# Roman invasions of Britain

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 23, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777 "2015-03-23T15:20:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777/21 "2015-03-24T14:05:17Z")

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That’s not quite what happened. He explictly named Claudius or his heir as a co-heir to his own throne, along with Boudicca and her sister. The rebellion started when the Romans refused to recognize the power sharing arrangement and (allegedly) raped Boudicca and her daughters.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777/22 "2015-03-24T14:12:37Z")

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Wrong bloody thread!

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**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777/23 "2015-03-24T14:15:36Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> That’s not quite what happened. He explictly named Claudius or his heir as a co-heir to his own throne, along with Boudicca and her sister. The rebellion started when the Romans refused to recognize the power sharing arrangement and (allegedly) raped Boudicca and her daughters.

Well quite, the Romans expected him to leave the kingdom to them entirely without any co-heirs involved.

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**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-invasions-of-britain/715777/24 "2015-03-25T05:13:13Z")

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> [@smiling\_bandit](#):
>
> The Romans, in the matter of invasion or conquest, were usually at least somewhat scrupulous. Even in the later eras they generally managed to have at least a nod towards decency or honor in wartime, reserving their full fury or brutality for especially desperate enemies.

Well, that’s conquest for you. You bring some honey, you bring some vinegar. You reward the peoples who submit willingly, and then you beat the living snot out of those who don’t. Throughout Roman history, you’ll find the first, the latter and everything in between. But it’s not like the Romans were shy about the latter if it came down to it. And it sure helps to have some examples of effective use of vinegar to point to when you’re trying to convince someone to accept your honey.

> [@smiling\_bandit](#):
>
> The casus belli, at least, was the restoration of a client king to power.

The Romans were mostly concerned with having at least a nominal legal and moral justification for going to war. That doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t sometimes grab the flimsiest excuse for doing it. And I think we can safely file this one under flimsy as a wet paper bag.

As Gibbon remarked, Rome conquered the world in self defense. 😉

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