Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni tribe, a British-Celtic tribe in eastern England, in what is now Norfolk and Suffolk. Nothing is known about her family or when she was born. We know her story because of two writers, Tacitus, author of Agricola (98 AD) and The Annals (109 AD) and Cassius Dio, author of "The Rebellion of Boudicca (163 AD). She is most famously known for leading a rebellion against the Romans in 60-61 AD.
Boudicca was married to Prasutagus, king of the Iceni people in East Anglia. When the Romans conquered eastern England in Ad 43 they allowed Prasutagus to continue to rule, while all the other tribes had to submit to the Romans except for Prasutagus and one other. The Roman conquest increased the number of Romans living there, military presence and the suppression of Celtic culture. They also heavily impacted the economy by raising taxes and lending money. In 47 AD the Iceni were forced to demilitarize, stirring up great resentment.
However when he died in 60 AD, the Romans decided the Iceni could no longer be independent and confiscated the property of the tribe leaders, redefining how they let Praustagus keep his kingship as a loan. Tacitus also said they stripped and flogged Boudicca and raped her daughters. But in Dio's version of the story Seneca, a Roman moneylender called in loans owed to Rome by the Britons. Either way the Roman's actions magnified the Britons resentment of the Roman conquerors even more.
In AD 60 or 61 when the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Pallinus was campaigning in North Wales, Boudicca began plotting a rebellion, she met with leaders of other tribes such as the Trinovanti, Cornovii, Durotiges, who also had grievance against the Romans, especially grants that been redefined as loans
The Iceni and their allies defeated the Ninth Legion and destroyed the Roman capital, Colchester (Camulodunum), the city was poorly defended because most of the Roman forces were with Suetonius in Wales. They burned the city to the ground, only the Roman temple was left intact. They went on to destroy London, the largest city in the British Isles. The Romans fled and Boudicca's forces burned the city, killing the remaining inhabitants. They did the same Verulamium (St. Alban's), a city populated with Britons who had sided with the Romans.
Boudicca and her exhausted army were finally defeated the same year by an army of 1, 200 led by Paulinus. Despite their much larger numbers Boudicca's army was at a disadvantage, they were worn out and attacked uphill, thus the Romans killed 80,000 of their men while only losing 400 of their own. Boudicca was believed to have poisoned herself to avoid capture. The site of the battle and Boudicca's death are uncertain. As a result of the rebellion the Romans strengthened their military presence and lessened their oppressive grip on the native Britons.
https://www.thoughtco.com/boudicca-boadicea-biography-3528571
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Female Warriors
Non-FictionFrom Naotara li and Mulan to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Boudicca. Strong women throughout history who fought for the countries, families and beliefs; that made a stand against those who threatened to destroy them. They took charge when no else would.
