Boudica

Boudica, also spelled Boudicca or Bodicea, was the queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe in what is now eastern England, during the early Roman occupation of Britain. She is believed to have reigned around AD 60–61 as wife of the Iceni king Prasutagus. When Prasutagus died, the Romans annexed his kingdom, plundered estates, and punished Iceni nobles; Roman officials also flogged Boudica and subjected her daughters to insults, according to Roman historians. These events contributed to a major armed uprising against Roman rule.

In AD 60 or 61, Boudica led a large rebellion of Britons against Roman authority. The revolt destroyed several Roman settlements, including Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans). The scale of the fighting is unclear, but contemporary sources describe widespread violence and heavy Roman casualties. The rebellion was eventually suppressed by the Roman governor, with forces led by Suetonius Paulinus after he had defeated the revolting tribes elsewhere and returned from campaigns in Wales and the interior.

The exact circumstances of Boudica’s death are uncertain. Roman sources claim she died soon after the defeat of the rebellion, possibly from illness or by taking poison to avoid capture. Her death marked the end of the Iceni uprising, and the Romans reasserted control over eastern Britain.

Boudica has remained a powerful symbol of resistance to tyranny and oppression. Her story appears in Roman historical accounts and has persisted in literature, art, and popular culture, where she is frequently portrayed as a fearless defender of her people. The details of her life and the scale of the uprising are debated among historians, and much of what is known comes from later Roman historians who wrote with particular perspectives.