The Roman Empire grew and expanded as we read about in the previous lesson. They eventually invaded Britain as well, the island that the country of England is on. Not long after the crucifixion of Jesus, the Romans faced a new trouble, rebellion in their new territories.

In a part of England, a king died leaving half of his territory to the Romans and half to his wife. The Romans wanted to take all of the land by removing Queen Boudicca from the throne and taking control of the area, not just for the land but for the taxes from the people there.

The Romans tried force. They confiscated land and animals, just taking them away from the people there. The people, of course, were upset and decided to fight back. Other groups of people joined Queen Boudicca and her local army to fight against the Romans. If the Romans could just take their things, then they could just continue on taking from the others as well. They wanted to stop the Romans. The Romans fled.

Then Boudicca’s army followed the Romans. They burned the Roman temple where the soldiers had hid themselves. Then her army marched on to London where the Romans had taken over the city. Like today, it was an important city even then. Her army burned the city, killing hundreds of people, and not even just Romans. The Romans didn’t have enough soldiers around to fight back effectively. The soldiers in London fled as well.

Boudicca continued her march and attacked other Roman towns. Eventually the Romans were able to bring in more soldiers. In a terrible battle, the Romans finally defeated the locals, even though outnumbered, because the Romans were a trained army whereas the others were just really a mob.

The people of Britain learned to live under Roman rule and adapted to their lifestyle and clothing and learned their Latin language. Others complained that the Roman lifestyle was turning the people of Britain soft and weak.

 

Picture Credits:

public domain