The Roman Conquest of Britain

Roman Britain: Kings, Queens, Resistance, and the Druids

• Togidubnus was a Roman client king of the Regni tribe, who supported the Romans and adopted a Roman lifestyle.
• Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, was friendly towards the Romans and allowed to keep her independence in exchange for loyalty.
• After Cartimandua divorced her husband, Venutius, he led a rebellion against her, and the Romans came to her aid, but she lost her throne.
• Caratacus, chief of the Catuvellauni, was the leader of the resistance against the Roman invasion, but was eventually defeated and captured.
• Caratacus was taken to Rome as a captive, where he made a proud speech, and Emperor Claudius freed him and his family.
• The Druids were a powerful group of people who acted as judges, teachers, and priests and were influential in Iron Age Britain and Gaul.
• After the Roman conquest, some Britons, including Druids, fled to the island of Anglesey, where they organized opposition to the Romans.
• Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman governor of Britain, attacked the Anglesey outpost of resistance in AD 60 or 61, defeating the British force and cutting down the Druids' groves.
• Julius Caesar described the Druids' education system and teachings, which included beliefs in the immortality of souls and interest in the universe and the power of gods.
• The Druids were accused of practicing human sacrifice, which was banned by Emperor Claudius as magic and superstition.
• Tacitus and Julius Caesar wrote about the Druids, with Tacitus presenting them as barbaric, while Caesar described their teachings and beliefs in a positive light.
• There is no firm evidence to support the claim that the Druids practiced human sacrifice, and the accusation could have been Roman propaganda.