Boudicca Analysis

Boudicca is a not talked about so much in history. She was a female leader from the first century of the British Iceni tribe that lead an uprising against the Roman forces that were occupying that area at the time. Her defining moment was when she led the Iceni tribe in battle against the Romans in the Battle of Watling Street.

Most of Boudicca’s early life is mostly a mystery. She was born in to a royal family apparently, around the year 25 AD. When she was young, she was married to Prasutagus, who would later become king of the Iceni tribe. They supposedly had two daughters who were most likely born sometime around 43 AD. According to Cassius Dio, an old Roman historian, Boudicca was described as having bright, flaming red hair. Her name meant “victory”. It is unknown whether Boudicca was born Iceni or was of other descent. Boudicca eventually led the British in battle against the Romans after years of oppression. The British unfortunately lost the battle and Boudicca died shortly after.

In regards to the historical context of Boudicca’s leadership, there is a lot to cover. Early on, the British were welcoming to the Romans. The Iceni tribe was one of the six tribes to pledge their allegiance to Gaius Julius Caesar, the current ruler of Rome at that time. Even though the six tribes pledged their allegiance to him, he was unable to handle the power of other British tribes near the coast or their guerilla tactics in battle. Gaius Julius Caesar eventually left Britain and Britain remained free of Romans for almost another hundred years. During that time, neighboring tribes to the Iceni tribe became wealthy through trade. Then, in 41 AD, Claudius rose to power in Rome and decided that invading Britain would be good for his politica...

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...Boudicca is seen as a monumental leader in the history of Britain. Despite her loss in battle, Boudicca was very courageous in her attempt to avenge the Iceni tribe and her daughters. Her leadership can be seen as praiseworthy because of her efforts and her reasons for going in to battle with the Romans. It is a wonder that she is not talked about more in history.

Works Cited

Boadicea. (2000). In J. Knight & S. A. McConnell (Eds.), Ancient Civilizations Reference Library (Vol. 3, pp. 38-44). Detroit: UXL. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2587200044&v=2.1&u=viva_cnu&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=7ad023bb28ade3d758386da650f35cf9

Roberts, M. (1988). The Revolt of Boudicca (Tacitus, Annals 14.29-39) and the Assertion of Libertas in Neronian Rome. The American Journal of Philology, 109(1), 118-132. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/294766