Caesar's Invasion of Britain (Latin Translation Book with Notes, Exercises and Vocabulary)

Caesar's Invasion of Britain is intended as a first Translation Book for learners of Latin. The text, which has been taken from Books IV and V of the Gallic War, has been simplified as much as possible; the various constructions being introduced gradually to the learner's notice. On each construction will be found one or more exercises and an explanation or rule.

An English vocabulary has been added at the request of the Publishers, and the objection raised to such a vocabulary in the Introduction to the Eutropius has been overcome by giving a reference to the chapter or vocabulary where the word occurs instead of giving the Latin word itself.

This book contains: Introduction, Directions for Translating, Rules of Agreement, Directions for Parsing, Text, Notes, Abbreviations, Vocabulary— Latin-English, Exercises, Vocabulary—English-Latin, Index.

In his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice, in 55 and 54 BC. The first invasion, made late in summer, was either intended as a full invasion (in which case it was unsuccessful--it gained a beachhead on the coast of Kent but achieved little else) or a reconnaissance-in-force expedition. The second was more successful, setting up a friendly king, Mandubracius, and forcing the submission of his rival, Cassivellaunus, although no territory was conquered and held for Rome, but was restored to the allied Trinovantes, along with promised tribute of other tribes in what is now eastern England.

Britain had long been known to the classical world as a source of tin (the very name "Britain" is derived from the Phoenician name "Baratanac", meaning "Land of Tin"), and had been explored by the Greek geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC, and possibly by the Carthaginian sailor Himilco in the 5th. But its position on the edge of the known world, beyond the Ocean, made it a land of great mystery. Some writers even insisted that it did not exist, and Pytheas's voyage was dismissed by some as a hoax.

Britain in Caesar's time had an Iron Age culture. The island's population has been estimated at anywhere between one and four million during this period. Economically, archaeology shows a broad division into lowland and highland zones. In the lowland south-east, large areas of fertile soil led to extensive arable farming, and communication developed along trackways such as the Icknield Way, the Pilgrims' Way and the Jurassic Way, and navigable rivers like the Thames. In the highlands, north of a line between Gloucester and Lincoln, arable land existed in more isolated pockets, so pastoralism, supported by garden cultivation, was more common than settled farming, and communication more difficult. Settlement was generally based around fortified sites on high ground, but in the south-east, oppida were beginning to be established on lower ground, often at river crossings, suggesting the increasing importance of trade. Commercial contact with the continent had increased since the Roman conquest of Transalpine Gaul in 124 BC, and Italian wine was being imported via the Armorican peninsula, much of it arriving at Hengistbury Head in Dorset.

Caesar's account tells us that the Belgae of north-eastern Gaul had earlier travelled to Britain to raid, later establishing settlements in coastal areas, and that in living memory Diviciacus, king of the Suessiones, had held power in Britain as well as Gaul. Their coinage shows a complicated pattern of settlement. The earliest Gallo-Belgic coins found in Britain were struck in Gaul and are dateable to before 100 BC, perhaps as early as 150 BC, and are found mainly in Kent. Later coins of a similar type were struck in Britain and are found all along the south coast as far west as Dorset. It appears that Belgic settlement was concentrated on the south-east coast, although their influence spread further west and inland, perhaps through chieftains establishing political control over the native population.