Prasutagus, leader of the Iceni, was a ‘client king’ of Rome. This meant that he governed on behalf of Rome. When he died, in about AD 60, Roman agents began dividing up his legacy. During this process his widow Boudica was beaten and her daughters raped. The arrogance and brutality of the Roman administration brought the Iceni out in revolt.

The Iceni were joined by the Trinovantes, whose former capital had been taken and settled by Roman army veterans and renamed Camulodunum (Colchester). The native aristocracy were expected to pay taxes and contribute to public events, while the common people worked as forced labour on the building projects.

Details of the Boudican revolt are taken from Roman sources and so none of it can be considered as established fact. According to Roman accounts, the rebels moved first against Camulodunum, burning the temple and public buildings and butchering their captives. The governor, Suetonius Paulinus, returned from campaigning in Wales but was forced to abandon both Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) to burning and slaughter by the rebels. He took a stand, probably to the north-west of Verulamium, where his army of 10,000 was hugely outnumbered. However the rebels were badly equipped and undisciplined and the result was an overwhelming victory for the highly trained Roman army. Boudica fled and died, possibly by her own hand.