Who was Boudicca?
British local leader who raised a rebellion against
the Romans.
Date and Place of Birth:
Unknown.
Family Background:
Boadicea (pronounced Boudicca) was Wife of Prasutagus,
King of the Iceni, an ally of Rome. The Iceni tribe hailed from
Norfolk, Suffolk and part of Cambridgeshire.
Education:
By members of the Iceni tribe.
Chronology/Biography
of Boadicea:
AD60: Her Husband
Prasutagus died leaving his fortune jointly to his daughters and
the Roman Emperor Nero. The Romans then annexed and pillaged all
the Iceni territory. Boudicca was flogged and her daughters raped.
The Iceni rebelled led by Boudicca and they destroyed
Camulodunum (present day Colchester), the market town of Londinium
(present day London) and Verulamium (present day St. Albans). They
are also said by Tacitus to have destroyed the Ninth Roman Legion
in battle killing up to 70,000 Romans and civilians.
The Roman governor of Britannicus, Suetonius
Paulinus, who was away at the time of the attack in Mona (present
day Anglesey) returned in haste, rallied his troops and overwhelmed
the Iceni at the Battle of Watling Street slaughtering up to 80,000
tribesmen for the loss of only 400 Roman dead.
Marriage:
To Prasutagus, King of the Iceni.
Places of Interest:
COLCHESTER:
Monument to Boudicca near Westminster Bridge,
Embankment, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
LONDON:
British Museum
St. ALBANS:
Date and Place of Death:
60 or 61 AD, Fenny Stratford, England. Reputedly
died of shock or took poison.
Age at Death:
Unknown.
Site of Grave:
Reputedly on the site under platform 12, Kings
Cross Railway Station, London, England.
