Boudica

"It is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry, but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom, my scourged body, the outraged chastity of my daughters," and concluded, "This is a woman's resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves."

Boudica (aka Boudicca/Boadicea) was a queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in AD 60 or 61.

It is agreed that Boudica was of royal descent. Cassius Dio describes her as tall, with long tawny hair, a harsh voice and a piercing glare. He writes that she habitually wore a large golden necklace (perhaps a torc), a colourful tunic, and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch.

Boudica's husband Prasutagus ruled over modern-day Norfolk as a nominally independent ally of Rome, and left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and to the roman emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will was ignored, and his land and property was seized. Even worse, Boudica was flogged and their daughters were raped. The Romans also evoked the wrath of another tribe, the Trinovantes, whom they had evicted and enslaved.

In AD 60 or 61, while the current governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) in the north of Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, amongst others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader. Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory.

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The rebels destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), a  colonia, a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers and site of a temple to the former Emperor Claudius. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. A bronze statue to the emperor Nero, which probably stood in front of the temple, was decapitated and its head taken as a trophy by Boudica's army^[26] Archaeologists have shown that the city was methodically demolished. The future governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX Hispana, attempted to relieve the city, but suffered an overwhelming defeat. The infantry with him were all killed – only the commander and some of his cavalry Upon hearing of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (modern London), the 20-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. He lacked sufficient numbers to defend the settlement, and he evacuated and abandoned Londinium. The rebels, who burnt it down, torturing and killing anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius.

An estimated 70,000–80,000 Romans and British were then killed (many by torture) in the three cities the rebels next targeted. Tacitus says that the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more detail; that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.

Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces and despite being heavily outnumbered (10,000 against 300,000) won a decisive victory over the British rebels. Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. Tacitus records her giving a short speech in which she presents herself not as an aristocrat avenging her lost wealth, but as an ordinary person, avenging her lost freedom, her battered body, and the abused chastity of her daughters.

The crisis caused Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from Britain – showing how much of a threat he perceived this woman to be to his huge empire. However, Suetonius's victory over Boudica confirmed Roman control of the province. Boudica then either killed herself to avoid capture (according to Tacitus), or died of illness (according to Cassius Dio).

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The Roman slaughter of women and animals was unusual, as they could have been sold for profit, and point to the mutual enmity between the two sides^. No historical records tell what had happened to Boudica's two daughters.

                                                             

One of the earliest possible mentions of Boudica (excluding Tacitus' and Dio's accounts) was the 6th-century work On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain by the British monk Glidas. In it, he demonstrates his knowledge of a female leader whom he describes as a "treacherous lionness" who "butchered the governors who had been left to give fuller voice and strength to the endeavours of Roman rule."

During the reign of Elizabeth I, Boudica began to be seen as an important figure in British history. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the works of Tacitus were rediscovered, and therefore interest in Boudica and her rebellion was triggered. It has been said that the Elizabethan era was a time where her popularity could flourish as Elizabeth, upon her ascension as queen in 1588, was required to defend Britain from a possible invasion of Spanish Armada. Boudica had once defended Britain as well, however from the Romans. 

It was in the Victorian era that Boudica's fame took on legendary proportions as Queen Victoria came to be seen as Boudica's "namesake", their names being identical in meaning. Boadicea and Her Daughters, a statue of the queen in her war chariot was executed by Thomas Thornycroft over the 1850s and 1860s with the encouragement of Prince Albert, who lent his horses for use as models. A statue of her now stands guard over the city she razed to the ground. She is also honoured as a popular welsh hero,

While Boudica doubtless committed many terrible atrocities – many of them on women it must be noted – she is still probably the most famous rebel in British history. That one woman could square up to the mighty Roman Empire and almost win is a truly remarkable feat, and that she did so to defend the honour of herself and her daughters is especially poignant and shows the historic abuses that women have faced. Her story also disputes the stereotype that women meekly accepted this oppression for centuries. Rather, it shows their ruthlessness and effectiveness in defending themselves and their home. Nationalism is often associated with powerful men. The fact that Boudica’s husband left his land to her daughters and that she was chosen as a leader by the rebels despite her gender is also telling of the status of women in ancient society and further disputes the historical impression of women in the ancient world. Her inspiration of later powerful British women shows her lasting legacy and her power across generations as an example of female power and resistance.