this (these towns and farmers would have been valuable resources for local rulers!).
   -In order to appease these foreign monsters, the Britons sent ambassadors to the Romans in order to once again sue for peace.
      -Caesar accepted, took some Britons as hostages, and then left the island.
         -Surprisingly, the Senate back in Rome declared that Caesar's expedition had been a success.  Caesar had been extremely lucky.  They even had a record-breaking 20-day supplicatio (public holiday of mass prayer held to either beg the gods for aid or give them thanks (in this case, the latter)).
            -Before this 20-day supplicatio, the record had been 15 days (Caesar's victory over the Belgae), and before that, 10 days (Pompey's victory over Mithridates VI of Pontus). 
               -This wasn't the last 20-day supplicatio for Caesar, however.  Roughly a decade later, Rome would throw another one for Caesar's victory over Vercingetorix (king of the Gauls) in 46 BC.