Back to the Nearly All Romans calendar
In 42AD the two remaining sons of Cunobelinus decided to try and conquer the neighbouring tribe of the Atrebates. The king of
the Atrebates, Verica (shorter but still not John) fled to Rome and asked the new emperor Claudius, Caligula had been killed, to help him get his kingdom back.
The job of a Roman emperor wasn’t a very safe one. Julius Caesar had also been killed by his fellow senators, the MP’s of Rome, and so Claudius wanted
to do something to impress his people and maybe make his job, and his life, last a little longer. Conquering Briton seemed like a good idea and now he had a great
excuse to do so.
He assembled an army of 40,000 men and 800 boats on the northern coast of France, which was then called Gaul. He had to convince the men to sail across
the channel as they believed it contained vast sea monsters and were also a bit scared of the wild Celts they had heard about. Claudius wasn't a nutter so instead
of leading the army himself, he appointed Aulus Plautius to the job.
Aulus and his men landed at a place called Richborough in Kent and marched inland. Eventually, on the banks of the River Medway, they met the Britons
under Caratacus and Togodumnus, the sons of Cunobelinus. A two-day battle took place and the Romans won. Togodumnus may have been killed in the battle but
Caratacus, of whom we will hear later, fled to what is now Wales.
Once that battle was over, it was quite easy for the Roman army to take control as some tribes in the south east, who already traded with Rome,
surrendered while others were away fighting amongst themselves. The Roman army began building forts and strengthening their position. Claudius celebrated his
victory by coming to England. In order to show the British tribes how powerful he was, he arrived in Britain with 40 or so elephants and rode one into the main
city set up by the Romans at Colchester. He didn't stay long though, going home after just 16 days.
Although the Romans were able to write, they didn't have cameras
so we can only tell what Claudius might have looked like from statues made of him. A statue that only shows your head is called a bust. This is a bust of Claudius
but I guess he probably had eyes.
Once Colchester was captured and the whole of the south east of Britain overrun, eleven British kings agreed to be under Roman control. Usually these
kings were allowed to continue to rule their tribes. Aulus Plautius, commander of the invasion force, was appointed the first Roman governor of Britain, but the
majority of the island would not be pacified for almost another 40 years.
Aulus remained governor until 47AD when he returned to Rome in triumph and, what do you know, Claudius was still emperor. They walked together down
the main road to the Capitol. Claudius eventually died in 54AD, possibly of old age, possibly poisoned by his wife.
By 48AD the Romans had effectively conquered all territory south of a line from the mouth of the River Humber to the Severn Estuary (and that news
could mean it’s atlas time again). Parts that remained under British control include Dumnonii (Cornwall and Devon), Wales and the North West of England.
I thought it might be an idea to tell you a little bit more about these Romans who had totally conquered the south of our country.
Forward to 47AD
