Boudicca’s Revolt

The island of Britain was a consistent sore spot for the Roman Empire, causing problems in one way or another throughout its occupation. The Romans, realizing they could never conquer or occupy Britain as a whole, decided to wall off the northern side with two large walls that spanned the width of the island in the north. However, this didn’t mean that south of the walls was pacified and Romanized in its entirety, with the occupied portions experiencing revolts, tribal incursions, invasions, and civil war. One of these revolts, the Boudicca Revolt, has gone down in history and is vividly remembered along with its eponymous leader.

The most historically accepted cause of the revolt is that in 60-61 CE, a chieftain named Prasutagus of the tribe Iceni died, leaving his tribe’s holdings to his two daughters and the Roman Emperor Nero. The Iceni were a friendly tribe to the Romans and were one of the six tribes that welcomed Julius Caesar on his expedition to Britain in the 50s BCE, so leaving part of his holdings to Nero was not a radical gesture. However, the Romans chose to ignore this will and seize all the holdings of the Iceni instead, stripping the Iceni of their status as allies and declared them subjugated instead. To add more insult and injury to the Romans flogged the wife of Prasutagus, Boudicca, and raped her two daughters, causing her to of course seek revenge against the Romans.

Boudicca rallied her tribe, using the behavior of the romans to also rally her neighbors, the Trinovantes, and smaller tribes around them. Her message of rebellion spread from the Trinovantes to other tribes, both allies and enemies of Rome. By the time Boudicca was ready to begin her rebellion, she had amassed a reported 100,000 native Britons under her command. Boudicca’s first move was to attack the former capital of the Trinovantes, modern day Colchester – then known as Camulodunum. The city was populated by Roman legionary veterans, who further angered the locals by building a massive temple to the late Roman emperor Claudius (paid for by the native Britons). Boudicca marched on Colchester whilst a reliving Roman legion, the famed Legio IX Hispania, marched to intercept her army. The Romans were soundly defeated, with massive losses to the legion. Reportedly, every infantry soldier was killed or captured, with only the legions commander and a small number of calvary escaping. The inhabitants of Colchester appealed to the Romans for further assistance but only 200 auxiliary forces arrived, essentially dooming the city to Boudicca, and were massacred, with the last forces holing up the temple of Claudius for two days before they were killed. Next, Boudicca marched on London, then known as Londinium. London was not the capital of Roman Britan but was a town centered around trade and travel, making it important. Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, who had been campaigning in the north of the province, had received word of Boudicca’s movement and began marching his forces south, quickly arriving in the city ahead of Boudicca’s forces. However, after assessing the situation and determining he would be defeated if he fought the rebels at London, he opted instead to withdraw and leave the city to Boudicca’s vengeance. Although Paulinus opted to not defend London, he did take as refugees those citizens who opted to flee. Those who did not flee were killed and massacred by Boudicca’s force and the city burned. Lastly, Boudicca and her army marched to Verulamium (modern St. Albans) and repeated what they had done in Colchester and London. It is estimated that between the three cities and the legion, 70,000-80,000 Romans and Roman-allied Britons were killed in the revolt.

Paulinus began to prepare to fight Boudicca and her forces on his own terms, although exactly where the battle took place is unknown. Paulinus had around 10,000 men under his command, consisting of Legio XIV Gemina and detachments from Legio XX Valeria Victrix. Legio II Augusta was also requested to join but their commander disobeyed orders and did not march to join Paulinus’ forces. Boudicca had an estimated 200,000 but as with all ancient military numbers, this should be taken with extreme skepticism, however it is thought her forces were lightly equipped due to previous disarming of the native Britons in the preceding years. Boudicca was confident in her success and allowed the families to pool their baggage wagons to the edge of the battlefield and watch her impending victory, but this proved to be a disastrous decision. The Roman historian Tacitus describes the battle like this:

“At first, the legionaries stood motionless, keeping to the defile as a natural protection: then, when the closer advance of the enemy had enabled them to exhaust their missiles with certitude of aim, they dashed forward in a wedge-like formation. The auxiliaries charged in the same style; and the cavalry, with lances extended, broke a way through any parties of resolute men whom they encountered. The remainder took to flight, although escape was difficult, as the cordon of wagons had blocked the outlets. The troops gave no quarter even to the women: the baggage animals themselves had been speared and added to the pile of bodies. The glory won in the course of the day was remarkable, and equal to that of our older victories: for, by some accounts, little less than eighty thousand Britons fell, at a cost of some four hundred Romans killed and a not much greater number of wounded.”

 The rebellion suffered a total defeat and was not able to continue its rampage although Boudicca’s fate after is unknown with sources saying she either committed suicide by poison or she fell ill and died after. The rebellion almost caused the Romans to recommend to Emperor Nero that Britain should be abandoned. Her burial site is also unknown and today is hunted for by archeologists. However, the legacy of Boudicca is still felt today, with a statue of her in Westminster, London (across from Westminster Palace at the entrance to the tube station) and her rebellion is taught to all students in Britain as they go through their schooling. Further, she is celebrated as one of Britain’s first national heroes and her rebellion is written and discussed positively.