How did the Romans change Britain? Well, first off, by conquering it – and conquering it violently.
The Romans loved conquering other people. In fact, it kept the whole empire going – conquering their neighbours gave Roman leaders a chance to steal booty, capture slaves, grab natural
resources like lead and tin, and generally look good in front of their mates and rivals. In AD 43 the new Roman Emperor, Claudius, was in search of a scrap to cement his status,
and so he plotted his invasion of Britain – an island the Romans had been eyeing up for some time. He sent 40,000 soldiers over the Channel and they quickly defeated the
tribes in the south east. Once it was safe, the emperor popped across to Britain to soak up the praise and show off his elephants.
Some tribal leaders gave in to the empire rather than try to fight it, but not everyone was happy. The Druids helped to organise the resistance against the Romans, and queen Boudicca
led a huge revolt in AD 60. But the Romans didn’t mess about.
They beat Boudicca in battle, destroyed the druids – and brought the bulk of Britain under their control.
But Roman soldiers were more than just fearsome fighters – they were brilliant builders. Forts were their speciality, and they built hundreds of them across the province.
The Romans also loved their roads. They built over 8,000 miles of them in the first century AD alone, and many of our roads today still follow old Roman routes.