INFLUENCE OF ROMAN CONQUEST ON ENGLAND

Roman Empire, political system established by Rome that lasted for nearly five centuries.
Historians usually date the beginning of the Roman Empire from 27 BC when the Roman Senate
gave Gaius Octavius the name Augustus and he became the undisputed emperor after years of
bitter civil war. At its peak the empire included lands throughout the Mediterranean world.
Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring territories during the Roman
Republic (509-27 BC), but made wider conquests and solidified political control of these lands
during the empire. The empire lasted until Germanic invasions, economic decline, and internal
unrest in the 4th and 5th centuries AD ended Rome's ability to dominate such a huge territory.
The Romans and their empire gave cultural and political shape to the subsequent history of
Europe from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present day.
Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman
Empire between 43 and 410 C.E. The Roman invasion of Britain divided its constituent
kingdoms and tribes. Some supported the Romans, others fiercely opposed their occupation
and suffered dreadfully as a consequence. In the face of continuing resentment at their
occupation the Romans, argues Graham Webster, changed from a policy of repression, and
began to pay careful attention to the feelings and aspirations of their British subjects.
One has to go back to Julius Caesar to understand Rome's interest in Britain and the attitudes of
the tribes of south-eastern Britain to Rome. Whatever may have prompted Caesar to carry out
his expeditions, their partial success was accepted in Rome as a definite conquest. Julius Caesar
while campaining in Gaul launched two expeditions accross the Channel (55 and 54 BC). Ceasar
decided against a major military expedition. It is not entirely sure why. His focus at the time was
on Gaul. Presumably he concluded the conquest would not justify the expense, especially when
the situation in Gaul itself was not yet settled. Ceaser did, however, report on these explots to
his adoring public back in Rome. The subsequent Roman invasion came a century later. Roman
attempted to bring Britain within the Empire through diplomatic initiatives. By the time Rome
initiated the conquest of Britain, Gaul had been firmly Romanized. Rome's new emperor,
Claudius (43 AD), authorized The invasion. It was Claudiu's first foreign expedition. Successful
military expeditions were important in establishing a prestigious reputation. Claudius assigned
Aulus Plautius to carry out the invasion. The Britons were a Celtic people, related to the tribes
of Gaul which Ceasar had conquered. The British proved to be a substantial military challenge,
taking several decades to accomplish. Eventually Roman armies subjugated the British Celts and
the era of Roman Britain began. The Roman conquest of Brition was characterically brutal. It
took longer than Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
The Roman conquest of Briton was characterically brutal. It took longer than Caesar's conquest
of Gaul. But the impact on Celtic Britain began even while the conquest was underway.
Eventually Roman armies subjugated the British Celts and the era of Roman Britain began. The
Romans called their new province Britannia. Some of the luxuries of the Roman Empire had
reached Britain even before the conquest. There were cultural and economic links with the
Celtic tribes in Gaul and these cotavts continued after the Roman conquest. The Romans
brought with them many new technologies in agriculture, industry and architecture. One of the
most significant imprint on Celtic Britain was urban life--a hallmark of Roman civilization. And
with urbanization came a variety of luxuries. These luxuries were coveted by the Britanii. The
British army built forts throughout Briton. Some were temporary emplacements. Others forts
became the beginning of the major cities of Roman Britain. Almost from the beginning the
Romans began constructing roads connecting these forts. The salaries paid the soldiers from an
early period began attracting Celts willing to perform services of value to the soldiers and
Roman officials. This included artisans, bakers, laborers, launderers, smiths, and many others.
These people at first settled outside the Roman forts. The forts and Celtic selllements
developed into cities. These Celts over time became Romanized to varying degrees. The
Romans established definiticely that Briton was an island when Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola
dispatched a naval expedition to explore the northern reaches of the island (80s AD). Caesar left
an account of his expeditions. And there are accounts of the conquest, but unfortunately very
few written records of Roman Britannia have been found either in Briton or Rome itself. This
probably testifies to the titality of the Anglo-Saxon assault on Roman Briton. Most of what we
now know comes from archaeological and epigraphic work. With the withdrawl of the Legions
(407 AD), Roman Briton was soon destroyed by Anglo-Saxon invaders. Some of the British
retreated west, but the survivors seem for Celtic than Roman.The Romans referred to their
province as Britannia. Prior to the Roman invasion, British Iron Age Britain already had cultural
and economic links with Continental Europe, but the invaders introduced new developments in
agriculture, urbanization, industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is still apparent today.
Historical records beyond the initial invasion are sparse, although many Roman historians
mention the province in passing. Most of the knowledge of the period stems from
archaeological investigations and especially epigraphic evidence. Britain's incorporation into the
Roman Empire also linked the British with the culture, literature and civilization of the classical
world of antiquity. Not only would Roman law and the Latin language, which through the
influence of Christianity was for centuries both the language of learning and of worship play a
vital role in British life but notions of a national destiny to emulate Rome as a power for good
and as a peace-maker in the world also impacted the British psyche.
Another aspect of the heritage of Rome is the Lain language. This was the standard language of
most of the Empire, except in the Greek east. The Lain taught in schools today is that of Caesar
and Cisero. The language survived the fall of the Empire in several ways. For centuries it was the
language of educated discussion throughout the Chrisytian West. It was adopted as the offical
language of the Roman Catholic Church. For nearly two millenia the mass was given in Latin.
And the Church attempted to prevent the translatin of the Bible into the popular European
languages. Latin also became the foundation for the Romance languages (French, Italian.
Portuguese and Spanish ). It also played an important role in the development of English.
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote in his Agricola, completed in 98 AD, that the various
groupings of Britons shared physical characteristics with continental peoples. The Caledonians,
inhabitants of what is now Scotland, had red hair and large limbs, indicating a Germanic origin;
the Silures, inhabitants of what is now South Wales, were swarthy with curly hair, indicating a
link with the Iberians of the Roman provinces of Hispania, in what is now Portugal and Spain;
and the Britons nearest the Gauls of mainland Europe resembled the Gauls. This is a gross
oversimplification which nonetheless holds fairly true to the present day.