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Boudicca
Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni tribe in modern day England and Wales. She was
described by Dio (one of the primary source of information about her, as he was a Roman
historian) as tall with reddish hair down to her waist, a harsh voice and piercing glare and that
she "possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women." She was married to the king
of the Iceni people Prasutagus, and bore him two daughters. Her story of significance started
when her husband died and he put the roman emperor Nero in his will as one of his heirs. His
hope was that this would pacify the romans and make his people safe and prosperous because so
that they could keep their trade partners the romans. This was not what happened. Nero decided
that Rome now controlled all of the Icini people and soldiers began looting and sacking Icini
towns. Boudicca was whipped and her two daughters were raped and her estates were
confiscated by Nero. Boudicca had become a queen of a shattered kingdom.
Boudicca began to conspire with their neighbors the Trinovantes and others to revolt and
attack Rome, and it was her who was chosen as the leader of these people. The rebels' first target
was Camulodunum, the former Trinovantian capital and, at that time, a Roman colony. It was
settled by the veterans of Rome, there they mistreated the locals and a temple to the former
emperor Claudius had been built using the locals money, making the city ripe for rebellion.
When attacked the romans tried to get help from Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred
auxiliary troops. Boudiccas army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it. The town
only lasted two days before the wrathful rebels.
When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius, the governor of Britain, ran to the
city of Londinium. Londinium was a relatively new settlement, but grew to be a thriving center

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of trade. Suetonius decided to let the city fall as it was too poorly defended and would not hold
out with the population it had to a prolonged siege. Boudiccas army burnt it to the ground killing
any who did not leave. Boudiccas army showed no remorse or mercy to any romans or slaves all
was killed and no prisoners were taken. It was said that that the noblest women were impaled on
spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths

Finally Suetonius took a standing a location now known as the Watling Street, but his
men were heavily outnumbered. Dio said even if they were lined up one deep, they would not
have extended the length of Boudiccas line. Boudicca ran the line on her chariot her daughters
beside her. Tacitus (the other main source of information about Boudicca) says that she gave a
speech that she is not a queen or a part of the upper class fighting for the wealth that she lost but
as British person fighting for her lost freedom. She said their cause was just, and the deities were
on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was
resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery that was their choice.
But Rome despite being out numbered were best in open combat were their discipline at
close rank fighting as at its best. The location was not to Boudiccas advantage either as it was
too narrow to put forth all her forces. Her forces were destroyed as pikes killed thousands and the
roman army would not break. The rebels broke under the superior equipment and discipline of
the romans. Now we know Boudicca died in this battle but Dio and Tacitus both say different
things, one says that she poisoned herself rather than be taken by the romans while the other says
she fought in the battle and died there. But this rebellion scared the Romans so much that they
practically abandon Briton as it is too rebellious to rule.

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Boudicca is very important even to modern day but the butterfly effect of her
rebellion created the world we have today. Without her rebellion Britain would have been under
the tighter roman grip that the rest of their colonies were under. They may have fallen with Rome
if that had happened. But despite that the rebellion scared Nero into ruling Britain with a light
touch lest he invoke another rebellion. This gave Briton the training, the technology of the
romans but not their deep control over them. This will lead into the Britons into being safe in the
medieval ages due to the leg up they had on every one and eventually become a power house at
the industrial revolution. Boudicca was also a symbol of freedom and the fight for the freedom in
modern day. She is a lot like Sir William Wallace only ironically fighting for Britain instead of
against it.
She fought and won major victories against a much stronger foe. She rallied all the
people in Britain to fight against a common foe instead of each other. Britain was never united
until then. they were a bunch of different tribes all waring and fighting and trading each other.
This is why the romans could take them but once Boudicca showed that they could unite and
have more power together than separate that was the turning point.
She was also a woman leading these people and more importantly the Britain people
chose her to lead them a woman. This was someone who was supposed to be watching the home,
raising the children, and producing boys for her husband, and if her husband hadnt thought that
Rome could be pacified then that might have been what happened, but instead she rose up and
became a symbol for women every were. The Celts chose her to lead them and she did not fail
them. She gave them victory after victory, as it was her passion that fuled the fire of the
rebellion. She led them to glory and immortality in the history books. Even their defeat and her

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death was not a total loss she had done what her husband couldnt do with sufferance she did
with war, Rome left them alone. She was to put it more bluntly a bad ass woman.
Interestingly it seem that much of this cultural fascination with Boudicca is modern. She
was never mention in the medieval ages from a historical perspective even in Britain the country
she fought for. It seems that is wasnt till Tacituss books were rediscover that the interest in
Boudicca was ignited again.
She had become the symbol of a strong woman. You can even see her story copied in
America even today in the form of multiple forms of media, I once read a book where there was
a tall, red headed woman who fought in a chariot and lead her people with her impassioned
speeches that is practically copy and pasted description of what she is. Even in To series you
can see it to a small degree, the heroine of the show Xena acts similarly to how Boudicca is
written about as she is a strong and fearsome woman how is a leader of men not one to be ruled.
Even in the movie Brave you can see this mentality of a woman who is not defined by men but
who defines herself.
If you look closely this idea of a strong woman all stem from the idea of Boudicca. She
had several direct movies made about her; Warrior queen in 1987 and 2003, Boudicca in 2006,
Boadicea in 1927, and Viking queen in 1967. She appears in the video game Civilization 4 and 5
as the faction leader of the Celtic tribe. She has been sung about by the band Bal-Sagoth, The
Irish singer/songwriter Enya recorded a song entitled "Boadicea" ,Mason and Risn Murphy
collaborated on the track Boadicea released in 2011, featuring lyrics about the rise and fall of a
female warrior. Henry Purcell's last major work, composed in 1695, was music for play entitled
Bonduca, The song "The Good Old Days", written by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat have the

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lyrics "If Queen Boadicea is long dead and gone, Still then the spirit in her children's children, it
lives on.
Beyond her becoming a symbol for women she is also a well-deserved symbol for the
British people. In fact in 1902 after the death of Queen Victoria, to celebrate her being the
longest running monarchy in British history they unveiled a statue of Boudicca upon her war
chariot. Many British nationalist like to use her defense of the people of Britain as an example of
how true British people should be. She was a warrior queen who united the people of Britain and
drove out the invading people, she did so at the cost of her life and her passion for this was so
powerful that it continued after her death, and made sure that the romans never tried to control
them or go back on their deals with the British ever again. It is a wonderful image for British
nationalists who use it to show how great their country could be if only they were like Boudicca.
They use her as a symbol of British power against others, the idea that the British are all
warriors, sons and daughters of the mighty queen Boudicca. in the area of kings cross London it
is a tradition to reenact the battles between Boudicca and the romans were one side plays the
romans fearing the mighty horde of Boudicca and the other side gets the fun time of being their
ancestors who fought and died in this battle. The British are led by their strong warrior queen
Boudicca who fights before them and shows that they are the British people and will win. The
people of kings cross believe that she is buried in their town between dock 9 and 10 though
there is no evidence that proves this.
So in conclusion Boudicca was a powerful woman who after her husband had died and
her people attacked took it upon herself to right things. She rose to power and destroyed all that
stood before her. She let her passion for vengeance and freedom drive not just her but all the

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people of Briton and promised that she would not let the roman do anything like they did to her
ever again. She led her people in a revolt vs Rome that destroyed all that stood in her path they
showed no mercy to any one, they were Britons and warriors at heart they would not be pacified
by the romans. It wasnt just a fight against invaders but a fight for freedom and vengeance not
for her but for her people. Even after her death her memory and passion still lives on. She led the
romans to fear the Britains and the people of Brittan to fight for their freedom and never let this
happen again. Her passion was so powerful that it echoed down the ages to the modern day were
the very concept of her cause us to invent tropes and influence our moves and stories and culture
with her. We have grown to love the concept of the powerful woman who doesnt need a man.
She has grown past being a queen, she is now a symbol. A symbol of Britain. A symbol of strong
women. A symbol of Freedom.

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