Boudica: The Warrior Queen

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Inspiration of the week: Boudica (also spelled Boadicea or Boudicca)

Prasutagus was the head of the Iceni tribe in East England. When he died in 60 CE, he left half his kingdom to the Romans to settle a debt but when the Romans arrived to collect, instead of settling for half the kingdom, they took control of it. To add insult to injury, the Romans beat Prasutagus’ widow, Boudica, publicly and then raped their two daughters. They also took control of most of the wealth of the tribe and sold many of the royal family into slavery.

It was then that Boudica met with the leaders of the Iceni and they began planning their revolt against the Romans. Led by Boudica, about 100,000 British attacked the Roman center and burned it to the ground. They then burned Londinium and massacred the 25,000 inhabitants who had not fled.

Unfortunately, famine soon struck the army, weakening them. Boudicca’s army exhausted and hungry were defeated when the Roman troops of 1,200 defeated their army of 100,000.

What happened to Boudica is uncertain. Boudica is my inspiration because after suffering humiliation at the hands of the Romans, she didn’t cower away. She rose to become a badass leader. She might not have won the war, but her strength was admirable.