The History of Rome: Rise and Fall of the Empire. John Bagnell Bury

      Chapter XVI.

       The Conquest of Britain

       Table of Contents

      SECT. I. — CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN BRITAIN BY PLAUTIUS

      The conquest of Britain was one of the tasks which the great Caesar left to the Caesars who were to come after him.

      Like the conquest of Germany, it was an undertaking to which the subjugation of Gail naturally led. And although his first successors did not cross the channel as they crossed the Rhine, the island of the north was by no means forgotten. On two occasions Augustus had made preparations for an expedition against Britain, and both times the enterprise had fallen through. He was about to invade the island in 34 B.C. when he was recalled from Gaul by the rebellion in Dalmatia; and the poetical literature of the following years shows that the conquest of “ultima Thule” was an achievement to which the Romans looked forward with confidence as destined to be accomplished when the civil wars were over. Horace deplores that Romans should turn their swords against each other, instead of leading the “chained Briton” down the Via Sacra. In 27 B.C., after his accession, Augustus was believed to be about to fulfill their expectations, and add a new province to the Empire. Horace beseeches Fortune to preserve Caesar, about to set forth against the Britons who live in the ends of the earth. It is uncertain why this intention was not carried out; perhaps the Cantabrian war and the hostilities of the Salassi, which occupied his attention at this time, made Augustus shrink from undertaking further warfare, At all events, the idea of subduing Britain was not again resumed by Augustus. Tiberius confessed that the occupation of Britain was necessary, but, through reverence for the precept of Augustus against extending the Empire, refrained from attempting it. The problem also engaged the attention of Gaius, and we saw how his undertaking ended in a ridiculous demonstration on the Gallic shore. Strange to say, the conquest of Britain, which Caesar himself had failed to accomplish in two attempts, which Augustus deemed too difficult, which Tiberius shrank from, was reserved for the arms of Claudius. And we are led to believe that the idea was his own, and not the suggestion of his councilors. The importance of occupying Britain was perhaps brought home to him when he endeavored to suppress the druidical worship in Gaul. The constant communication which existed between the northern coast of Gaul and the opposite island rendered it hopeless to stamp out the barbarous rites as long as Britain was not in the hands of Rome. Moreover, the fact that his model, Augustus, had contemplated the reduction of the island, was a recommendation of the enterprise to Claudius. It is probable, too, that he was encouraged by his freedmen, who may have entertained an exaggerated idea of the wealth of the island, and hoped to profit by it.

      Friendly relations had been maintained with British kings by Augustus and Tiberius. Exiled princes sought refuge with Augustus and Gaius. The immediate occasion of the expedition of Claudius is said to have been the request for succor addressed to him by Bericus, who, owing to domestic feuds, had fled from his country and became the suppliant of Claudius, as Adminius had been the suppliant of Gaius. This Bericus was probably a son of the king of the Atrebates, who dwelled between the Severn and the Thames. But the restoration of this native was merely a pretext for carrying out at length what had long been inevitable.

      The Emperor resolved to visit Britain himself, and win the honor of personally achieving a great conquest and adding a new province to the empire. But it was arranged that the way should be prepared before him, so that he could arrive in time to witness the final scene. Four legions were assigned to the expedition, three from the German provinces, and one from Pannoniaa. Their numbers and names were:—II Augusta and XIV Gemina, from Upper Germany; XX Valeria Victrix, from Lower Germany; and IX Hispana, from Pannonia. Besides these, there were the usual contingents of auxiliary troops, cohorts of infantry and aim of cavalry. Aulus Plautius Silvanus was selected to command the expedition. He was a relation of Plautia Urgulanilla, the divorced wife of Claudius, and is described as a “senator of the highest repute”. At this time he doubtless held command in some of the provinces from which legions were drafted for the expedition—either Upper or Lower Germany, or possibly Belgica. He was supported by many able and distinguished officers, whose selection shows what importance was attached to the expedition. Among them must be mentioned L. Galba—destined one day to be an Emperor himself—an able officer whom we have already met as legatus of Upper Germany. The legatus of the IInd legion was Flavius Vespasianus, also destined like Galba, to rule the Roman world. Cn. Hosidius Geta, who had completed the work of Suetonius Paulinus in Mauritania, was probably the commander of another legion. Valerius Asiaticus, who afterwards fell a victim to Messalina, and Cn. Sentius Saturnimis may also be mentioned.

      It has been calculated that the whole forces amounted to upwards if sixty thousand men, and an enormous transport fleet was necessary to convey them to the British coast. For this purpose ships were sent to Gesoriacum (Boulogne), from the naval stations of Italy, Ravenna and Misenum. Early in 43 A.D. the army assembled near the place where, just one hundred years before, Caesar had embarked on the same errand. But the difficulties of those first, unsuccessful attempts were remembered in the army. The soldiers murmured and showed a mutinous spirit when Plautius revealed the object of the expedition. Plautius sent the news to Rome and Claudius dispatched Narcissus to restore order. The freedman harangued the turbulent troops, and they, contented with mocking him as a slave, submitted to the Emperor’s wishes.

      The British coast was reached safely, though not without some difficulty from adverse weather, and the invading army disembarked in three harbors, without encountering any resistance from the Britons. It seems probable that these harbors were on the coast of Sussex and Kent; some think that a landing was made as far west as Portsmouth. It is impossible to determine with anything like certainty the line of Roman advance, but it is clear that their first object was to overcome the Trinovantes, whose home was north of the Thamesis (Thames), in the territory which now forms the counties of Essex and Hertford, but whose sway extended over south-eastern Britain. In the days of Caesar, their leader, Cassivellaunus, had formed a league to oppose the invaders. Their capital was then at Verulamium (St. Albans), but Cunobellinus—the origin of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline—had transferred it to Camalodunum (Colchester). The sons of Cunobellinus, by name Caractacus and Togodumnus, commanded the Trinovantes, and took the field against Plautius. Their tactics were to draw the invaders into woody and marshy country, but they were both defeated in two distinct battles. The Boduni, one of the tribes which were ruled over by these princes, submitted, and received a Roman garrison. Soon afterwards, the legions, drawn on by the barbarians, and perhaps conducted by the friendly Atrebates, reached a certain river, which may possibly be the Medway. The Britons offered a stubborn resistance, but at length, after two days’ fighting, the Romans effected a crossing. On this occasion, Vespasian and Hosidius Geta particularly distinguished themselves. The enemy then fell back behind the Thamesis. They were followed by the Batavian auxiliaries, who swam across the stream, and by some Roman troops who crossed by a bridge higher up; but these forces were beaten back, and Plautius determined to wait for the arrival of the Emperor with reinforcements before crossing the Thames and striking the final blow. In the meantime he was able to secure the ground which he had won, and it seems likely that at this time King Cogidubnus declared for the Romans. He seems to have been the prince of the Regni, whose capital town has been identified with Chichester. He proved himself a firm friend of the Romans, and received as a reward from Claudius Roman citizenship, the title of legatus Augusti, and a grant of territory—apparently his original possessions. A monument of him, as Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus—he assumed the Emperor’s name—may be still seen in Goodwood Park.

      Leaving (he conduct