Claudius Becomes Emperor and Invades Britain
Claudius spent the first fifty years of his life as an embarrassment to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Physical disabilities led Augustus and Livia to keep him away from public life. He devoted himself to scholarship, writing histories of the Etruscans and Carthaginians. When Praetorian guardsmen discovered him cowering behind palace curtains after Caligula's murder, they recognised an opportunity. Claudius accepted and rewarded the Guard handsomely, establishing the dangerous precedent that soldiers could make and unmake emperors. Yet Claudius surprised everyone. In 43 CE he launched the invasion of Britain under Aulus Plautius, personally crossing to Britain to supervise the capture of Camulodunum. He extended Roman citizenship and admitted Gauls to the Senate. In 54 CE Claudius died, almost certainly poisoned by Agrippina the Younger, who fed him toxic mushrooms to hasten Nero's accession.
- Year: 41 CE
- Category: Political
