The Copy Book

First Contact

Julius Caesar came over from France expecting to silence the noisy neighbours, but things did not go according to plan.

55 BC

Roman Britain 43-410

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© Penny Mayes, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

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First Contact

© Penny Mayes, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0. Source
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Sixteenth-century Walmer Castle in Kent was built by Henry VIII to defend England from invasion by the Spanish. Fortunately, unlike the Romans they never landed here or anywhere else in England. The The Spanish Armada of 1588 was famously defeated. Another was snuffed out at The Battle of Glen Shiel on June 10th, 1719, after suffering similar woes to those suffered by Julius Caesar. An attempted invasion by republican France was even more hapless: see Jemima Fawr and the Last Invasion of Britain. On Britain’s defensive seas, see Fairest Isle.

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Introduction

In 55 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Channel from Gaul to Britain. British tribes were supporting the Gallic resistance, and he thought they needed to be taught a lesson. That proved to more difficult than he had hoped, and it is perhaps unsurprising that after this, the Roman authorities pursued a policy towards Britain that Emperor Augustus christened ‘masterly inactivity’.

ONE night late in August, 55 BC, Julius Caesar set sail from Boulogne with more than eighty ships. Eighteen more, carrying his cavalry, were to follow. Dover’s towering cliffs, lined with defiant Britons, prompted Caesar to land his ships at Walmer. His men, reluctant to disembark into unexpectedly deep waters, were rallied by their standard-bearer. “Leap, fellow soldiers” he cried, “unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I, for my part, will perform my duty to the republic and to my general.”

But there was no swift victory. Caesar knew little of Britain’s powerful tides* and relentless storms, and underestimated his opponent. The cavalry were blown far off course. His other ships were battered or wrecked on the shore, and the Britons’ courage and remarkable horsemanship unnerved the Romans. Afraid of being trapped by winter and starved, Caesar snatched the first opportunity to broker a face-saving peace (whose terms the Britons mostly ignored) and returned to Gaul with a long line of slaves. “Caesar alerted his successors to Britannia,” cautioned Roman historian Tacitus; “he did not give it into their hands.”

Based on Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar.

* The tides of the Mediterranean Sea that Julius Caesar knew well are straightforward and of very low amplitude, barely measuring in inches, whereas the tides in the English Channel are complex and can swing by several feet.

* Publius Cornelius Tacitus (?56-120) in his biography Agricola, section 13: “Britanniam... potest videri ostendisse posteris, non tradidisse”.

Précis

Julius Caesar brought a fleet of over eighty ships from Gaul to Walmer in Kent late in August, 55 BC. Rough seas and strong tides badly damaged his ships, and the fighting spirit and skill of the British caught the Romans off guard. With winter approaching, Caesar returned to Gaul with little more than an unenforceable peace treaty. (58 / 60 words)

Julius Caesar brought a fleet of over eighty ships from Gaul to Walmer in Kent late in August, 55 BC. Rough seas and strong tides badly damaged his ships, and the fighting spirit and skill of the British caught the Romans off guard. With winter approaching, Caesar returned to Gaul with little more than an unenforceable peace treaty.

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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, if, may, not, since, until, whether.

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Word Games

Sevens Based on this passage

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Where did the Romans land?

Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.

Jigsaws Based on this passage

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Gauls resisted the Romans. British tribes helped the Gauls. Caesar intended to punish them.

Spinners Find in Think and Speak

For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.

This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.

1 Sail. Snatch. Winter.

2 Hand. Historian. Leap.

3 Broker. Much. Opponent.

Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)

High Tiles Find in Think and Speak

Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?

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