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An early variant of the term British Isles dates back to Ancient Greek times, when they were known as the Pretanic or Britannic Islands. It was translated as the British Isles into English in the late 16th or early 17th centuries by English and Welsh writers, whose writings have been described as propaganda and politicised. [19] [20] [21]
The Britons (*Pritanī, Latin: Britanni, Welsh: Brythoniaid), also known as Celtic Britons [1] or Ancient Britons, were the indigenous Celtic people [2] who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons (among others). [2]
Following the conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture, urban planning, industrial production, and architecture. The Roman goddess Britannia became the female personification of Britain. After the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing.
An effort by the Romans to invade and conquer Caledonia was likely made sometime during or shortly after 139 AD. [6] In 142 AD, construction began on the Antonine Wall roughly 100 km North of Hadrian's Wall in order to aid in the Roman push into Caledonian territory and to consolidate their conquest of southern Caledonian territory.
The Making of British History, Routledge, 1995 ISBN 978-0-41513-041-7; Hugh Kearney, The British Isles: A History of Four Nations, Cambridge University Press, 2006 (2nd edition) ISBN 978-0-521-84600-4; Richard S. Lambert, The Great Heritage: a History of Britain for Canadians, House of Grant, 1964 (and earlier editions and/or printings)
Southern British tribes before the Roman invasion. In common with other regions on the edge of the empire, Britain had enjoyed diplomatic and trading links with the Romans in the century since Julius Caesar's expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, and Roman economic and cultural influence was a significant part of the British late pre-Roman Iron Age, especially in the south.
The Romano-British responded by appealing to the Roman commander of the Western empire, Magister militium Aetius, for help (a document known as the Groans of the Britons), even though Honorius, the Western Roman Emperor, had written to the British civitas in or about 410 telling them to look to their own defence.
—Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Universe, 393b Pliny the Elder, in the fourth book of his Natural History likewise calls Great Britain Albion. He begins his chapter on the British Isles as follows, after describing the Rhine delta: Ex adverso huius situs Britannia insula clara Graecis nostrisque monimentis inter septentrionem et occidentem iacet, Germaniae, Galliae, Hispaniae, multo maximis ...