A SOCIAL media debate over one of Colchester's most infamous battles has seen the city go viral online.
A question posed on Twitter asking if Queen Boudica was right to attack Colchester in 59AD led to thousands of likes and comments.
The tweet also depicts an interactive machine from Colchester Castle.
To settle a debate, the original poster of the tweet created a poll to ask other users whether or not Queen Boudica was right to attack Colchester, which resulted in a split 50-50 decision.
"Do you think that Boudica was right to destroy Colchester?" pic.twitter.com/AAQkJ3kPJp
— Bex Luther (@Superbreeze_Bex) October 24, 2022
Boudica sought revenge after the death of her husband, Prasutagus, in 59 AD, the Romans plundered the Celtic king’s lands and households, publicly flogging Boudica.
Enraged by the attack, Boudica vowed revenge, gathering an army of Iceni and allied tribes from the surrounding East Anglian tribes.
When her rebellion was exacted in AD60, Colchester, then Camulodunum, was chosen as the primary target, because the town personified Roman rule of Britain at the time.
Colchester historian and author, Andrew Phillips, said: "I think she was right to attack Colchester in the way she did.
"Her attack represented a fairly popular uprising against the Romans, by the native Brits.
"The native Brits didn’t ask the Romans to come over and had been living quite happily under their previous ruler, whereby more upper-class members of society could acquire some roman goods, particularly wine.
"It holds a lot of similarities with the latest Ukraine war, I don't blame them for their uprising.
"Obviously it was a brutal uprising, but we are talking about thousands of years ago.
"It was a national uprising that was close to winning, the only people who were ever able to drive the Romans out were the Germans."
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Romans were able to regroup their troops and defeat the allied Celtic tribes in a decisive battle.
The battle marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in Britain, a period that lasted until 410 AD.
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