Boudica, the Soldier Queen of the British

by Read Listen Learn


Boudica, the Soldier Queen of the British

Boudica’s husband, Prasutagus, was dead. He was the king of some people called the Iceni in the east of England in 60 C.E. While he was alive, he was a friend of Rome, the greatest power in the world at that time. But when he died, he gave half his land to Rome and half to his two daughters. This was not enough for Rome. They wanted all Prasutagus’ land.

The Roman general in England, Paulinus, hit Boudica and raped her daughters. They were probably only eleven or twelve years old. Boudica was furious. She took her Iceni people and burnt three Roman cities in England and killed many, many people living there. One of the cities was London. There were no Roman soldiers to stop her.

The Romans were worried. They thought other people in other countries could start to fight them if Boudica won. They did not want to leave England.

When the Romans later found the Iceni soldiers, they fought them, although there were many more Iceni than Romans. But because the Romans were better soldiers, they won. Boudica killed herself and her war against the Romans was over.

For nearly two thousand years, British people have seen Boudica as a very brave English queen. They have never forgotten her. But we do not really know who she was. We do not even know for sure if she was real. Today, there are no documents about her that we can still read.