This essay is about how Britain changed Britain, and how they brought civilisation to it. The definition of civilisation has been questioned over the centuries. There are many different meanings of the word but in the Romans case it is “The type of culture and society developed by a particular nation or in a particular era or time.”In other words, this is what the Romans did to Britain. In particular, I will discuss the Roman invasion and the effect the Romans had on housing and roads. Before the Romans invaded, Celts lived in Britain. There were no towns so most people lived in villages and were farmers. People were separated into tribes ruled by kings or chiefs. Chiefs were the leaders in battle; they would lead warriors into battle in …show more content…
The Romans brought lots of things that we take for granted every day. For example calendars, the census, indoor plumbing, fruit and vegetables, the police and even cats! One of the most influential things the Romans did for Britain was build roads. When the Romans established in Britain they built lots of high-quality straight roads. The main roads that the Romans built were from London to York (via Lincoln), London to Wroxeter (a village in Shropshire), London to Dover and Exeter to York via Bath, Cirencester and Lincoln. The new roads meant that it was much easier and simpler for the emperors to control their empire. This was because they could send messages and orders quickly. The roads helped Romans to trade with each other. They also provided people with a much easier option than to walk. The roads were mainly built by Roman soldiers as the authorities could guarantee that the Roman soldiers would do the best they could for the sake of Rome. The Roman roads were used a lot but many had to walk as chariots and horses were expensive. In spite of all the work that was put in with the Roman roads, when they left Britain the Britons did not make use of the roads. The Britons did not use the villas or baths either because of their close association to the Romans. Moreover the Britons did not have any knowledge of how to repair the roads because they
Both Rome and Han China equivalently constructed similar roads, bridges, and water development systems all to strengthen their economy. Verifications of this can be seen when Rome fully realized the potential of arches and bridges in their road systems that spanned more than 400,000 km of roads that were used for trade. Correspondingly, they also built aqueducts as a form of water engineering to constantly bring in a flow of water to the cities and towns. Similarly, Han China built massive fortified roadways for trade and walls for fortification comparable to the Great Wall of China as a means of defense. Also in comparison to Roman aqueducts, Han China built water canals as means to direct water as they pleased. These similarities defined their engineering skills as these inventions and constructions were used to help strengthen their economies. Rome built and constructed roads to aid their trade systems and make easier routes of travel. Furthermore, they used aqueducts to get water into the city saving money and the need for human labor. Similarly, Han China used their fortified roads to trade much easier and as a means of safer travel. This went hand in hand with China’s water canals that also aided their economy by directing water where needed saving much money and limiting the need for human labor as well.
The Romans engaged in various forms of public works, whether constructing amphitheaters or aqueducts, the Romans funded infrastructure all across the Empire. Aqueducts greatly improved water supplies, roads made trade and travel easier, amphitheaters spread Roman culture, and military fortresses protect Rome and its people. The Romans contribution to local infrastructure all but insured their
Romans helped build temples, public squares, proper houses, and their national toga was suddenly being seen everywhere. "In their innocent they called this 'civilization', when in fact it was a part of their enslavement" (Tacitus, 15). By carrying over their social norms to other nations, Rome continued to expand in an eased manner, as suggested by Agricola during his reign. Romans were overruling nations that were unnecessary for them to.
As described by modern historian Barbara Levick, Claudius was well aware that the circumstances to which he became emperor, could be repeated if he lost the respect of high ranking officials, including but not limited to the Praetorians, and Senators. Claudius, already regarded as the fool of the family, needed a means of attaining respect to levels that would exceed his predecessor and rival his forebears. A way of establishing this respect and conception of competency was through embarking on successfully expanding the Empire through the island of Britannia. A key component of the Romanisation of the empire was the establishment of infrastructure, roads, and cities to strengthen holdings gained by the army. Claudius’ early building works were centered around the construction of the cities of Camulodunum and Londinium, key cities for the administration and economic development of the region, which he saw as imperative to his grip on the position of Princeps. Included was the construction of Watling Street, which ran the course of the island from the southwest, near to the Isle of Mona in contemporary Wales. This road would prove essential in military campaigns further into middle and upper
The customs of the Britons differed from that of the Romans. Britain was the largest of the islands known to the Romans, who thought of Britons as barbarians. The physical characteristics of the Britons varied, suggesting that they
The expanse of Rome required a vast network of roads to connect the empire to aid with speedy communications and troop movements. The combination of concrete in addition to the use of arches allowed the romans to build the bridges necessary to keep those roads connected. As its cities grew, so did the need for water for its residents and again the Romans turned to the combination of concrete and arches to build great aqueducts. (Kamm,
The Romans were not there first ones to use the aqueducts. The aqueducts are used to bring water into cities and towns. They also used water fountains. The Romans were their first people to build roads. They used their roads to make it easier to travel.
The fourth factor was the amazing engineers, inventors, and architects in the Empire. By 200 AD the Romans had built 53,000 miles of roads throughout the Empire. The very first was built in 312 BC. They also invented sewers, central heating systems, and the first types of concrete. (Mahoney, 2001)
In addition, to the Roman government, the modern world has been influenced by Roman architecture as well. In every country and every state these days you will find roads or some type of paved road system. This derived from early Roman architectures. The Romans were the first to set up a highly advanced concrete road system that would aide in traveling. Although not as sophisticated as today's roads, the concrete used was not much different from what is used today. In fact the Roman constructed roads are still intact today. Along with road
These technological achievements credited to the Romans were rather only improvements made by the Romans to inventions previously discovered by earlier societies. Concrete is the only invention that can solely be credited to the Romans. As stated earlier the remains of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius were discovered by Romans, as well as the idea of mixing these remains with water. Aside from concrete, all technological achievements credited to the Romans were only improvements on ideas borrowed from others (Boatwright). Roads can be dated back to Mesopotamia. The earliest roads served the sole purpose of allowing wagons and chariots to easily pass through cities. Some were built from brick and asphalt or limestone slabs, but it is not until the Roman improvement to make roads deeper and more durable that roads received national recognition. Although early societies in Mesopotamia had created roads long before the Romans, the Romans borrowed this technology and improved it to increase the productivity of their own expansion (Roads). India is known to have some of the
These roads were so well built that some of them are still in use by modern travelers. Romans knew that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line and built their roads incredibly straight, stretching for miles without a single turn. The use of stone in building roads enabled people to travel during inclement weather while dirt roads may remain too muddy to travel upon for many days after a hard rain. The Ancient Romans also knew of a road building technique that escapes the builders of modern roads in states such as Florida. This technique is known as crowning, this involves making the center of the roads higher than the sides, with a gradual slope to allow water to run off the sides instead of collecting in the middle. By the time the great Roman Empire fell, the Roman Army had built roads connecting all of their empire to Rome.
Because Augustus encouraged trade, many roads and highways were built for convenient traveling. Trading made easier increased trade, which boosted Roman economy even more.
Greek didn’t have the technologies to make these roads. Another thing Rome was good at was making bridges. If Rome had to cross a river to get to a battle, they built a well-made bridge and marched their soldiers across it. The Greeks, although advanced, were not advanced enough to be able to build these great wonders quickly and efficiently.
Have you ever heard the phrase “all roads lead to Rome”? People in Rome built 29 major highways to the city of Rome. There is about 250,000 miles of road across the Roman Empire. Approximately 50,000 of these roads are stone paved. The roads were made for people, goods, and food to be moved around with ease.
One of the most visible changes in landscape was the construction of Roman roads. Prior to this, Britain used unpaved track ways for their communications. The Roman created straight, paved roads which could be used in all weather conditions. The development of Over 9,000kilometres of roads meant communication and travel from one area of Britain to another was made substantially easier. Although they were mainly designed for a military purpose, it had a positive impact on trade as it became easier to transport goods.