The Four Invasions on Britain
Point of
discussion
The Roman Invasion
1. Reasons:
It was a military invasion that
why did the
started out for the sake of
invasion start? invading Britain and affecting
the country politically. After
about 10 years from Julius
Caesar’s expedition to explore
the treasures of Britain, King
Claudius sent his army with
48,000 troops who aimed at
invading all Britain in which
they succeeded except for
Scotland for they were
prevented by the Hadrian’s
Wall.
2. Features of
the invasion:
how was the
army like?
The Romans army was a very
organized one. The Roman
soldiers, who were harsh and
cruel, encouraged fighting,
and thus, came in very
organized, well-disciplined
manner. They knew exactly
what they were doing and had
nothing to stop them.
However, afterwards, the
Roman army was needed to
defend its country, so they had
to retreat and return back,
The Anglo-Saxon
Invasion
After the Romans left, the city
was left into a decline. The
Anglo-Saxons then came with
the attraction of the food and
the land. Since they were very
good farmers and excelled in
cultivating the lands, all they
needed was a source of fresh
water, which was provided by
the number of rivers located
around Britain, specifically,
around the center or the capital
London. In addition, the good
soil and weather added to the
Saxon’s attraction of settling
down in Britain. So, unlike the
Roman invasion, it was an
invasion of settlement; a
cultural one.
The Saxon army was very
primitive and not organized like
the Roman army. They, instead
came in the form of raids. Their
main purpose was to settle down
and therefore, they had to deal
with the people. Consequently,
they intermarried and
exchanged cultures which
resulted in the change of the
racial makeup of the natives.
leaving Britain in ruins.
The Roman invasion was the
least that affected Britain, but
it also has its prominent effects
that should not be ignored.
First, they neither influenced
3. Changes/
the culture or the racial
Consequences/ makeup of the country
Aftermaths
because it was a military
brought by the invasion. Second, because they
invasion: what were deeply interested in
is the effect of architecture, they build
luxurious villas and palaces
the invasion?
that were left behind after
they left. Moreover, they build
a network of roads to help
them in trade movements.
Most importantly, since they
were city dwellers, they
understood good locations for
cities, and what they did was
locate a center for trade that
helped in fostering trade
afterwards. They located
London (Londinium) as the
center which proved to be an
excellent choice since it was
located at the heart of so many
water sources; mainly rivers,
the most famous of which is
the river Thames.
The Anglo-Saxon invasion
changed Britain upon
recognition; it influenced it a
great deal and that mainly
springs from the fact that it was
a cultural invasion, not a
military one. On one hand, they
changed the race or the racial
makeup of the Britons. On the
other hand, they brought with
them the idea of kinship and
kingdom which was novel at the
time. As a result, they divided
England into seven kingdoms on
which each is ruled by a
different king.