|
 It
wasn't until the new Millennium that life began to change.
Prince Verica of the Atrebates tribe
was having some bother with neighbours. He had been on friendly
terms with the Romans for years and done them several favours
- passing on information about Gaulish spies - so he decided
to ask his friends for help.
As
it was, this was just the opening the new emperor, Claudius,
wanted. He had only just been made emperor and badly needed
to make himself look good.
It
was difficult for him - the Romans liked their leaders strong
and manly and brave but Claudius walked with a limp and stammered.
He liked books better than warfare. A victory against Britain
was just what he needed to make the people of Rome respect
him.
Of
course Britain had many other things that the Romans could
use - slaves; gold, tin, silver, lead and iron; corn for the
armies; cattle for meat and leather; bears and hunting dogs;
fine woven cloth.
Look
at the map to see where all these things came from.
|
The
ancestors of the Romans were the Latini. They were one of
a group of tribes that lived in the north of Italy. According
to legend the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC by 
"And
can you, then, who have got such fine possessions and so
many of them, envy our poor tents." (Caratacus)
Our
roving reporter writes…
Of
course not everyone was happy with this state of affairs. Caratacus
continued to stir up trouble for the Romans. Queen Boudicca
of the Iceni led a major rebellion in AD 60 in which thousands
of people died.