The British History Podcast

8 – Caractacus, the Home-Wrecker

This episode will cover the years 42 to 54 CE The main characters will be… Caractacus, leader of the British resistance and exiled king of the Catuvellauni. Aulus Plautius, the general who took Britannia for Emperor Claudius Publius Ostorius Scapula, a Roman governor of Britannia Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigante and Venutius, King of the Brigante The Governance of Aulus Plautius is over and a new Governor is brought to command, and subjugate, the Britons. A brutal man named Publius Ostorius Scapula. But the British resistance was not over. Caractacus might have lost the fight against Plautius, but he wasn't defeated. The fight for Britain continues. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

This episode covers the invasion of Britannia in 42 CE by emperor Claudius. The major characters we’ll be talking about today are… Emperor Claudius - Emperor of Rome and man in need of a serious PR campaign. Aulus Plautius - His General, and the man tasked with invading Britannia. Vespasian - Leader of the Second Legion and future Emperor of Rome (though he didn’t know it yet). Togodomnus - Son of Cunobellinus and leader of the Catuvellauni. Caractucus - Brother of Togodomnus, and other leader of the Catvellauni “Whoever were the first inhabitants of Britain, whether natives or immigrants, has never been answered: don’t forget we are dealing with barbarians.” - Tacitus, Agricola. When we last left off, Emperor Claudius heard the pleas of Verica, the deposed king of the Atrebates, who begged that he come to the aid of his kingdom and put down King Caractacus and his Catuvellauni. Emperor Claudius saw a larger opportunity… the chance to talk all of Britannia, as well as the title of Britannicus for himself, and thus free him from the incredibly tenuous position he had found himself in. Being Emperor isn’t as great as it sounds when your guard are the very same men who had just killed the previous Emperor, your nephew. He needed the support of the people if he was going to last very long… and conquering some barbarians could be a way to accomplish that.

7 – The Claudian Invasion of Britannia

This episode covers the invasion of Britannia in 42 CE by emperor Claudius. The major characters we’ll be talking about today are… Emperor Claudius - Emperor of Rome and man in need of a serious PR campaign. Aulus Plautius - His General, and the man tasked with invading Britannia. Vespasian - Leader of the Second Legion and future Emperor of Rome (though he didn’t know it yet). Togodomnus - Son of Cunobellinus and leader of the Catuvellauni. Caractucus - Brother of Togodomnus, and other leader of the Catvellauni “Whoever were the first inhabitants of Britain, whether natives or immigrants, has never been answered: don’t forget we are dealing with barbarians.” - Tacitus, Agricola. Emperor Claudius, driven by politics and a need to establish his value, has dispatched the Second, Ninth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth legions to Britannia. The British warriors tribes managed to hold their own against the power of Rome twice before, and against Rome's most famous General, but will they be able to withstand the sheer destruction that four legions can bring? Only time will tell. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

We are rocking through about 100 years of history… from about 54 BCE to 42 CE, and we will cover the events that eventually lead to the Roman Occupation of Britannia. The major characters of this episode will be…. Octavius Augustus - the First Emperor of Rome Caligula - one of Rome’s more colorful Emperors. Cassius Chaerea - The Commander of the Praetorian Guard Claudius - One of the more underestimated emperors in Roman history Caractacus - Leader of the Catuvellauni, son of Cunobellinus, and all around tough Celt. Verica - Son of Commius, King of the Atrebates, and Roman ally. When we last left off, Caesar left Britannia… and he might have regretted that. Or at the very least, he probably regretted a few things he did once he got to Rome because things didn’t end too well for him. Whatever his personal feelings about his two invasions might have been, when he left, he was able to claim he was victorious over the Britons… and he set the legal precedent for further invasions and annexation. However, life got in the way and he never got the chance to become Britannicus.

6 – The Heir of Caligula and the Son of Commius

We are rocking through about 100 years of history… from about 54 BCE to 42 CE, and we will cover the events that eventually lead to the Roman Occupation of Britannia. The major characters of this episode will be…. Octavius Augustus - the First Emperor of Rome Caligula - one of Rome’s more colorful Emperors. Cassius Chaerea - The Commander of the Praetorian Guard Claudius - One of the more underestimated emperors in Roman history Caractacus - Leader of the Catuvellauni, son of Cunobellinus, and all around tough Celt. Verica - Son of Commius, King of the Atrebates, and Roman ally. A lot of time has passed since Caesar left these shores and became a human pin cushion. But despite being distracted by internal troubles, Britannia wasn't fully forgotten in the Roman halls of power. In this episode we are going to learn about Caligula's ambitions in Britain, and with the rise of Emperor Claudius the stage is set for another clash of titans between the warrior tribes of Britain and the Roman Empire. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

This episode covers 54 BCE and the major characters are… Julius Caesar… veteran invader of Britannia, friend of Brutus, and (spoiler alert) he was also a rather famous senatorial pin cushion. Cassivellaunus… leader of the Britons, all around tough dude… and almost certainly not called “cassivellaunus” but the romans were famously bad at translating non-Latin names into Latin. So we’ll just call him Cassivellaunus. Last week we spoke about Caesar’s first invasion, the 55 BCE invasion, which ended in... well, I wouldn’t call it a victory... Caesar managed to find success, sort of. But it was sort of like finding a lucky penny, it really didn’t require any skill on his part. He just stumbled upon a pleasant happenstance. And that brings us to 54 BCE… and Caesar was once again looking across the channel. You didn’t think he’d just leave and be done with the island, did you?

5 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 3

54 BCE. Julius Caesar is returning to Britain. And Cassivellaunus isn't excited about it. However, this time Caesar is bringing over 800 ships with him. This isn't a minor expedition, Caesar is coming in force. This is a clash of titans and we will see if the Celtic warrior culture and it's focus on heroic combat can effectively compete with the ordered machine of war that Rome was famous for. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

This episode covers 55 BCE and centers around Julius Caesar’s first invasion of Britannia. Caesar is in Britannia with the Seventh and Tenth Legions, has fought a single battle, and has subsequently received the surrender of the surrounding tribes. But basically after that first landing battle, the Brits had had enough. This cold and eerily silent group of foreigners were just too well armed, too well organized, and just too effective in the battlefield. Peace was the only way to deal with people such as this. So for four days the brits from the surrounding area came to Caesar to surrender. And on the fourth day, Caesar's cavalry finally set sail. Remember them? The 500 cavalry that embarked at a different port from the rest of Caesar’s army? Yeah, they were finally on their way… and that was really good news because those Britons had chariots, and that made them irritatingly speedy. While Caesar had won on the battlefield, he was probably all too aware that he was still exposed so long as the Britons could quickly move throughout the island unchecked. And frankly, until the Romans could ride the Britons down, he wouldn’t be able to stamp out any further resistance… and despite whatever legal pretenses he was giving, that was essentially what Caesar wanted to accomplish here. An end to british resistance and consequently, an end to their interference with his affairs in Gaul. ....

4 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 2

55 BCE. Julius Caesar with the 7th and 10th Legions are trying to subjugate the Britons. The key word here is "trying." The celts of Britain aren't going down without a fight and it seems that the elements are on their side. This episode you're going to learn about one of the worst days of Caesar's Gallic wars. Certainly not the worst day of his life, that awful day on the Senate floor has that dubious honor, but it was still pretty bad. The question is, would he be able to turn thing around? (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

56 BCE to 55 BCE. Julius Caesar is coming to Britain, and he's bringing his friends. He claimed that he wanted to punish the Celtic warriors from Britain for interferring with his Gallic wars, but modern scholars suspect that he was simply trying to bolster his resume. Whatever the case, one of the most famous generals in Roman history is coming to our island at the edge of the world. And the Britons are waiting for him. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show