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History of Wales - Wales under the Romans

History of Wales - Wales under the Romans: Encyclopedia II - History of Wales - Wales under the Romans

Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, Wales was not a separate country, but all inhabitants of Britain and Ireland spoke Celtic languages and were essentially of the same ethnic origin. The area was divided among a number of tribes, of which the Silures in south-east Wales and the Ordovices in central and north-west Wales were the largest and most powerful. These two tribes were the ones ...

See also:

History of Wales, History of Wales - Prehistoric Wales, History of Wales - Wales under the Romans, History of Wales - Early Mediaeval Wales, History of Wales - Wales and the Normans, History of Wales - Annexation, History of Wales - From the Union to the Industrial Revolution, History of Wales - The Nineteenth Century, History of Wales - The Twentieth Century, History of Wales - The Twenty-first Century

History of Wales, History of Wales - Annexation, History of Wales - Early Mediaeval Wales, History of Wales - From the Union to the Industrial Revolution, History of Wales - Prehistoric Wales, History of Wales - The Nineteenth Century, History of Wales - The Twentieth Century, History of Wales - The Twenty-first Century, History of Wales - Wales and the Normans, History of Wales - Wales under the Romans, 1904-1905 Welsh Revival, Welsh Methodist revival, Wales, Welsh Uprising of 1211, Welsh Uprising of 1282, British military history, History of the United Kingdom

History of Wales: Encyclopedia II - History of Wales - Wales under the Romans

History of Wales - Wales under the Romans

Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, Wales was not a separate country, but all inhabitants of Britain and Ireland spoke Celtic languages and were essentially of the same ethnic origin. The area was divided among a number of tribes, of which the Silures in south-east Wales and the Ordovices in central and north-west Wales were the largest and most powerful. These two tribes were the ones who put up the strongest resistance to the Roman invasion.

The first attack on the Welsh tribes was made under the legate Publius Ostorius Scapula about 48 AD. Ostorius first attacked the Deceangli in the north-east, who appear to have surrendered with little resistance. He then spent several years campaining against the Silures and the Ordovices. Their resistance was led by Caratacus, who had fled what is now south-east England when it was conquered by the Romans. He first led the Silures, then moved to the territory of the Ordovices, where he was defeated by Ostorius in 51 AD. Caratacus fled to the Brigantes whose queen handed him over to the Romans.

The Silures were not subdued however and waged effective geuerilla warfare against the Roman forces. Ostorius died with this tribe still unconquered, and after his death they won a victory over the Second Legion. There was no further attempt to extend Roman control in Wales until the governorship of Caius Suetonius Paulinus who attacked further north and captured the island of Anglesey in 60 or 61 AD. However he was forced to abandon the offensive to meet the threat from the rebellion of Boadicea. The Silures were eventually subdued by Sextus Julius Frontinus in a series of campaigns ending about 78 AD. His successor Gnaeus Julius Agricola subdued the Ordovices and recaptured Anglesey by the beginning of 79 AD.

The Romans occupied the whole of Wales, where they built roads and forts, mined gold and conducted commerce, but their interest in it was limited, because of the difficult geography and shortage of flat agricultural land. They established only one town in Wales, Caerwent (Venta Silurum). Wales was part of the Roman province of Britannia Superior and later of the province of Britannia Prima which also included the West Country of England.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Wales under the Romans", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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