Boudica: The Woman Who Defied an Empire pt 1

Boudica. Britain’s original badass. A warrior queen who almost
defeated the Romans, gave voice to the oppressed and inspired
countless school children ever since. But what do we really know
about her? Mary and Charlotte trace her story, asking how much of
the myth is true and whether we should really celebrate her
today.  History is told by the victors - and everything we
know about Boudica comes from the Romans. It’s almost certain that
there really was a woman called something like Boudica who drove
terror into the hearts of the Roman colony in Britain.
Archeological evidence also suggests the scale of the devastation
she wrought. But beyond that, we cannot be certain.  In this
first episode of a two-part special, Mary and Charlotte look at the
backdrop to her story - the Roman ‘conquest’ of a few patches of
Britain, the delicate network of truces and bargains they forged
with local leaders, and the emergence of Boudica as queen of a
tribe called the Iceni. The episode ends with Boudica burning the
Roman stronghold in (what is now) Colchester to the ground and
marching towards London.  @instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok
and YouTube @insta_classics for X email:
instantclassicspod@gmail.com Mary and Charlotte recommend some
further reading: The main ancient texts are: Tacitus, Agricola
14-16; Annals 14, 29-39; Dio Cassius, Histories of Rome 62, 1-2,
all conveniently collected at
https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/roman-conquest-and-occupation-of-britain/boudica-the-iceni-warrior-queen/boudica-classical-references/
Richard Hingley and Christina Unwin, Boudica: Iron Age Queen
(Hambledon Continuum pb, 2006) is an accessible account of Boudica
from the Iron Age to her modern representations. Hingley reviews
the evidence and some of the books on the subject, including his
own, at
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/boudica-richard-hingley/  The
archaeological evidence for the revolt is very clear but can be
difficult to interpret in detail. Some fascinating recent
discoveries at Colchester are described and well illustrated at
https://the-past.com/feature/the-fenwick-treasure-colchester-during-the-boudiccan-war-of-independence/
Charlotte tells the story of Boudica, and discusses some of the
ways she has been represented, in her book Under Another Sky:
Journeys In Roman Britain (Vintage, 2014) Instant Classics handmade
by Vespucci Producer: Jonty Claypole  Executive Producer:
Natalia Rodriguez Ford Video Editor: Jak Ford Theme music: Casey
Gibson Production intern: Amelia Reichert   Learn more about
your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices