What (good) did the Romans ever do for us?

Question

I mean all that we are told - roads,central heating,building walls to seperate the English and Scots,militarism etc.,etc. are actually detrimental to a decent Society in these islands - so I really would like to know if we would have been better off without them.

Answer 1

They brought infrastructure and christianity to Britain. They brought new and effective building techniques such as plumbing, sanitation and heating. The brought new and effective innovations in agriculture, trade links (which lasted even though they had left), medicine and surgery, new foods, art and culture and the most important thing - WRITING!

Pre Roman Bronze and Iron age Britain had no writing. The works of the earliest British writers sush as the Monk Gildas were made possible because the Romans introduced spoken and written Latin to Britain.

The Roman era helped to lay the foundations for a land full of disparate, constantly warring, woad-wearing tribes to become the great nation we are today.

Oh and the Romans also introduced bathing. Iron -Age Celts were a stinky lot, lol!

Answer 2

Fine. The Romans never came. Residents of the islands do not learn better tilling methods nor the ability to share a common written language. Two big wolves await without influence of Imperial Rome. One is the so-called 'Little Ice Age' that eliminated Viking Settlement of Greenland and decimated the population of Iceland. Settlements would lose ability to better tax and utilize human resources as a growing chill reduces food cultivation. The weak are easy prey for next big hungry wolf. Wolfish invaders swarm over the low lands of Europe. Paganism would come with them to the islands. The reader would be today a colony of Nazi Germany, speak a Baltic language and trod muddy roads eastward to serve your betters.

Answer 3

Before the Romans came to Britain us Brits were still living in round houses and technology only went as far as farming (which they were very good at) and some textile, metal and wood working skills. The romans were far more sophisticated. Their road building created more trading opportunities for the natives and whats more, they 'invited' the natives to become romanised and they benefitted from doing so. They now had nicer homes, better tools, greater skills and became more productive and therefore increased their earning potential. The Romans were tolerant of native Brits so long as they didn't break roman law (such as it was) but merciless if they didn't conform. Such was their tolerance they joined the names of the celtic gods with their own so that, for example, the city of Bath became Aqua Sulis. Aqua being the roman god of water and Sulis being the celtic god of water.

We are most certainly better off WITH their influence. You only have to go to Hadrian's Wall and see a few of the forts there to notice how expansive the civil settlements were - just beyond the gates to the forts. Shops, houses you name it. Flourishing communities in proper homes - some with heating as you say, more food, ways to make money. There was also a legal system in so much as if your neighbour nicked your cattle he could be punished by the man in charge and you might end up with all his beasts as payments for your damages.

Romans were also mostly literate/educated to some degree so communication - with the aid of better transport and the road system - was a fantastic leap forward.

The Romans are a great source for historians because they wrote things down. They recorded their activities. It's worth remembering that after they left Britain entered the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages are thus named because nothing is recorded of what was going on. We are very much 'in the dark' for that period of our country's history.

The Romans did much for Britain and Britons alike. They were not universally popular but that's another story. One thing is for sure, we were DEFINATELY better off with them.

Answer 4

Via the Greeks - DEMOCRACY - the senate - weights and distance, theatre, Law, lawyers, engineering, architecture, language, religion (Sol Invictus = Jesus Christ, Isis = Virgin Mary), but whether the islands were better off without roman influence, I don't know.

The celts, picts etc did give them a hard time, made them go home atleast. But without those things listed above, who knows what that lost knowledge would have contributed. I have heard it said that the druids were pretty damned smart. Maybe progress would have slowed and spiritual connections to the land would have played a more important role in modern society. Wars would be shorter, send out a champion to settle everyones problems, more unity?

Answer 5

The Romans were a literate people who left a great number of written works as a contribution. Since "All the great civilisations in their early stages are all based on success in war." - I'll ignore the comment you made about "militarism being detrimental to a 'decent' society."

Romans who left us the contribution of Literature and their works include:

Cato - 'How To Keep A Slave'
Caesar - 'The Conquest of Gaul' and 'The Civil War'
Marcus Tullius Cicero - 'A Dictator Comes to Rome'
Seneca - 'Gladitorial Games'
Tacitus - 'The Fire of Rome'
Pliny the Younger - 'The Eruption of Vesuvius'
Herodian - 'Emperor Septimius Severus Is Made'
Ammianus Marcellinus - 'The Huns'
Priscus - 'Dinner With Attila The Hun'

The Romans are essential, not dispensable, to anyone who studies ancient classical civilisations. We are better off with them.

* Judging by all the thumbs down you've awarded, it is obvious you are not interested in History, and just want to slag the Romans. Yawns. How meaningless....

Answer 6

I think the most important thing about them was long long after when we thought about getting our island organised and out of the dark ages we used them and their ideas as a major blue print in being able to do so


Personally I would have rather seen how we would have evolved with the Druids instead but its all long distant history now

One thing is certain, there would never have been a British empire without a Roman empire in residence for a long period first


(Druids played a significant part in celtic society actually, being regarded as more important than the King himself, thats why the Romans specifically targeted them and wiped them out, they were afraid of the sheer power and influence they had on these islands)
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/prehistory/druids.htm
(http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Celtic_Britain.htm

Answer 7

The Egyptians invented wine, sorry. I don't trust the Italians. They look shifty. EDIT: lol. I remembered one more thing you can add to the list. I remember reading this. The Romans invented Tax. Yep, that's right!

Answer 8

No we wouldn't have been better of without them. Every day words such as Stadium, Senate, Aqueduct, Viaduct are all Roman and have endured for 2000 years. they also played a part in adapting the calendar by adding July and August to the months of the year.

Answer 9

You asked this question using letters from the Roman Alphabet.

Answer 10

They did indeed give us roads, laws, etc, but the myth that the people of these islands were savages, or barbarians to put it the way the Romans did was exactly that a myth. They had their own rules, laws, way of life, and the Druids were only a small part of these islands, they weren't the dominant force. One wonders, but it's totally irrelevant now because they did come here and conquer, and by the way they were savages themselves in many respects, looting, killing and raping at will and that Queen Boudicca nearly beat them at their own game, and she started a war with the Romans after her daughters were raped and she was flogged by them. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.