Why did the Romans Invade Britain?

The First Invasion In 55 B.C. a famous Roman General, Julius Caesar, decided to invade Britain because: He was angry with the British people for helping the Gauls (the French) fight the Romans. He thought it would make him look good back in Rome (no-one from Rome had travelled here before!). He had heard that there was great treasure in Britain and he wanted to find it for himself.

The Romans did not return to Britain for 90 years. Julius Caesar tried to invade Britain twice, in 55 B.C. and 54 B.C., and his army did defeat the tribes that were waiting for him. Unfortunately, on both occasions, his boats were destroyed by storms and he went home. The Romans did not return to Britain for 90 years.

The Second Invasion In 43 A.D. (43 years after Jesus was born) Emperor Claudius decided to invade Britain again. He sent 40,000 troops, who gradually conquered most of the country. The troops were terrified of going to Britain because they had heard about the tribes who lived there.

The Britons had never seen such amazing and unusual creatures! Emperor Claudius even brought elephants over to Britain to scare the people. The Britons had never seen such amazing and unusual creatures!

When Romans had conquered most of Britain, the country became peaceful. While the Romans were in Britain they changed a great many things for the better: they built roads and proper towns. They were quite sensible rulers.

Presentation by Bev Evans, 2008 Images by Bev Evans or available from www.clipart.com www.communication4all.co.uk