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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(09-24-2016, 06:22 PM)Theoderic Wrote: Nathan wrote:

What would they have done with all the seed grain they didn't sow? Could they have simply eaten it?

Renatus wrote:

That would surely be an act of desperation, although it could be what they ended up doing. Could they have stored it until they were ready to plant it?

They certainly could have stored it for many months but I think that between you, you have come up with a solution that fits.

As we agree that this was a planned uprising they would have realised that they would have needed provisions for the road. Most of their wheat would have to be left to feed their families so this may have meant that they had to take a certain amount from what they would normally have sown in the spring.

Do not misunderstand me. When I suggest that the rebels ate the seed corn I mean this to be following their return to their homelands empty-handed after the final battle, not during their march.

We have a fundamental difference of opinion as to whether or not the rebel fighters left their families behind when they set off on their campaign. As you know, I contend that they were accompanied by their families, in which case they would have taken the bulk of the available provisions with them, leaving only sufficient to sustain those who were too old or infirm to travel. The seed corn would have been placed in storage to await their return. 

(09-24-2016, 06:22 PM)Theoderic Wrote: The context of the famine was after Boudica’s final battle (probably in early AD62) so this is the first theory that fits the writings.

I cannot believe that the final battle was as late as this. There is nothing in the sources to suggest that it was preceded by a winter campaign. The rebellion broke out while Suetonius was engaged in his Anglesey campaign. He would have expected to complete this within a single campaigning season and he was still engaged in mopping-up operations when he received news of the revolt. I think that we are all agreed that the time between this and the final battle could only have been a few weeks. We are told that, after the battle, he combined his forces and kept them sub pellibus for the remainder of the war. It is not specifically stated that this involved their being in tents over the winter but there does seem to be the implication that this was unusual and that normally they would have returned to their bases, presumably for the winter. We are also told that the auxiliaries sent over from the Continent were housed in new winter quarters, which suggests that they were installed before the onset of winter in 61.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM
RE: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand. - by Renatus - 09-24-2016, 10:32 PM

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