The Roman conquest of Britain
The people who lived on the British Isles two thousand years ago were called Celts. In the first century BC, the Romans ruled the whole civilized world, except Britain which was separated from the Continent by the Channel and the North Sea.
In 55 BC a Roman army of 10000 men with Julius Caesar at the head invaded Britain. The Celts saw their ships and attacked them in the sea while the Romans were landing. The Romans saw the Celts in battle for the first time and they made a great impression on the Romans. The Roman soldiers were better trained and had better arms, but the Celts defeated them and they had to return to Gaul.
In 54 BC Caesar came to Britain again, this time with an army of 25000 men. The Celts fought bravely for their independence, but the well-trained Romans defeated them in several battles. Caesar then returned to Gaul to complete his conquest on the Continent. Though Julius Caesar came to Britain twice, he wasnt able to conquer it. The real conquest of Britain began nearly a hundred years after Caesars invasion of Britain. The Romans never managed to become maters of the whole island. For about 400 years, Roman Britain was peaceful, but eventually the legions had to return to Rome to defend it against enemy attacks.
Despite their long occupation of Britain, the Roman influence in Britain was weaker than in other provinces. The Roman way of life influenced only the southeastern part of the country. They built roads and bridges, military camps and cities, among them London, York, Manchester and others. Traces of the Roman invasion can be found today, especially in the English language. Many words of modern English come from Latin, such as street, port, wall and others.
The Norman invasion of Britain
The last time that England was successfully invaded was in 1066. This is one of the most famous dates in English history. William, the Duke of Normandy, began to gather an army to invade Britain. His aim was to get to the English throne. William promised land to all who would support him, and there were many fighting men who were ready to join Williams army.
William gathered a big army consisting not only of the Normans but of the knights from other parts of France. In October 1066 William crossed the Channel and landed in the south of England. The battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place at a small village near the town of Hastings. The Norman army was larger in number and much better trained. Their military tactics were unknown in England.
The Anglo-Saxon army lead by Harold was small and poorly armed. Besides, King Harolds power over the Anglo-Saxons was weak. The battle was close and extremely bloody, it went on all day. At the end of it most of the best warriors in England were dead, including King Harold. As a result of a single battle, the Normal leader, Duke William of Normandy, became king of the whole of England. Hi is known as William the Conqueror. He ruled England for 21 years.
The Norman Conquest brought about very important changes in the life of the Anglo-Saxons. William declared that all the lands in England belonged to him. Under William many castles were built in different parts of the country, they were all royal castles. But the new masters of the country were strangers. They had different manners, customs and laws. They spoke a different language which common people didnt understand. There were two different languages spoken in the country at the same time, the official language was Norman-French. It was the language of the ruling class. Common people spoke English. As time went by, the Normans mixed with the Anglo-Saxons, and the two languages gradually formed one English language.
