6. When Fire and Blood Swept Across Roman Britain
Disgruntled Britons rallied to the side of Queen Boudicca by the tens of thousands, and she led them in a whirlwind campaign of vengeance. They swept out of East Anglia with the Iceni queen at their head on a war chariot and annihilated a legionary detachment sent to subdue them. They then went on a rampage, in which they burned the ancient predecessors of modern Colchester, Saint Albans, and London. They also massacred tens of thousands of Romans and Romanized British collaborators. They tortured and executed their captives in a variety of gruesome ways. Those who fell into their hands were often impaled, flayed, burned alive, or crucified.
Eventually, the Romans rallied, gathered their legions into a powerful force, and marched off to meet Boudicca. When the armies finally met, the Romans were greatly outnumbered, but they were a disciplined force of professional legionaries, pitted against a poorly trained and disorganized enemy. Boudicca led her forces in person and courageously charged at the Romans in her war chariot, but courage was not enough. Discipline and professionalism prevailed, and the Romans won. Defeated, Boudicca committed suicide to deny the Romans the satisfaction of parading her in chains in a triumphal parade.
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