2015-10-22
6089
In 55 B.C. (before Christ) a Roman Army of 10,000 men with Julius Caesar at the head crossed the English Channel and tried to invade Britain. The Celts saw their ships and rushed to attack invaders in the sea as they were landing. The Romans had to return to Gaul. Next year Caesar tried to conquer Britain again, but he was not success. In 43 A.D. (Anno Domini) the Roman Army invaded Britain and conquered the South-East.
Roman influence in Britain
- The Romans built towns, splendid villas and public baths as in Rome itself. There were more than 50 towns built by the Romans in Britain. The houses in the towns were built of stone.
- In most towns there were market places and plenty of shops where merchants sold their goods. Trade began developing.
- The Romans were great road makers and now a network of roads connected all parts of the country.
- The great tracts of forest were cleared and cornfields took place.
- The Romans brought exploitation and slavery to the British Isles.
- The Romans brought Christianity to Britain.
- The native language absorbed many Latin words at that time.
The Anglo-Saxons conquest of Britain
The Anglo-Saxons invasion
When the Roman’s legions left Britain the Celts remained independent but not for long. From the middle of the fifth century they had to defend the country against the attacks of Germanic tribes from the continent. First the Jutes and then the Saxons and the Angles began to migrate to Britain. At first they only came to plunder. But in 449 the Jutes landed in Kent and this was the beginning of the conquest. In the South-East the Celts were soon overwhelmed (порабощены) but in the western parts of the country they offered stout resistance for many years. The final refuge of the Celts was Cornwall, Wales and the Northern Part of the country (Island).
In the course of the conquest many of the Celts were killed, some taken prisoners and made slaves or had to pay tribute to the conquerors.
In the beginning of the 7th century several kingdoms were formed on the territory of Britain conquered by the Angle-Saxons: (See list # 2). These kingdoms were hostile to one another and they fought constantly for supreme power in the region. As the result of the conquest the Angle-Saxons made up the majority of the population in Britain and they are customs, religion and languages became predominate.
