Book V Section I: Second Expedition to Britain
Conflict:
Because one invasion of Britain wasn’t enough, Caesar decided to make another go of it. Before his troops crossed the English channel again though, Caesar had to deal with local Gallic politics (i.e. a clash between chiefs of the Treveri tribe) and the troublesome Aeduan prince Dumnorix (who Caesar eventually had murdered). Once hometown affairs were settled, he and the troops invaded Britain in earnest. After a few ad hoc encounters and guerilla warfare, Caesar effectively routed the British tribes and imposed steep tributes & hostage requirements on them.
Characters:
- Indutiomarus — chief of the Treveri tribe who stirred up tensions and hostilities against the Romans, rival of Cingetorix for the Treveri throne
- Cingetorix — chief of the Treveri tribe, fashioned himself as a Gallic “friend of Rome” and simpered to Caesar, rival of Indutiomarus for the Treveri throne
- Dumnorix — our favorite Aeduan prince who is always trying to subvert Caesar and play diplomatic tricks on him
- Q. Atrius — the Roman officer appointed to watch over the “Maritime station” (AKA Roman camp near the water) in Britain
- Cassivelaunus — commander-in-chief of the British forces who united in their struggle against Caesar
- Mandubracius — young Gallic chieftain of the Trinobantes tribe in Britain; he was under Caesar’s protection and eventually restored to his rightful throne by him; his dad (the former chieftain) was murdered by Cassivelaunus
Quotes:
“Of all those now present there was not one whom Caesar was more determined to have with him than this firebrand [Dumnorix], of whose restless intrigues, boundless ambition, daring spirit, and far-reaching influence over the Gauls he already had had ample proof.” (page 106)
“Summoned to surrender, Dumnorix prepared for resistance and threw himself into an attitude of defense, appealing all the while to his companions not to forget their pledge, and crying out again and again that he was a free man and a citizen of a free country.” (page 108)
“…the Britons all agree in dying their body with woad, a substance that yields a bluish pigment, and in battle greatly increases the wildness of their look. Their hair is worn extremely long, and with the exception of the head and upper lip the entire body is shaved. In their domestic life they practice a form of community of wives, ten or twelve combining in groups, especially brothers with brothers and fathers with sons.” (page 112)
Words:
- assize -a session, or sitting, of a court of justice
- remonstrance — a forcefully reproachful protest
- refractory — stubborn or unmanageable
- sloop -a sailboat with a single mast typically meaning one headsail in front of the mast, and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast
- hawser — a thick rope or cable for mooring or towing a ship
- adduce — cite as evidence, quoted
- woad — a yellow-flowered European plant of the cabbage family. It was formerly grown as a source of blue dye, which was extracted from the leaves after they had been dried, powdered, and fermented
- acceptation — a particular sense or the generally recognized meaning (common acceptation) of a word or phrase
Summary:
This chapter was riveting and included several intersecting points of Gallic/British drama and intrigue. Caesar first ordered his generals to build another fleet, even grander and sturdier than the fleet used for the previous invasion of Britain. Overall, 600 vessels and 28 larger ships of war were constructed and assembled for launch at Itius, a Gallic town only 28 miles from the British coast.
There were Gallic rumblings in the North, so Caesar took his troops on a brief detour to the Treveri tribe. The Treveri were suffering from an internal political struggle, namely the rivalry between two local chiefs, Indutiomarus and Cingetorix. They each claimed the throne and thus adopted different stances towards the approaching Romans to gain followers. Cingetorix was Caesar’s scrub and advocated capitulating & handing over hostages; Indutiomarus, on the other hand, “lost no time in preparing for hostilities.” However, his plan of insurrection failed as fellow tribesmen starting defecting to Cingetorix and Caesar’s army was around the corner. Caesar left the Treveri and returned to Itius to launch his attack.
Before sailing though, Caesar devoted extensive paragraphs to the defeat of Dumnorix, our favorite Aeduan prince who was always causing drama with Caesar. Caesar was determined to bring Dumnorix to Britain to keep an eye on the “firebrand,” but Dumnorix and his followers slipped away. Caesar at once delayed the British expedition to hunt down Dumnorix — which was a success. Caesar’s troops surrounded him and cut him down ruthlessly, but Caesar did tell us the prince’s struggling last moments: “crying out again and again that he was a free man and a citizen of a free country.” :{
Now that business was taken care of, Caesar was free to set sail to Britain. ⛵ He arrived around noontime and set up camp, rounded up prisoners and ascertained the whereabouts of the enemy (how efficient!). The Romans pitched a small night battle and routed a contingent of tribal cavalry and chariots. The fighting continued into the day until Caesar received an urgent message from him homeboy Q. Atrius: a “terrific storm” had struck during the night and destroyed their ships! This happened the last time they were in Britain as well…so clearly the Romans have poor atmospheric luck in the isles. Caesar retreated from the enemy and spent the next week or so rebuilding his tattered fleet. BUT in the meanwhile, the Brits had regrouped under a local king, Cassivelaunus, and were preparing for war.
Caesar broke from the narrative for a moment to describe the culture and geography of Britain. We were told the ancient circumference of the island (1,835 miles), descriptions of “tin in the midlands” and “iron along the coast,” and a telling anecdote about the aboriginal tribes:
“…the Britons all agree in dying their body with woad, a substance that yields a bluish pigment, and in battle greatly increases the wildness of their look. Their hair is worn extremely long, and with the exception of the head and upper lip the entire body is shaved. In their domestic life they practice a form of community of wives, ten or twelve combining in groups, especially brothers with brothers and fathers with sons.” (page 112)
Returning to the narrative, Caesar and his army were subjected to pesky guerilla warfare. “…the Roman infantryman, with his heavily weighted armor, was no proper match for so nimble a foe as the British.” (page 113). A group of Romans broke off from the column in search of food, and they were attacked by the marauders — but this skirmish, once again, ended up in a rout of the British and a “dispersal homewards of the various local levies that had flocked to the campaign.”
This British breakup was effectively the end of all serious resistance to the Romans. Caesar, feeling emboldened, journeyed inward towards the homelands of Cassivelaunus and even forded the mighty Thames River by foot. Soon after, British tribes (i.e. Trinobantes, Cenimagni, Segontiaci, etc.) started sending hostages to Caesar and begging for clemency. A few British tribes attacked the Roman maritime camp, but they were slaughtered by the ready troops. Cassivelaunus at last sued for peace and gave up hostages to the Romans — and with this capitulation, Caesar was ready to go home. As soon as his troops were safely docked in Gaul, he called a council of Gauls and divvied up the winter quarters for the season.
Macc Reacc:
The Romans cannot catch a break in terms of hurricanes and terrific storms in Britain! The amount of Romans ships destroyed and later refurbished must’ve been such a headache to Caesar. To be fair, Caesar had a lot of gumption to invade Britain a second time — but it begs the question, what was the invasion truly for? Caesar said he suspected some British tribes were abetting their Gallic neighbors across the pond, but his reasoning sounds flimsy. Caesar is displaying those fine, psychopathic qualities we call megalomania and intense ego. His deeds are great (i.e. crossing the Thames by foot, destroying enemies without a real home base or allies, squashing Gallic political strife, etc.), but it makes it seem like Caesar’s nose is in everyone’s business. His winning conquest strategy is 1) use cunning to defeat the enemy, 2) slaughter the remaining enemy, 3) exact hostages and tribute from them, and 4) find another half-hearted excuse to attack their neighbor. How could he have been morally okay with that?
I also enjoyed his description of “the island of Britain and its people.” Imagine seeing a ring of blue-tinged people, naked except for wild dreads and mustaches on their long faces — no wonder the Romans were terrified of locals.
