Romans first settled in the City of London in 43AD. At that time, Britain was divided into tribal territories. The Romans formed alliances with tribes in the south-east, like the Iceni and the Trinovantes, to create a new and peaceful province called Britannia.
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| Boudica, Queen of the Iceni |
In AD59, the King of the Iceni, Prasutagus died and had left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor Nero in his will. In the higher levels of Celtic society, women held positions of prestige and power. Many took prominent roles in political, religious, and artistic life. Women also owned land and could choose their spouses and initiate divorce. King Prasutagus's intention for continued peace for his family and kingdom was clear.
As progressive as some people believe Roman society to be, Roman law did not allow royal inheritance to be passed to daughters, and co-ownership of a kingdom with a woman was unacceptable in Roman standards.
On order of Emperor Nero, kinsmen of the royal house of Iceni were enslaved. Boudicca, King Prasutagus' wife, was publically flogged and then forced to witness the public rape and torture of her two daughters, who were believed to have been roughly 12 yrs old at the time of the rebellion. The Romans used sex against the Britons and in response Boudica used her sex against the Romans.
His harsh treatment of the royal family led the Iceni to rebel, other tribes such as the Trinovantes joined them. Together they attacked Colchester, and St Albans. These towns were largely undefended as the Roman army was away fighting Druids in Wales. The twenty-year-old commercial settlement of London was the next target for the Iceni.
Boudica led a force of 100,000 down Watling Street to the abandoned Londinium which was burned to the ground. Archaeologists have found layers of burnt buildings and objects, including samian pottery, evidence of the AD60 Boudican fire of London. The Britons were eventually defeated at the battle of Watling Street.
Did you know?
The British Celts also used chariots, which had become obsolete on the continent. They were remarkably small and light, and the driver and warrior were protected by wicker screens on all sides.
What happened to Boudica?
What ever did happen to Boudica after the defeat at the battle of Watling Street has been surrounded by myth. Some say Boudica retreated and killed herself by poisoning. Some say Boudica is buried on the site of King's Cross Station, between platforms 9 and 10, perhaps on platform 9 3/4?! There is, however, no archaeological evidence to support this. In fact there is no evidence for the site of her burial at all. And so the mystery of Boudica's fate continues.
What we do know is Boudica led an army of 100,000 men to fight for her country's freedom which included allowing women to be able to continue to inherit. If the she had been successful in her quest perhaps centuries of the need to produce a male heir would have been avoided, enabling equality for women to progress quicker than it has?
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