The Roman Occupation on Britain

The Roman Occupation on Britain

The Roman occupation of Britain formed the cultural and practical basis on which Britain grew its own empire. Rome was essential in Britain's development, by introducing industrialization and Christianity. Rome, the powerful empire that rose from the Mediterranean, transformed Britain into its own empire, which grew, and later influenced the world in much of the same manner as its forerunner.

The history of Rome's occupation of Britain stretches for hundreds of years. Britain was one of various nations to be annexed into the Roman Empire and became part of Rome's western Empire. Western Europe was one of the most difficult areas for Rome to conquer and it set its sights on the unexplored lands of the Celts, Britain. In 55 BCE Julius Caesar ordered an invasive of Britain under the pretense that the Celts had been providing aid to the Gaelic Tribes, which were enemies of Rome, "So long as Gaul was restless, Britain, a refuge and reservoir of disaffection within a few hours sail, was an added danger," (Collingwood, 32). Caesar attacked Britain in the summer of 55 BCE and once again in 54 BCE. These lands never became part of the Roman Empire, but still paid tribute to elude the Empires fury, "Britain was far from conquered; but the first steps towards conquering it had taken place," (Collingwood, 52). It wasn't until 43 AD, when Claudius became Emperor of Rome, that Britain was seen as a prospective addition to the Empire. Claudius's reasoning for the invasion of Britain was rather self-serving, by undertaking such a large conquest for the Empire, he hoped to raise his public approval. Originally troops refused to participate, they were scared of the status Britain had as a wild and terrible place with equally violent savages for occupants, "Claudius's army flatly refused to face an ocean voyage to a destination outside the world," (Collingwood, 79), however 40,000 troops were deployed in a split campaign starting in, what is now, Richborough. "The ancient Celtic warriors engaged their enemy as if they would defeat them simply by overrunning them, trusting their brute force more than elaborate tactics and clever strategies," (Karl, 1). Roman forces suffered only minor casualties in their campaign. The Roman hold on Britain was solidified after the battles of Medway and Thames, which effectively put Rome in total control of Southern Britain.

Roman Britain began to thrive; networks of roads were established as well as cities. Rome controlled all of what is now England and Wales, but Scotland was the last frontier of Britain, ruled by the Picts. The Romans encountered the Picts during their expansion northward into Caledonia. Expecting the same confrontation that they had experienced with the Celts, the Romans were easy prey for the Picts who fought with brutal warfare; the Roman discipline was easily broken. Picts were unable to surmount the Romans organized defense and Roman offensives were met with an ugly fate. "The wall, 10 Roman feet thick and 20 feet high...built of stone...and protected in front by a 30 foot ditch...[The Wall] ran 40 English miles," (Collingwood, 131). Hadrian's Wall, as it came to be known, effectively ended the conflict. Without the need for a militaristic focus, Britain could thrive under Rome's rule.

Britain has a long and profound history as a Christian state, but it was the Romans who introduced the newly converted Pagans to a religion that defined their land for centuries. Rome's expansiveness included many religions, from Judaism and Egyptian religion to numerous Pagan and Druidic cults. However, Pantheism was the predominant state religion. Christianity originated in the East and the worshippers of Christ developed a loyal following. Practicing monotheism and condemning other faiths as well; Christians were perceived as arrogant and exclusive by others. Their religion allowed little tolerance and even directly challenged commonly held beliefs. As a result Christians found themselves persecuted and hunted by the state for years. Christian persecution ended when Emperor Constantine of Rome converted to Christianity. Paganism was the dominant religion of the British Isles at the time; it held many similarities to Pantheism, the worship of nature and spirits. Paganism was similar in nature to the Roman Pantheism; "The Romans, with their ready tolerance, did not find it difficult to identify the gods and spirits of Celtic Britain with members of their own Pantheon," (Birley, 136). This suggests that the Romans had no outright problem with the faith itself. Gaining religious power quickly, Britain eventually became the center of the Christian world, establishing monumental cathedrals, fighting "holy" wars and even creating its own branch of the religion; Anglicanism. Christianity was also one of the main contributors to the regional unification and rulers of Britain would be forevermore appointed by the grace of God. From its British host, Christianity had, and still does have a tremendous influence on the world.

Rome viewed Britain's society like it had the rest of Western Europe, as barbaric and uncivilized; they pursued to bring their superior way of life to them. As arrogant as the Roman mindset was, it's impossible to deny that the Roman introduction of advanced technology is what gave Britain its edge in future technological endeavors. Technology such as medicine and sanitation, which was very important to the new Roman lifestyle being introduced to the Celts, who had previously little experience with practical medicine outside of a religious sense. Surgery was implemented to replace ritualistic healing, in which soap and proper waste disposal greatly improved the health of Celtic people. Celtic artisans were introduced to the Roman crafting techniques of curing leather and casting iron, which lead to much sturdier clothing, weapons and building materials essential for growth. The Celts became well versed in the arts of textile making and Britain became the center of the Roman Empire for wool and cloth. Celtic buildings were