-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.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
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.
-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.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
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.
-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.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
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!
-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!
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
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.
-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.
Monday, October 29, 2018
The Island at the Edge of the World - Part 1
-Up to this point, the island of Britannia had avoided the attention of Rome.
-The Romans hated the sea, so Britannia being an island had worked well to protect the Britons from their conquests for a long time.
-However, this is not to say that Rome didn't know about Britannia- the Greeks had already explored up there and written about it, plus they had learned about it over the course of their interactions with the Gauls.
-To the Romans, Britannia was an almost mythical realm.
-Julius Caesar, being a larger than life character himself (but still a governor (of both Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul) at this time), eventually set his sites on the mysterious island. He was probably thinking that it would suit his legendary character to try and conqueror this legendary land.
-Decided to cross over and check it out around 56 BC.
-He was interrupted, however, when the Gallic hordes of the Armorican Peninsula (modern-day Brittany, France) began to rebel.
-The Greek historian Strabo wrote that the rebellion was started because the hordes of Armorica wanted to prevent what they believed was to be the inevitable invasion of Britannia.
-These Armorican tribes were very similar to the Britannic tribes, as they traded frequently and had the same religion (Celtic paganism) and culture. Briton warriors also historically fought alongside their Armorican cousins (and maybe vice versa), so because of their entering into the Armorican rebellion they were now on Rome's radar.
-After quelling the rebellion, Caesar once again made plans to cross the English channel. However, he was distracted again by Germanic hordes crossing the Rhine into Roman lands.
-Then, after dealing with the Germanic invasion, Caesar ran into some legal trouble in Rome concerning his plans for invading Britannia.
-Rome actually had a law that made it illegal for governors to invade foreign lands unprovoked, and Caesar had many enemies in the Senate so it was unlikely that his plans would be approved.
-Another problem for Caesar was that he didn't have enough transports for his troops.
-Caesar decided to take advantage of this situation by claiming that he was just doing a "reconnaissance mission" instead of a full-scale invasion, so that way he could say that he wasn't actually invading anyone, he was just spying on some potential enemies. However, if he happened to find some cool stuff during his exploration of Britannia then maybe the Senate would vote in favor of him receiving more military support (i.e. power!!).
-As a side note, crossing the English channel was crazy for the Romans because they believed that it was actually a part of the ancient titan Oceanus (a huge body of water that circled the world (excluding the Mediterranean; the cutoff was the Pillars of Hercules (modern-day Strait of Gibraltar).
-Oceanus was also very mysterious because he never got involved in any of the drama with the other deities. He just kind of kept to himself, something the Romans felt was very mysterious...
-Anyway, Caesar sent two ships to Britannia.
-The first ship was to survey the coast.
-It eventually landed at Dubris (modern-day Dover, England).
-The second ship was to actually go and immediately make contact with the Britons.
-On this ship were Rome's tribal ambassadors, including Commius, a puppet king of the Atrebates (Gallic tribe based out of modern-day Belgium and northern France) whom Caesar had enthroned after conquering them) but well-respected by the tribes of southeast Britannia.
-However, as soon as the ships landed it looks like the Britons smelled a rat, so they decided to take these unwelcome visitors prisoner!
-This was what Caesar needed in order to have a reason for getting more troops for his protection during his "expedition"!
-55 BC- Caesar heads to Britannia.
-Had two legions (about 10,000 men) with 80 ships, in addition to 500 cavalry (who traveled separately and would end up getting lost on the way due to a storm).
-Caesar lands at Dubris, but is surprised to find that there is a horde of Britons waiting for for him to fuck him up!
-Caesar decides to try and land further up the coast instead, but everywhere he went he found Britons ready to kick his ass.
-It's worth noting that the Britons were also well-armed, as they had iron weapons and armor, chariots, etc.
-Finally, the Roman standard bearer couldn't stand it any longer, and so he decided to pull a Leeroy Jenkins and jump into the water and charge the Britons on the beach with his men! The other Roman soldiers realized what had happened, and so they too decided to do the same thing.
-Surprisingly, the Romans were actually able to establish a foothold on the beach! The Britons were no match for the Roman legions once the battle moved to relatively solid ground. Because of this, the Britons ended up fleeing.
-The Britons then tried to sue for peace, saying that they were a different group and weren't responsible for Commius and the others' capture- this was the doing of rogue warriors and not because of official tribal leaders' commands.
-Thus, a peace was immediately worked out and the Britons' hostages were given back to Rome.
-Soon after this, other groups of Britons also came to Caesar to surrender.
-The Romans hated the sea, so Britannia being an island had worked well to protect the Britons from their conquests for a long time.
-However, this is not to say that Rome didn't know about Britannia- the Greeks had already explored up there and written about it, plus they had learned about it over the course of their interactions with the Gauls.
-To the Romans, Britannia was an almost mythical realm.
-Julius Caesar, being a larger than life character himself (but still a governor (of both Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul) at this time), eventually set his sites on the mysterious island. He was probably thinking that it would suit his legendary character to try and conqueror this legendary land.
-Decided to cross over and check it out around 56 BC.
-He was interrupted, however, when the Gallic hordes of the Armorican Peninsula (modern-day Brittany, France) began to rebel.
-The Greek historian Strabo wrote that the rebellion was started because the hordes of Armorica wanted to prevent what they believed was to be the inevitable invasion of Britannia.
-These Armorican tribes were very similar to the Britannic tribes, as they traded frequently and had the same religion (Celtic paganism) and culture. Briton warriors also historically fought alongside their Armorican cousins (and maybe vice versa), so because of their entering into the Armorican rebellion they were now on Rome's radar.
-After quelling the rebellion, Caesar once again made plans to cross the English channel. However, he was distracted again by Germanic hordes crossing the Rhine into Roman lands.
-Then, after dealing with the Germanic invasion, Caesar ran into some legal trouble in Rome concerning his plans for invading Britannia.
-Rome actually had a law that made it illegal for governors to invade foreign lands unprovoked, and Caesar had many enemies in the Senate so it was unlikely that his plans would be approved.
-Another problem for Caesar was that he didn't have enough transports for his troops.
-Caesar decided to take advantage of this situation by claiming that he was just doing a "reconnaissance mission" instead of a full-scale invasion, so that way he could say that he wasn't actually invading anyone, he was just spying on some potential enemies. However, if he happened to find some cool stuff during his exploration of Britannia then maybe the Senate would vote in favor of him receiving more military support (i.e. power!!).
-As a side note, crossing the English channel was crazy for the Romans because they believed that it was actually a part of the ancient titan Oceanus (a huge body of water that circled the world (excluding the Mediterranean; the cutoff was the Pillars of Hercules (modern-day Strait of Gibraltar).
-Oceanus was also very mysterious because he never got involved in any of the drama with the other deities. He just kind of kept to himself, something the Romans felt was very mysterious...
-Anyway, Caesar sent two ships to Britannia.
-The first ship was to survey the coast.
-It eventually landed at Dubris (modern-day Dover, England).
-The second ship was to actually go and immediately make contact with the Britons.
-On this ship were Rome's tribal ambassadors, including Commius, a puppet king of the Atrebates (Gallic tribe based out of modern-day Belgium and northern France) whom Caesar had enthroned after conquering them) but well-respected by the tribes of southeast Britannia.
-However, as soon as the ships landed it looks like the Britons smelled a rat, so they decided to take these unwelcome visitors prisoner!
-This was what Caesar needed in order to have a reason for getting more troops for his protection during his "expedition"!
-55 BC- Caesar heads to Britannia.
-Had two legions (about 10,000 men) with 80 ships, in addition to 500 cavalry (who traveled separately and would end up getting lost on the way due to a storm).
-Caesar lands at Dubris, but is surprised to find that there is a horde of Britons waiting for for him to fuck him up!
-Caesar decides to try and land further up the coast instead, but everywhere he went he found Britons ready to kick his ass.
-It's worth noting that the Britons were also well-armed, as they had iron weapons and armor, chariots, etc.
-Finally, the Roman standard bearer couldn't stand it any longer, and so he decided to pull a Leeroy Jenkins and jump into the water and charge the Britons on the beach with his men! The other Roman soldiers realized what had happened, and so they too decided to do the same thing.
-Surprisingly, the Romans were actually able to establish a foothold on the beach! The Britons were no match for the Roman legions once the battle moved to relatively solid ground. Because of this, the Britons ended up fleeing.
-The Britons then tried to sue for peace, saying that they were a different group and weren't responsible for Commius and the others' capture- this was the doing of rogue warriors and not because of official tribal leaders' commands.
-Thus, a peace was immediately worked out and the Britons' hostages were given back to Rome.
-Soon after this, other groups of Britons also came to Caesar to surrender.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Invasion of Giant Deer, Cannibals, and Celts
-Prehistoric Britain- beginning about 70,000 BC with the end of the Ice Age.
-No written records, so we only know about it from archaeology.
-c. 60,000 BC- woolly mammoths, giant deer, and other crazy creatures wandered around prehistoric Britain.
-c. 40,000 BC- Neanderthals arrive.
-c. 30,000 BC- arrival of homo sapiens arrive.
-c. 22,000 BC- cold snap, vegetation dies and the land becomes a tundra, lots of migration south.
-c. 14,000 BC- the weather warms up again, people repopulate the land, vegetation returns.
-c. 7150 BC- around the time that the caveman "Cheddar Man" (found in modern-day Cheddar Gorge, Somerset) lived. Oldest complete human skeleton found in Britain so far. Hole in his skull suggests that he was murdered.
-Also, his bones had been scarped clean...possible evidence of either cannibalism or weird religious shit.
-c. 6500 BC- because of rising tides, Britain becomes an island!
-c. 4000 BC- Britain's Neolithic Age.
-About 10,000 people now living on the island during this time.
-c. 2500 BC- Stonehenge is built!
-c. 1000 BC- Britain's Bronze Age. Hill forts begin being built across the land.
-However, mainland Europe at this time was already in the Iron Age.
-c. 700 BC- iron technology is finally introduced to the island.
-c. 500-400 BC- the Celts begin immigrating into Britain from France and northern Spain.
-Celts originally came from Central Europe and had spread throughout the continent by 275 BC.
-One group of Celts were known as the Britons. The Britons spoke a language today known as Brittonic, which is the ancestor of modern-day Welsh, Cornish, Breton, and many others which are still around to this day.
-Another group of these Briton newcomers settled in modern-day Ireland. These Britons spoke Goidelic, an ancestor of modern-day Gaelic.
-The Celts weren't really a unified civilization, and they fought each other constantly. However, culturally they were all quite similar, which is why these groups of people are all labeled as "Celts".
-The Brittonic name for Britain was "Albion", which is the oldest name of the island that we know of, and possibly means "white" or "hill" (it's unclear).
-c. 325 BC- the Greek explorer Pytheas discovers Albion for the Greeks.
-Pytheas records that he encountered barbarians who were either painted or tattooed (it's unclear what he meant) and that they called their land "Prydain", so he called them "Prettanikē" (in Greek) which in turn would be translated to "Britannia" in Latin.
-Around this time there were basically two types of Celts living in Britain- the coastal, trading, agrarian folk (focused around modern-day Kent) and the inland hunter-gatherer folk.
-These communities were small due to geographic barriers and other shit.
-c. 200 BC- trade picks up and Greek coins and products start appearing in Britain.
-c. 100 BC- a local currency appears on the island, derived from coinage from mainland Europe.
-The theory is the that the Celts of Britain were getting paid to be mercenaries.
-Oppida (walled villages) started being built across the island.
-Largely agricultural societies.
-Population was booming (about a million people now!).
-Shared a common religion with the Celts of Gaul- Celtic polytheism, with a priestly caste known today as "druids".
-Drank shitty beer (no hops) as a way to consume extra calories. However, they preferred to drink mead, as it was probably much tastier.
-We don't know much about the history, culture, or religion of the Celts of Britain because the druids were their record-keepers, and they practiced a tradition of oral history only.
-Of course, when the Romans eventually wiped out the druids (it's unclear as to why exactly they did this, and it could have been for any combination of reasons from the druids practicing human sacrifice (for which there is some archaeological evidence) to them typically being fiercely anti-Roman), their records almost completely were lost with them.
-Speaking of the Romans, they're about to enter the narrative, as during this time they were in the middle of conquering/pacifying/slaughtering the Celts of Gaul... the Celts of Britain during this time would soon follow
-No written records, so we only know about it from archaeology.
-c. 60,000 BC- woolly mammoths, giant deer, and other crazy creatures wandered around prehistoric Britain.
-c. 40,000 BC- Neanderthals arrive.
-c. 30,000 BC- arrival of homo sapiens arrive.
-c. 22,000 BC- cold snap, vegetation dies and the land becomes a tundra, lots of migration south.
-c. 14,000 BC- the weather warms up again, people repopulate the land, vegetation returns.
-c. 7150 BC- around the time that the caveman "Cheddar Man" (found in modern-day Cheddar Gorge, Somerset) lived. Oldest complete human skeleton found in Britain so far. Hole in his skull suggests that he was murdered.
-Also, his bones had been scarped clean...possible evidence of either cannibalism or weird religious shit.
-c. 6500 BC- because of rising tides, Britain becomes an island!
-c. 4000 BC- Britain's Neolithic Age.
-About 10,000 people now living on the island during this time.
-c. 2500 BC- Stonehenge is built!
-c. 1000 BC- Britain's Bronze Age. Hill forts begin being built across the land.
-However, mainland Europe at this time was already in the Iron Age.
-c. 700 BC- iron technology is finally introduced to the island.
-c. 500-400 BC- the Celts begin immigrating into Britain from France and northern Spain.
-Celts originally came from Central Europe and had spread throughout the continent by 275 BC.
-One group of Celts were known as the Britons. The Britons spoke a language today known as Brittonic, which is the ancestor of modern-day Welsh, Cornish, Breton, and many others which are still around to this day.
-Another group of these Briton newcomers settled in modern-day Ireland. These Britons spoke Goidelic, an ancestor of modern-day Gaelic.
-The Celts weren't really a unified civilization, and they fought each other constantly. However, culturally they were all quite similar, which is why these groups of people are all labeled as "Celts".
-The Brittonic name for Britain was "Albion", which is the oldest name of the island that we know of, and possibly means "white" or "hill" (it's unclear).
-c. 325 BC- the Greek explorer Pytheas discovers Albion for the Greeks.
-Pytheas records that he encountered barbarians who were either painted or tattooed (it's unclear what he meant) and that they called their land "Prydain", so he called them "Prettanikē" (in Greek) which in turn would be translated to "Britannia" in Latin.
-Around this time there were basically two types of Celts living in Britain- the coastal, trading, agrarian folk (focused around modern-day Kent) and the inland hunter-gatherer folk.
-These communities were small due to geographic barriers and other shit.
-c. 200 BC- trade picks up and Greek coins and products start appearing in Britain.
-c. 100 BC- a local currency appears on the island, derived from coinage from mainland Europe.
-The theory is the that the Celts of Britain were getting paid to be mercenaries.
-Oppida (walled villages) started being built across the island.
-Largely agricultural societies.
-Population was booming (about a million people now!).
-Shared a common religion with the Celts of Gaul- Celtic polytheism, with a priestly caste known today as "druids".
-Drank shitty beer (no hops) as a way to consume extra calories. However, they preferred to drink mead, as it was probably much tastier.
-We don't know much about the history, culture, or religion of the Celts of Britain because the druids were their record-keepers, and they practiced a tradition of oral history only.
-Of course, when the Romans eventually wiped out the druids (it's unclear as to why exactly they did this, and it could have been for any combination of reasons from the druids practicing human sacrifice (for which there is some archaeological evidence) to them typically being fiercely anti-Roman), their records almost completely were lost with them.
-Speaking of the Romans, they're about to enter the narrative, as during this time they were in the middle of conquering/pacifying/slaughtering the Celts of Gaul... the Celts of Britain during this time would soon follow
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