How did the Romans conquer Britain?

Answer 1

Besides much of Europe, Rome also conquered North Africa and Asia west of Iran and north of Saudi Arabia.

Roman imperial expansion did not occur through a grand design of conquest. Although there were cases in which conquest was a deliberate aim, most conquests through various separate wars which were fought for different reasons and which she won. Her military success was due to a number of factors:

1) A large pool of military manpower. When Rome expanded into the mountains of central and southern Italy as a result of the Second and Third Samnite Wars (326-304 BC and 298-290 BC) she turned the peoples who lived in these areas into allies. They had to supply soldiers who fought in auxiliary troops which supported the Roman legions at their own expenses in exchange for protection and a share of the spoils of war. The allies provided 60% of the pool of military manpower available to Rome. This pool was the largest in the Mediterranean. This large manpower played a crucial role in defeating the attempted invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus (Pyrrhic War, 275-270 BC) and Hannibal (Second Punic War 218-201 BC).

2) The capability to deploy several legions on several fronts at the same time. This capability was developed during the Early Republic when Rome was frequently attacked from its north (by the Sabines and Etruscan cities) and its south (by the Aequi and the Volsci). It was further refined in the Second and Third Samnite Wars, when Rome, again, fought on two fronts at the same time. During the second Punic War, the Romans fought on two fronts in Italy + a campaign in Spain + a war in Greece. That makes four fronts at the same time and, contemporaneously, they also kept a legion to guard Etruria.

3) The willingness to adapt. Originally the Roman army adopted the phalanx military formation of the Greeks. When they were defeated on the mountains of the Samnites they adopted the manipular formation of the Samnite enemies because it was more flexible and better suited for mountain warfare. The Romans also adopted the Spanish sword and the Gallic design for helmets. When they needed a fleet capable to match the mighty Carthaginian fleet in the First Punic War, they adopted the ship design of the Carthaginians.

4) Sheer determination. The Romans pursued victory in war to the bitter end and by any means. One example was the titanic and very expensive building of a 180 mile long stone-paved road, the first ever in history (the Appian Way) to facilitate the movement of troops and military supplies to the front during the second Samnite War. Another example was during the First Punic War. Both the Carthaginian and Roman fleet became depleted and the coffers of both states were empty. What made the difference was that the Roman rich paid for an additional fleet from their own pockets. This fleet went on to win the final battle of the war.

5) Good military training. The training of Roman soldiers was already very good when the army was a citizen militia, before it became a professional army. When it became a professional army soldiers were trained drilled regularly and the army became even more highly structured and well organised.

Answer 2

The Roman conquest of Britain was a slow process.

In 43 B.C.the general Aulus Plautius landed with three legions. He defeated the Catuvellauni at a crossing on the River Medway near Rochester. The Catuvellauni fell back to the north of the River Thames and the Romans crossed this river. Plautius called for the emperor Claudius to join him. He came with another legion, war elephants and heavy armaments. He received the surrender of eleven British groups in the southeast of England without battle and returned to Rome. The general Vespasian was sent to subdue the southwest. He set off from Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) Durotriges of Dorset, south Wiltshire, of Dumnonii of Devon and Cornwall. He conquered the Isle of Wight. He setup a legionary headquarters at Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter). A legion was sent north to Lindum Colonia (Lincoln). In four years the Romans occupied an area up to a line between the Humber and the estuary of the Severn.

In 47 the governor of Britain Ostorius Scapula (47-52), pushed into north Wales. In 51 he defeated Caratacus, the leader of the Siluri resistance, Caratacus, who fled north to the Brigantes. Their queen, Cartimandua, who was an ally of Rome, handed him over to the Romans. However, this led her husband, Venutius, to abandon his loyalty to the Romans and became the most prominent leader of the British resistance. Cartimandua divorced him. He tried to overthrow his ex-wife. The new Roman governor Aulus Didius Gallus (52 - 57 AD) sent the general Caesius Nasica to defend Cartimandua and supress his rebellion. Subsequently, Didius Gallus stabilised the Welsh border, but did not push into Wales.

The emperor Nero, who came to power in 54, resumed the conquest of Wales in 57 sending Quintus Veranius, an experienced general to Britain as governor. He started a campaign against the Silures, but died within a year. His successor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (58-61) he attacked the Island of Mona (Anglesey), which was a stronghold of the druids and destroyed its sacred groves, but did not subdue the island because he had to leave to suppress Boudicca's rebellion. He then conducted punitive operations against any remaining pockets of resistance which were counterproductive. He was replaced by Publius Petronius Turpilianus (61-63). He and his successor, Marcus Trebellius Maximus (63-69) pursued conciliatory policies. This created stability in the province and a legion was withdrawn from Britain. The next governor, Marcus Vettius Bolanus (69-71) had to face a second rebellion by Venutius who took advantage of a civil war in Rome in 69. Bolanus could not send enough troops and Cartimandua had to be evacuated. Venutius took over the kingdom of the Brigantes. It seems that he might have been able to conquer some of he lost territory. The next governor, Quintus Petilius Cerialis Caesius Rufus, brought a legion to Britain and fought against the Brigantes. He returned to Rome in 74. Sextus Julius Frontinus (74-77) subdued the Silures of northern Wales, establishing a new legionary base at Caerleon or Isca Augusta (rear Newport, South Wales) and built a network of smaller forts, one of which, Luentinum, controlled the gold mine of Dolaucothi,

The next governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola (77-85) completed the conquest of Britain. The Ordovices of north Wales had virtually destroyed the Roman cavalry stationed in there. He campaigned against them ad defeated them. He then proceeded to subdue the Island of Mona and forced the islanders to sue for peace. Agricola then pushed into the north of England and into Caledonia (Scotland). It appears that he campaigned against the Brigantes. In 79, reached the estuary of the river Taus, (probably the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Perth) virtually unchallenged. In 81 he crossed an unspecified body of water, probably in south-western Scotland. He fortified the coast opposite Ireland and probably carried out a punitive expedition in Ireland to support an exiled Irish king. In 82 he enforced a naval blockade north of the Firth of Forth. A large Caledonian force attacked the Roman camp but the cavalry put them to flight. The Romans pushed further north. In 83 he crushed a large Caledonian force at the Battle of Mons Graupius. Two third of this force fled to the highlands.Agricola was recalled to Rome after serving for six years, In 122 the Romans withdrew from Scotland and built Hadrian's Wall.

Answer 3

Britain was occupied by Celts who were inexperienced fighters and had little in the way of tactics so after the Romans occupied Britain they just moved to Scotland and Wales.

Answer 4

The Romans conquered Greece in the same way that they conquered other territories. Military force!

Answer 5

they killed all of the soldiers