In 58BC the province of Transalpine Gaul was assigned to Caesar – the area included Northern France, Southern Holland, Belgium, Germany west of the Rhine and most of Switzerland.
In his commentaries, Caesar described the area and the peoples of Gaul as such:
Caes.gal.1.1″: [1.1]
“All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gaul’s, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gaul’s from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gaul’s in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their frontiers.
One part of these, which it has been said that the Gaul’s occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhone; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean, and the territories of the Belgae; it borders, too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine, and stretches toward the north. The Belgae rises from the extreme frontier of Gaul extend to the lower part of the river Rhine; and look toward the north and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from the river Garonne to the Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of the sun, and the North Star.”
Strabo’s account (Strabo IV.iv. 2,4) also says the whole race is madly keen on war, brave and impetuous and easily outwitted. Because of their frankness and straightforwardness their sympathies are easily roused to war in support of friends who think themselves wronged.
Caesar fought a bloody war to bring these lands and their tribes under his control, which lasted about a year, but spent the next six years fighting a number of rebellions before his conquest of Gaul could be considered to be complete. Caesar, fortunately for us, recorded these in his Bellum Gallicom, which was his own account of the Gallic Wars.
Helveti
In the spring of 58bc the tribe of the Helvetia who lived in the area of modern Switzerland decided to emigrate en masse into western Gaul. There were only two routes they could have taken – one between the Jura Mountains and the Rhone which was too narrow for wagons to pass through easily – the other through the Roman province. The Helvetia requested permission from Caesar to cross this area – he rather deceitfully told them he would consider their request while at the same time ordered as many fresh troops as possible from throughout the province. When the Helvetia envoys arrived to see Caesar on the appointed day he told them they could not cross the Roman province and that if they tried to use force he would stop them.
The only other alternative the Helvetia had was to go through the territory of the Aedui. In “Caes.gal.1.11”: it states:
“The Helvetii had by this time led their forces over through the narrow defile and the territories of the Sequani, and had arrived at the territories of the Aedui, and were ravaging their lands.”
The Aedui sent ambassadors to Caesar requesting help – Caesar heard that three parts of the Helvetii tribes had crossed the River Saone. He set off with three legions and attacked the rest who were still to cross the river – they were laden with baggage and surprised by his attack. Many were slain and the remainder fled to hide in the woods. Caesar then built a bridge over the river and pursued the Helvetia for some time before engaging them in battle where they were defeated. It is telling in Caesar’s commentaries the ruthlessness of his army – the following shows the number of Helvetia who had begun the emigration march compared to the 110,000 who Caesar sent home following the battle.
Caes.gal.1.29″: [1.29]
“In the camp of the Helvetii, lists were found, drawn up in Greek characters, and were brought to Caesar, in which an estimate had been drawn up, name by name, of the number which had gone forth from their country of those who were able to bear arms; and likewise the boys, the old men, and the women, separately. Of all which items the total was:
|
Of the Helvetii [lit. of the heads of the Helvetii] |
263,000 |
|
Of the Tulingi |
36,000 |
|
Of the Latobrigi |
14,000 |
|
Of the Rauraci |
23,000 |
|
Of the Boii |
32,000 |
|
The sum of all amounted to |
368,000 |
Veneti
The Veneti on the southern coast of Brittany were a maritime power with strong and extensive trading links to Britain. Their towns were built on promontories, which were difficult to reach by land. In 56bc they rebelled against Caesar by taking prisoner Roman soldiers who had been sent out to procure corn, then captured the envoys sent out to rescue them and demanded that their own hostages be returned to them.
Caesar ordered ships of war to be built on the River Loire and for rowers, sailors and pilots to be provided.
He knew details of the style of the Veneti ships, which he describes as follows:
“Caes.gal.3.13”:
The keels were somewhat flatter than those of our ships, whereby they could more easily encounter the shallows and the ebbing of the tide: the prows were raised very high, and, in like manner the sterns were adapted to the force of the waves and storms [which they were formed to sustain]. The ships were built wholly of oak, and designed to endure any force and violence whatever; the benches which were made of planks a foot in breadth, were fastened by iron spikes of the thickness of a man’s thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables, and for sails they used skins and thin dressed leather.
The battle and the Roman victory that followed are well documented in Cassius Dio Book XXXIX
It is worth noting that Strabo (IV.iv.1) believes that Caesar intended to invade Britain in 56bc and that the reason for the Venetic revolt was to hinder Caesar’s voyage to Britain and to protect their trade there.
Britons had come to the attention of Caesar during his battles with the Gaul’s – he knew that some Britons had crossed the channel to provide military aid. According to Caes gal 4.20, it says ‘ he discovered that in almost all the wars with the Gaul’s succors had been furnished to our enemy from that country’
by Corinne Mills and Richard Hayton