Roman conquest of Britain

This article is about the conquest begun in AD 43. For other Roman invasions of Britain, see Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain and Carausian revolt.

Roman conquest of Britain

Roman conquest of Britain, showing the dominant local tribes/kingdoms conquered in each area
DateAD 43–84
Location
Great Britain
Result Roman victory
Territorial
changes		 Most of Britain annexed by Rome
Belligerents
Roman Empire Celtic Britons
Commanders and leaders
Claudius
Aulus Plautius
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
Vespasianus
Gnaeus Julius Agricola		 Togodumnus †
Caratacus (POW)
Boudica †
Calgacus
Casualties and losses
Boudican revolt: 30,000–40,000 killed (including 7,000 soldiers)[1] 100,000–250,000 killed[2][3]

The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain (most of England and Wales) by AD 87, when the Stanegate was established. The conquered territory became the Roman province of Britannia. Attempts to conquer northern Britain (Caledonia) in the following centuries were not successful.

Following Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain in 54 BC, some southern British chiefdoms had become allies of the Romans. The exile of their ally Verica gave the Romans a pretext for invasion. The Roman army was recruited in Italia, Hispania, and Gaul and used the newly-formed fleet Classis Britannica. Under their general Aulus Plautius, the Romans pushed inland from the southeast, defeating the Britons in the Battle of the Medway. By AD 47, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way. British resistance was led by the chieftain Caratacus until his defeat in AD 50. The isle of Mona, a stronghold of the druids, was attacked in AD 60.[4] This was interrupted by an uprising led by Boudica,[5][6][7] in which the Britons destroyed Camulodunum,[8] Verulamium[9] and Londinium.[9][10] The Romans put down the rebellion.[11][12]

The conquest of Wales lasted until c. AD 77. Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola conquered much of northern Britain during the following seven years. In AD 84, Agricola defeated a Caledonian army, led by Calgacus, at the Battle of Mons Graupius.[13][14] However, the Romans soon withdrew from northern Britain. After Hadrian's Wall was established as the northern border, tribes in the region repeatedly rebelled against Roman rule and forts continued to be maintained across northern Britain to protect against these attacks.[15]

  1. ^ Gillespie, Caitlin C. (2018). Boudica: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190875589.
  2. ^ Nicholas, Crane (2016). The Making Of The British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present. Orion. ISBN 9780297857358.
  3. ^ Copeland, Tim (2014). Life in a Roman Legionary Fortress. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445643939.
  4. ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 5
  5. ^ Tacitus, Annals 14.29–39
  6. ^ Tacitus Agricola, 14–16
  7. ^ Dio Cassius, Roman History, 62.1–12
  8. ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 6
  9. ^ a b Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 7
  10. ^ Welch, Britannia: The Roman Conquest & Occupation of Britain, 1963, p. 107
  11. ^ Tacitus, Annals, 14.37
  12. ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome, p. 189
  13. ^ Fraser, The Roman Conquest Of Scotland: The Battle Of Mons Graupius AD 84
  14. ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 9
  15. ^ Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, p. 10