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How did the Romans change Britain? Well, first off, by conquering it – and conquering it
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violently.
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The Romans loved conquering other people. In fact, it kept the whole empire going – conquering
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their neighbours gave Roman leaders a chance to steal booty, capture slaves, grab natural
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resources like lead and tin, and generally look good in front of their mates and rivals.
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In AD 43 the new Roman Emperor, Claudius, was in search of a scrap to cement his status,
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and so he plotted his invasion of Britain – an island the Romans had been eyeing up
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for some time. He sent 40,000 soldiers over the Channel and they quickly defeated the
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tribes in the south east. Once it was safe, the emperor popped across to Britain to soak
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up the praise and show off his elephants.
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Some tribal leaders gave in to the empire rather than try to fight it, but not everyone
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was happy. The Druids helped to organise the resistance against the Romans, and queen Boudicca
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led a huge revolt in AD 60.
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But the Romans didn't mess about.
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They beat Boudicca in battle, destroyed the druids – and brought the bulk of Britain
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under their control.
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But Roman soldiers were more than just fearsome fighters – they were brilliant builders.
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Forts were their speciality, and they built hundreds of them across the province.
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The Romans also loved their roads. They built over 8,000 miles of them in the first century
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AD alone, and many of our roads today still follow old Roman routes.
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But the biggest, baddest structure in Roman Britain was Hadrian's Wall. It was a whopping
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73 miles long, and in places it was up to six metres high and three metres thick. No
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wonder it took 15,000 men about six years to build!
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The Romans founded some terrific towns too, like London, York, Bath and Chester.
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On a trip into town you could shop on the high street, worship gods at the temples,
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grab a burger from a takeaway, have a kip in a hotel, and go for a wash and a gossip
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at the heated public baths. A lot like towns today in fact – although unlike today, you
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could also go to the amphitheatre to watch executions and animals being hunted!
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The Romans brought new types of food to Britain, like apples, pears, plums, cucumbers and walnuts.
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They brought a new language – Latin. They brought new ways of farming, new medicines
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and new types of pottery.
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Life for the rich had never been better. Wealthy Roman Britons built grand houses in towns
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and Roman-style villas in the countryside, full of mosaic floors, fine wines and formal
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gardens. They even had underfloor heating!
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For most people in Roman Britain though, life didn't change too much. They were still
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mostly farmers, and they still had to pay their landlords for the privilege of doing
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all of the hard work.
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When the Roman Army left Britain in 410 AD, many aspects of Roman life crumbled for everyone,
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rich and poor. Towns and forts were abandoned, roads fell into disrepair, and large scale
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industry collapsed without an economy to sustain it.
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People adapted to the new reality, new leaders emerged and farmers kept on farming - but
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after nearly 400 years, Roman Britain was in ruins.