WI: Rome never invades Britain

Jonjo

Banned
What if Rome decided that Britain just wasn't worth the trouble much like it did with Ireland in OTL and the Celt culture was left unmolested in England by Rome except the obvious trading with Roman Gaul.
 
There would have to be a significant reason for them not to. Britain was a good strategic position to prevent raids on Gaul, and it had a lot of resources. Boudicca winning her revolt wouldn't be enough, and Rome would return with a vengeance. You might have to butterfly the conquest of Gaul.
 
In order for this to happen there needs to be a single, or at least much fewer, organized Britannic states. Have the Romans come, burn everything down, and they will realize quickly that it is not worth raiding if it means Rome is going to burn down your country every few years.

Rome lost more in paying upkeep for 3 legions in Britain as well as administration than it gained from taxing the tin mines. Britain is a classical case of Imperial Over-Reach.
 
Caesar is killed early on in the conquest of Gaul? I don't know how much Caesar himself affected northwest Roman expansion but his death could butterfly the conquest of at least some of Gaul and Britain?

Eventually someone would conquer Gaul, probably. Butterfly away the marian reforms somehow might do the trick to prevent a conquest of Gaul.
 
if the romans dont invade, we become american based imperials with mech suits hell bent on conquering japan!
 
In order for this to happen there needs to be a single, or at least much fewer, organized Britannic states. Have the Romans come, burn everything down, and they will realize quickly that it is not worth raiding if it means Rome is going to burn down your country every few years.

Rome lost more in paying upkeep for 3 legions in Britain as well as administration than it gained from taxing the tin mines. Britain is a classical case of Imperial Over-Reach.

Perhaps a failed invasion coinciding with some serious setbacks elsewhere in the empire, such as the Cimbrian war of 100 BC, the crushing defeat by the Parthians at the battle of Carrhae, or perhaps even a civil war.
 
I imagine southern England would still become pretty romanised due to trade and proximity, although clearly that is a different kind of romanisation than the OTL kind!

It would make for an interesting border though. The Romans, assuming they still exist, would need to maintain a reasonable garrison and naval force in the Channel either way, even if relations are amicable. I would imagine they would interfere and raid on a regular basis too, to support/smash down the various British entities.
 
I imagine southern England would still become pretty romanised due to trade and proximity, although clearly that is a different kind of romanisation than the OTL kind!

It would make for an interesting border though. The Romans, assuming they still exist, would need to maintain a reasonable garrison and naval force in the Channel either way, even if relations are amicable. I would imagine they would interfere and raid on a regular basis too, to support/smash down the various British entities.

Could be all the more interesting, with Roman manouevering and funding (presumably not troops, most of the time) backing and smashing successive attempts to unify the local states.
 
Could be all the more interesting, with Roman manouevering and funding (presumably not troops, most of the time) backing and smashing successive attempts to unify the local states.

Indeed. It would certainly make an ATL version of the collapse in the West more interesting.
 
Could be all the more interesting, with Roman manouevering and funding (presumably not troops, most of the time) backing and smashing successive attempts to unify the local states.

I wouldn't presume they'd be successful. After all, the Germanic tribes unified despite Roman efforts to divide and rule.
 
I also would hold it probable that (Southern) Britannia might unify under the impression of the immense imperial neighbour, or perhaps rather as soon as smaller entities prove unable to cope with the intensifying Germanic activities on sea.
 

Sior

Banned
With no Roman invasion the Celts would not be de-militarised by the Romans and would not need mercenaries after the Roman Legions left, so no Saxon/Jute invasions or invasions repulsed and the continental barbarians killed!!
 
I also would hold it probable that (Southern) Britannia might unify under the impression of the immense imperial neighbour, or perhaps rather as soon as smaller entities prove unable to cope with the intensifying Germanic activities on sea.

Plus there was a similar situation with the Irish Gaels, who IOTL eventually overwhelmed the Scottish Picts. Irish raids were a very serious problem for Western Britain.
 
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The south of england was already becoming increasingly Romanised in culture and the trade in grain and metals was fuelling an economic move towards a money based market system and away from classic subsistence farming.

The 'Ancient Britons' were not a bunch of woad wearing hunter gatherers, They were a complicated, rich and forward looking agrarian society just beginning to develop permanent urban market centres to supplement the traditional seasonal market and religious ones.

Probably the Roman invasion was unnecessary for the Roman Empire as trade was giving them what they needed. However, Roman politics demanded the Emperor demonstrate his martial qualities with a military success somewhere and a rich island with only barbarian warriors was always going to be a potential choice.

It is even possible that some southern kingdoms would see advantages in signing up as client states. A bit like joining the EU in modern times. Then it becomes somewhat like the East India Company. Get client states. They have border troubles and call on you to assist. You do so and win so you get more client states with their own border troubles and so forth.

Why did they not go to Ireland? The Romans did not perceive it as rich whereas southern england was perceived as rich grain producing farmland and possessed of known metal mines in quantity. No gain for the pain.

British kings might have wanted to gain Roman protection from the irish who have traditionally harried and enslaved the western coast of britain. You can still see that reflected in the human geography of Cornwall and Ireland's patron saint being a middle class latin-literate briton stolen as a teenager by irish pirates.
 
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