History UsefulNotes / Boudica

* She appeared in Creator/TheHistoryChannel's ''Series/BarbariansRising'', played by Kirsty Mitchell. The reenactment portions of the episode have her and her daughters slain at Watling Street; however, the website for the series notes Tacitus' account that [[CyanidePill she took poison to avoid capture]].

* She appears in animated form in Series/AdamRuinsEverything "Reanimated History" episodes. The way it's presented implies that the Romans were eventually fully expelled from Britannia, when she was actually defeated by the Roman general Suetonius, which incidentally broke the back of the Celtic resistance, and the Romans maintained control of the region until the Empire's collapse. The show also does not include mention of the three cities Boudica razed during her campaign.

* The first Literature/MarcusDidiusFalco novel, ''The Silver Pigs'', has Falco briefly recount his service for Rome during the rebellion.

Her motivations for her uprising originate from the politics of the Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Claudius}}' time, where her husband, Prasutagus the king of the Iceni, nominally retained his independence in a period where Rome was trying to consolidate his rule over Britain. Prasutagus decided to placate Rome by naming the Emperor heir to his lands (he had two daughters and no son.) This spectacularly backfired, as the Romans ignored his will, and instead ordered the local governor Catus Decianus to invade the Iceni lands, confiscate their property, then [[ATasteOfTheLash flog Boudica]] and [[RapeAsDrama rape her daughters]]. It seems that even Roman chroniclers are unsure of what moved Rome to act like that, with several versions floating around; it is traditionally claimed that Creator/{{Seneca}} was the originator, as he supposedly had loaned the Iceni 300,000,000 sesterces that they did not even want and then had them recalled with interests, [[note]]Take this with a grain of salt, though, as much of what we know about Seneca's shenanigans comes from enemies that had all the reasons to try to paint him as a Roman [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]]. Even if it was true, Seneca never set foot in Britannia, so it is definitely possible that his orders to recall the loan were twisted and exploited by Decianus or the local Roman elite to take over the land.[[/note]] but it was also claimed that it was rather Emperor Claudius himself who had loaned the money, and other sources imply Decianus was too greedy and did the misdeed because he could.

What followed was a RoaringRampageOfRevenge comparable to UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan's ravage of the Khwarezmid Empire (because the latter killed his messengers). Boudica was elected leader of a massive coalition of British tribes, and first headed to Camulodunum (modern Colchester, and commonly cited candidate for [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Camelot]]). The city's defenders asked for reinforcements... [[CavalryBetrayal and got about 200 auxiliaries]]. The rebels stormed the city and methodically destroyed the entire place; killing every [[VulnerableCivilians man]], [[DisposableWoman woman]], [[WouldHurtAChild child]], and slave in the city before burning it to the ground (a large layer of ash is buried beneath the city even to this day). Other reinforcements (an entire legion, IX "Hispania") were also wiped off the face of the Earth, contributing to the legend of the "Lost Legion". The rebels next turned to Londinium (modern London). The Roman Governor Suetonius raced back there from Wales before its fall, but judged he lacked the strengh to defend it. [[ShootTheDog He and his men left the city]], [[WarRefugees but not before evacuating as many of the civilians as they could]]. When the Iceni reached Londinium they destroyed it, whereupon another great massacre (of both the Romans and Romanised Britons who remained in the city) ensued. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Verulamium (modern St. Albans) was destroyed, too.]]

According to Cassius Dio and Tacitus, people were [[DeadGuyOnDisplay carved up and displayed]] in a variety of incredibly creative fashions - the noblewomen in particular were [[DecapitationPresentation beheaded]], with [[BreastAttack their breasts cut off]] and [[BodyHorror sewn to their mouths]]. While historians agree that the three massacres took place, there is debate as to whether or not torture of this nature was present. Additionally it is unknown whether or not Boudica ordered these atrocities, refused to prevent them, or was simply unable to keep her soldiers in line. Though most modern documentaries and fictional depictions of Boudica's Rebellion assume that she directly ordered them. [[note]]It is also worth noting that in the ancient world actions of this nature were more common. While that doesn't excuse them, or mean that people in the past weren't upset by them, it does mean they weren't abnormal.[[/note]]

As per the accounts by [[UnreliableNarrator Cassius Dio and Tacitus]] [[note]] We unfortunately only have Roman accounts for what happened. This is due to the Britons not having written language in this time[[/note]], the Romans started to take this threat seriously. The Roman Governor UsefulNotes/SuetoniusPaulinus rallied his remaining troops to HoldTheLine somewhere along Watling Street, and foiled Boudica's AttackAttackAttack tactics by methodically forming a shield-wall [[GeoEffects with a forest behind them and a gorge at their sides]] and killing the first to charge with thrown javelins, then pressing on the British lines with a wedge-shaped charge. They apparently outnumbered the Romans 200 to 1, but even taking into account how Romans loved to exaggerate their numbers to make their defenses and victories look even more impressive, most agree that the Romans defeated a numerically superior army with their standard discipline and shield wall formation. The Iceni were broke and routed, and when the Britons attempted to flee, they got trapped by their own logistics train, and the rebellion was slaughtered there and then. As mentioned above, Boudica died shortly afterwards in unclear circumstances (she might have been DrivenToSuicide, or she might have been killed in the fighting). Following the rebellion, Suetonius and pretty much every Roman politician stationed in Britain were recalled to Rome, stripped of their positions to prevent them from provoking another revolt, and replaced by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure more diplomatic]] politicians who got the remaining natives to submit by [[PetTheDog treating them better]]. All told, her rebellion left between 70,000 and 80,000 Romans and Britons dead.

She was forgotten by Main/TheMiddleAges, but rediscovery of Roman histories during the Renaissance led to her fame rising, surging massively in the reign of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria, who was her apparent namesake in meaning ("Boudica" is said to derive from *''boudā'' (victor)). She benefited greatly from the Romantic revival where the drive for folklore and native traditions led many to revisit their Celtic past, and reclaim Boudica as a founder-precursor for British might and resolve. The Romantics naturally saw her as a female ByronicHero, proud, fierce, driven to violence by an unjust society, and doomed by a tragic fate. The emerging suffragette and feminist movement, saw her as a victim of appalling abuse striking back against her oppressors, and they and later writers claimed her as a hero and an icon of women, proof that the latter can be MoreDeadlyThanTheMale. This undoubtedly says more about the recent past than it does about Ancient Britain, and the victims of the three massacres tend to either be forgotten or ignored.

Likewise at the time, the British had become an empire far vaster and wealthier than the Romans could ever fathom, and modern historians comment on the irony of a bronze statue of a victim and opponent of Roman Imperialism such as the statue of her and her daughters in Neoclassical style that now overlooks Westminster -- slap bang in the middle of the city she and her forces razed and burned to the ground -- erected by her latter day descendants and SpiritualSuccessor who had themselves become oppressors and colonizers. Many note that Queen Boudica would have had far more in common with Rani of Jhansi of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, than she would with her namesake Victoria. Victorians however felt that they, as Boudicca's descendants had avenged her death and defeat. The inscription on her plinth is : ''Regions Caesar never knew /Thy posterity shall sway.''

* BittersweetEnding: In the long run. Boudica and her fellow rebels (and their families) got slaughtered, her culture got subsumed, foreigners would rule her country up until the present day (the current rulers being the descendants of a combination of Angles, Saxons, and Normans), and she would be used as a symbol of the things she hated (she became popular in Britain when it was becoming an oppressive Empire in its own right). However the men who provoked the rebellion in the first place (along with the governor who suppressed it) were recalled to Rome and stripped of their positions [[PragmaticVillainy to keep them from provoking another rebellion.]] They were then replaced by two [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure more diplomatic governors]] who rebuilt the cities that Boudica destroyed and got the remaining natives to submit and assimilate [[PetTheDog by treating them better.]]

* CycleOfRevenge: First Roman Soldiers flogged Boudica and raped her daughters, so in response she took revenge by leading a rebellion which destroyed three roman cities. The Romans then took revenge by wiping out her Rebel Army at Watling Street and launching punitive actions against the rebel tribes. Before this cycle could continue further, the Roman Governor was removed from his post and replaced with a more diplomatic one.

* FieryRedhead: Often depicted as one, possibly even being the Trope Codefier

* GeoEffects: With a forest behind the Romans to slow approaches to their rear, the sides of a gorge to protect their flanks, and an open plain before them forcing Boudica's army to approach them in clear view, Boudica's numbers wouldn't have be able to be effectively exploited in the climatic Battle of Watling Street.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Most stories following Boudica's rebellion paint her as a freedom fighting RebelLeader. That her army mass-murdered three cities is usually either glossed or otherwise treated as a heroic and glorious action of an underdog. Usually paired with a HistoricalVillainUpgrade for her opponent, the Roman Governor who ultimately defeated her.

* LongHairIsFeminine: Cassius Dio makes a point of noting her hair reached down to her waist. It should be noted that most Celtic and Gaelic cultures tended to grow their hair long, regardless of gender, (to the point that, before all of Gaul was conquered, the unconquered parts where called Gallia Comata, meaning "long-haired Gaul") making this description of her not improbable in absence of other sources.

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: See above about the whole boob-sewing thing, and the massacres that her army carried out. Also see WouldHurtAChild below.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: One of the most defining examples in history. There's a reason why the Romantics loved her, since elaborate self-destructive revenge schemes fit their aesthetic well.

-->'''Boudica''': ''But now, it is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry, but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom, my scourged , and marked body, the outraged chastity of my daughters. Roman lust has gone so far that not our very person, nor even age or virginity, are left unpolluted. But heaven is on the side of a righteous vengeance; a legion which dared to fight has perished; the rest are hiding themselves in their camp, or are thinking anxiously of flight. They will not sustain even the din and the shout of so many thousands, much less our charge and our blows. If you weigh well the strength of the armies, and the causes of the war, you will see that in this battle you must conquer or die. This is a woman's resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves, and captive.''

* UnreliableNarrator: Apart from archaeological remains, the primary sources on Boudica are Cassius Dio and Tacitus. On one hand they were far from Imperial lapdogs and in fact were often critical of both the Roman government and Roman society as a whole, but on the other hands being Roman must have at least partially biased their view of the matters. Additionally both of them were known to exaggerate details to make their writing more popular, and neither were actually present in the rebellion. It should also be noted that one of the Roman commanders at Watling Street, Julius Agricola (who would become Governor of Britain) was Tacitus's father-in-law, so he had both a first-hand account to draw on and reason to boost Agricola's reputation.

* WouldHurtAChild: When Boudica's army massacred the three Roman Cities in Britian they killed '''EVERY''' civilian in those cities, including the children. To repeat, Boudica's soldiers '''killed children'''.

* She briefly appears in Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. In ''The Black Dossier'', Orlando has a section narrating his past in Roman Britain, which includes being a witness to Boudicca's uprising. Later, when he arrives in King's Cross he remarks that more than a thousand plus years ago, it was the site of the Battle of Watling Street.
* ''ComicBook/{{Aquila}}'': Queen Boudica is a major character in the first arc that details her war against Rome, although both the Britons and the Romans have access to sorcerous powers. She's undefeated up until the massacres happen, and dies requesting Aquila say her name when he kills Nero. [[spoiler:Aquila grants her wish.]]

* She appeared in Creator/TheHistoryChannel's ''Series/BarbariansRising'', played by Kirsty Mitchell. The reenactment portions of the episode have her and her daughters slain at Watling Street; however the website for the series notes Tacitus' account that [[CyanidePill she took poison to avoid capture]].

* She appears as a Rider-class Servant in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' and is a direct ally in the Rome Singularity. Curiously, this depiction of Boudica paints her less as a wrathful queen and more like a CoolBigSis, explicitly stated to be the her before the whole RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Her Noble Phantasm, her chariot, doesn't damage the enemy but provides [[StatusBuff defense and offense buffs to the party]]. She even spends the Rome Singularity fighting as a general in ''Rome's'' army, and this contrast is commented by both the protagonists and her leader UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}, who still remembers her but years earlier as TheDreaded ([[GenderFlip Nero]] doesn't realize she's actually dead and a Servant for most of the arc). Boudica herself states that her grudge remains, but [[EnemyMine the United Roman Empire they're fighting is much worse]]. She even possesses a skill [[SituationalSword that lets her do more damage to enemies that have the "Roman" trait]], particularly useful considering most of the enemy Servants in the Singularity are former [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman Roman emperors]].
* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', the local [[CrystalDragonJesus Christ equivalent figure]] and basis of the main religion, has a life and history that is clearly modeled in part on Boudica (with a bit of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc as well): she united the Ferelden clans (a FantasyCounterpartCulture for pre-Norman Britain, both Saxon and Celtic) against [[TheEmpire The Tevinter Imperium]] (who bear a close resemblance to Rome), but was betrayed by her most trusted ally and burned at the stake (the Joan of Arc connection). To make the Boudica connection clear, her name, Andraste, comes from the Iceni war goddess that, according to Roman historians, Boudica herself invoked before battle.

* She appears in animated form in Series/AdamRuinsEverything "Reanimated History" episodes. The way its presented implies that the Romans were eventually fully expelled from Britannia, when she was actually defeated by the Roman general Suetonius, which incidentally broke the back of the Celtic resistance, and the Romans maintained control of the region until the Empire's collapse. The show also does not include mention of the three cities Boudica razed during her campaign.

* ''Boudica: Queen of War'' (2023 or 2024), portrayed by Creator/OlgaKurylenko.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[{{Irony}} A statue of Boudica surveying a city whose ancient settlement she burnt to the ground]].]]

''Boudica'' ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS or Boudicca, or Boadicea, or Buddug]]) was a queen of the Iceni, a tribe resident somewhere around modern [[UsefulNotes/HomeCounties Essex]] (or [[UsefulNotes/EastAnglia Norfolk]]) in UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}, early in UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, and is most famous for leading a rebellion during UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}'s reign, razing Colchester and London and making Nero briefly think twice about the whole "Roman Britain" thing, until she was defeated in about 60-61AD somewhere along the Roman road now called Watling Street, whereupon she either died of illness or committed suicide, DependingOnTheWriter.

In any case, [[ItsPersonal this did not end well for Roman Britain.]]

* Several biopics, such as ''Boadicea'' (1927), ''The Viking Queen'' (1967, a BroadStrokes adaptation), ''Boudica'' (2003)

* UnreliableNarrator: Apart from archaeological remains, the primary sources on Boudica are Cassius Dio and Tacitus. On one hand they were far from Imperial lapdogs and in fact were often critical of both the Roman government and Roman society as a whole, but on the other hands being Roman must have at least partially biased their view of the matters. Additionally both of them were known to exaggerate details to make their writing more popular, and neither were actually present in the rebellion. It should also be noted that one of the Roman commanders at Watling Street, Julius Agricola (who would become Governor of Britain) was Tacitus's father-in-law, so it follows the historian would exaggerate to emphasize the victory.

What followed was a RoaringRampageOfRevenge comparable to UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan's ravage of the Khwarezmid Empire (because the latter killed his messengers). Boudica was elected leader of a massive coalition of British tribes, and first headed to Camulodunum (modern Colchester, and commonly cited candidate for [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Camelot]]). The city's defenders asked for reinforcements... [[CavalryBetrayal and got about 200 auxiliaries]]. The rebels stormed the city and [[KillEmAll methodically destroyed the entire place]]; killing every [[VulnerableCivilians man]], [[DisposableWoman woman]], [[WouldHurtAChild child]], and slave in the city before burning it to the ground (a large layer of ash is buried beneath the city even to this day). Other reinforcements (an entire legion, IX "Hispania") were also wiped off the face of the Earth, contributing to the legend of the "Lost Legion". The rebels next turned to Londinium (modern London). The Roman Governor Suetonius raced back there from Wales before its fall, but judged he lacked the strengh to defend it. [[ShootTheDog He and his men left the city]], [[WarRefugees but not before evacuating as many of the civilians as they could]]. When the Iceni reached Londinium they destroyed it, whereupon another great massacre (of both the Romans and Romanised Britons who remained in the city) ensued. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Verulamium (modern St. Albans) was destroyed, too.]]

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: See above about the whole boob-sewing thing, and the [[KillEmAll massacres]] that her army carried out. Also see WouldHurtAChild below.

Her motivations for her uprising originate from the politics of the Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Claudius}}' time, where her husband, Prasutagus the king of the Iceni, nominally retained his independence in a period where Rome was trying to consolidate his rule over Britain. Prasutagus decided to placate Rome by naming the Emperor heir to his lands (he had two daughters and no son.) This spectacularly backfired, as the Romans ignored his will, and instead invaded the Iceni lands, confiscated their property, then [[ATasteOfTheLash flogged Boudica]] and [[RapeAsDrama raped her daughters]]. It seems that even Roman chroniclers are unsure of what moved the Romans to act like that, with several versions floating around; it is traditionally claimed that Creator/{{Seneca}} was the originator, as he supposedly had loaned the Iceni 300,000,000 sesterces that they did not even want and then had them recalled with interests, [[note]]Take this with a grain of salt, as much of what we know about Seneca comes from enemies that had all the reasons to try to paint him as a Roman [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]].[[/note]] but it was also claimed that it was rather Emperor Claudius himself who had loaned the money, and other sources imply the governor in charge, Catus Decianus, was too greedy and did the misdeed because he could.

As per the accounts by [[UnreliableNarrator Cassius Dio and Tacitus]] [[note]] We unfortunately only have Roman accounts for what happened. This is due to the Britons not having written language in this time[[/note]], the Romans started to take this threat seriously. The Roman Governor UsefulNotes/SuetoniusPaulinus rallied his remaining troops to HoldTheLine somewhere along Watling Street, and foiled Boudica's AttackAttackAttack tactics by methodically forming a shield-wall [[GeoEffects with a forest behind them and a gorge at their sides]] and killing the first to charge with thrown javelins, then pressing on the British lines with a wedge-shaped charge. They apparently outnumbered the Romans 200 to 1, but even taking into account how Romans loved to exaggerate their numbers to make their defenses and victories look even more impressive, most agree that the Romans defeated a numerically superior army with their standard discipline and shield wall formation. The Iceni were broke and routed, and when the Britons attempted to flee, they got trapped by their own logistics train, and the rebellion was slaughtered there and then. As mentioned above, Boudica died shortly afterwards in unclear circumstances (she might have been DrivenToSuicide, or she might have been killed in the fighting). Following the rebellion, Suetonius, Seneca, and pretty much every Roman politician stationed in Britain were recalled to Rome, stripped of their positions to prevent them from provoking another revolt, and replaced by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure more diplomatic]] politicians who got the remaining natives to submit by [[PetTheDog treating them better]]. All told, her rebellion left between 70,000 and 80,000 Romans and Britons dead.

* CycleOfRevenge: First Roman Soldiers flogged Boudica and raped her daughters (under orders from Seneca the Younger), so in response she took revenge by leading a rebellion which destroyed three roman cities. The Romans then took revenge by wiping out her Rebel Army at Watling Street and launching punitive actions against the rebel tribes. Before this cycle could continue further, the Roman Governor was removed from his post and replaced with a more diplomatic one.

Her motivations for her uprising originate from the politics of the Emperor Claudius' time, where her husband, Prasutagus the king of the Iceni, nominally retained his independence in a period where Rome was trying to consolidate his rule over Britain. Prasutagus decided to placate Rome by naming the Emperor heir to his lands (he had two daughters and no son.) This spectacularly backfired and ''someone'' gave orders to invade Iceni lands, confiscate their property, then [[ATasteOfTheLash flog Boudica]] and [[RapeAsDrama rape her daughters]] ([[JurisdictionFriction it is unlikely to have been The Governor of Britain as he was putting down a rebellion in Wales]], the most likely origin was Seneca the Younger, as he did loan the Iceni 300,000,000 sesterces that they did not want).

[[ItsPersonal This did not end well for Roman Britain.]]

* CreateYourOwnHero/CreateYourOwnVillain: Regardless of the actions Boudica committed, this doesn't change the fact that the Romans directly provoked her to take action against them. Even Tacitus and Dio acknowledge this.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Regardless of the atrocities Boudica committed, this doesn't change the fact that the Romans directly provoked her to take action against them. Even Tacitus and Dio acknowledge this.