Septimius Severus was most certainly trying to conquer Caledonia. Anyway, so was Agricola, and if Domitian didn't recall him, he could have finished off his conquest of it. To say the Romans had no interest in securing the whole island (if only to have the whole island and remove one enemy which would cause at most, only 1 more legion to be stationed in Britannia, if any more legions at all) just doesn't blend well with the the facts.
Similarly, the Romans withdrew from Germania because they believed it wasn't worth the effort yes, but that was only after 3 legions were massacred at a time when Roman manpower was so overstretched (thanks to the Great Illyrian revolt) that Augustus had to purchase and recruit slaves into his army. Rome has to suffer a serious military setback first like Teutoberg before they say its not worth it. Hell, Augustus had been planning to conquer even further, into Marcomannia, when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. That sounds like an emperor that has an intention to stay in the region for keeps.
I said this on the last thread too, if you have an emperor Drusus who had (and would continue to since his death would be butterflied away obviously in that scenario) put extensive effort himself into the conquest, he will stay there, and then likely will Germanicus as well. And before someone brings up Hadrian, remember, Hadrian abandoned an area that was literally still in the process of being conquered and had not been subdued at all. A province Rome hadn't even had for a full year, that was in open revolt. He also needed to focus on securing his position as emperor. So it was logical for him to pull out and consolidate.
This is a totally different scenario. A region that has been under Roman control for 3 successive emperors, and if Gaul and Britannia are templates to go by for how long serious resistance lasts, has been quiet for a while for the most part. At that point also, the prestige loss and loss of face the emperor that pulls out would be too great to risk (Hadrian took a hit with his pull out of Mesopotamia and like I said, that hadnt even been fully subdued).
Now I am not saying I disagree with you that 1st century Germania didn't have much of anything economically worthwhile for the Romans, but that is not the only factor to consider.
Similarly, the Romans withdrew from Germania because they believed it wasn't worth the effort yes, but that was only after 3 legions were massacred at a time when Roman manpower was so overstretched (thanks to the Great Illyrian revolt) that Augustus had to purchase and recruit slaves into his army. Rome has to suffer a serious military setback first like Teutoberg before they say its not worth it. Hell, Augustus had been planning to conquer even further, into Marcomannia, when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. That sounds like an emperor that has an intention to stay in the region for keeps.
I said this on the last thread too, if you have an emperor Drusus who had (and would continue to since his death would be butterflied away obviously in that scenario) put extensive effort himself into the conquest, he will stay there, and then likely will Germanicus as well. And before someone brings up Hadrian, remember, Hadrian abandoned an area that was literally still in the process of being conquered and had not been subdued at all. A province Rome hadn't even had for a full year, that was in open revolt. He also needed to focus on securing his position as emperor. So it was logical for him to pull out and consolidate.
This is a totally different scenario. A region that has been under Roman control for 3 successive emperors, and if Gaul and Britannia are templates to go by for how long serious resistance lasts, has been quiet for a while for the most part. At that point also, the prestige loss and loss of face the emperor that pulls out would be too great to risk (Hadrian took a hit with his pull out of Mesopotamia and like I said, that hadnt even been fully subdued).
Now I am not saying I disagree with you that 1st century Germania didn't have much of anything economically worthwhile for the Romans, but that is not the only factor to consider.