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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
I have been reflecting on a couple of details which have been referred to briefly before but which, to the best of my recollection, have not been linked, at least not here. They may, of course, have been considered, unbeknown to me, elsewhere. Suetonius (Nero, 18) states that Nero considered removing his forces from Britain, in effect giving up the province, although he does not explain why or when. Dio (LXII, 2) says that one of the causes of the revolt was that Seneca had advanced a loan of 40,000,000 sesterces to the provincials and had called it in all at once. Could there be a connection?

Seneca had been Nero's tutor and was probably still privy to his thinking. If he knew that Nero was contemplating abandoning the province, this could have provoked him into calling in his loan while there was still a Roman presence in Britain to enforce his demands. This would place Nero's intention to leave Britain in the period before the revolt and not as a consequence of it. Suetonius says that Nero did not proceed with his plan because that would have reflected adversely upon the glory of his adoptive father Claudius but another reason could have been that to do so would, in effect, have given the rebels what they wanted, the departure of the Romans from Britain. So the idea was shelved, at least for the time being, and was then overtaken by events, the fall of Nero and the rise of Vespasian. Vespasian could well have been strongly opposed to the notion of giving up the province that he had helped gain for Rome 26 years previously.
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 - 12-11-2017, 11:55 PM

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