The Revolt of Boudicca

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The Revolt of Boudicca Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni tribe and was married to the King of the Iceni, Prasutagus. The Iceni were a tribe of Britons and their territory was in the east of England. No one really knew what Boudicca looked like but Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, said that 'She was huge and frightening to look at with a mass of ginger hair that hung to her knees. Her voice was as harsh as her looks she dressed in a multi-coloured tunic with a thick cloak fastened by a brooch flung over it, and wore a heavy gold necklace. She shook a spear to terrify all who watched her' (Boudicca Against Rome by Ian Andrews p.23). Since 58 AD a rebellion was always looking likely because Catus Decianus, an agent of the emperor of Rome, had been winding up the Britons. Tensions grew when on Prasutagus death in 59 AD 'he left half his kingdom to Nero, in the hope that his wife and daughters could have the other half' (Boudicca Against Rome by Ian Andrews p.23). Catus Decianus had different ideas and declared the whole kingdom to Nero, the present emperor of Rome. Catus Decianus also said 'that the money given by Cladius to the Iceni was only a loan and had to be repaid with interest at once' (Boudicca Against Rome by Ian Andrews p.23) and he also 'treated all Icenian territory like captured land' (Graham Tingay 9.78). When 'Boudicca protested, her daughters were raped and the queen was flogged' (Graham Tingay 9.78). After this the Britons held secret meetings, in which they discussed Catus Decianus and his taxes and how to get back at the Romans. From all these meetings Boudicca was chosen as the leader. They thought that she w... ... middle of paper ... ... Tingay9.81) Boudicca finally killed herself by taking poison because as she said in her pre-battle talk you must either win the battle or die. It has been 'suggested that Stonehenge was her grave, and today she rides high in her sculptured chariot by the Thames Embankment' (Graham Tingay9.83). Also Postumus killed himself because he knew that 'he had cheated his men of their share of the victory and that he had broken regulations by disobeying his commander's instructions' (The Romans discover Britain 9.31). The Boudiccan forces did pay back the Romans because they destroyed and burned the three major towns of Londinium (London), Verulamium (St Albans) and Camulodunum (Colchester), killing a number of citizens and also gave the Romans a lot of humiliation because all this destruction was brought on by a woman.

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