established his ally, Mandubratius, in the sovereignty of the
Trinobantes; and having obliged the inhabitants to make him new
submissions, he again returned with his army into Gaul, and left the
authority of the Romans more nominal than real in this island.

The civil wars which ensued, and which prepared the way for the
establishment of monarchy in Rome, saved the Britons from that yoke
which was ready to be imposed upon them. Augustus, the successor of
Caesar, content with the victory obtained over the liberties of his
own country, was little ambitious of acquiring fame by foreign wars;
and being apprehensive lest the same unlimited extent of dominion,
which had subverted the republic, might also overwhelm the empire, he
recommended it to his successors never to enlarge the territories of
the Romans. Tiberius, jealous of the fame which might be acquired by
his generals, made this advice of Augustus a pretence for his
inactivity [k]. The mad sallies of Caligula, in which he menaced
Britain with an invasion, served only to expose himself and the empire
to ridicule: and the Britons had now, during almost a century, enjoyed
their liberty unmolested; when the Romans, in the reign of Claudius
began to think seriously of reducing them under their dominion.
Without seeking any more justifiable reasons of hostility than were
employed by the late Europeans in subjugating the Africans and
Americans, [MN A.D. 43.] they sent over an army under the command of
Plautius, an able general, who gained some victories, and made a
considerable progress in subduing the inhabitants. Claudius himself,
finding matters sufficiently prepared for his reception, made a
journey into Britain, and received the submission of several British
states, the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, who inhabited
the south-east part of the island, and whom their possessions and more
cultivated manner of life rendered willing to purchase peace at the