There's some truly exceptional homework coming in, folks. I've seen arguments that Boudica would have been in favour of ULEZ, Scottish independence, Donald Trump, abortion, the EU, unrestricted gun ownership, and more! Please enjoy Ctrl+F'ing the word "homework" on this comment section to see people's wild takes, and feel free to argue a political slant on Boudica yourself- whether you personally agree with the position or not. It's really useful to see how easy it is to argue this stuff, so that one can spot it easier in a live-ammo environment.

Homework: Boudica let children and the elderly go along with her warriors. She voluntarily did this, even though it slowed down traffic flow for the chariots. Therefore she would have been in favour of massively expanding pedestrian infrastructure.

A thought that strikes me is, if history is written by the victors, and Boudica is written as a powerful, vengeful woman with great destructive skills and a following of many tens of thousands, the Romans must have been quite impressed by her. As a respected adversary, or a great thorn in their sides, she is remembered now because *they* immortalized her.

Homework: Boudica had two preteen daughters, is often depicted utilizing equines, and fought against an evil force wrecking tyranny upon a rural land of beautiful nature... all while using the power of friendship to unite every person she met. Therefore, Boudica would have been a huge fan of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Her favorite character would have been Twilight Sparkle (steadfast leader and source of unity), with Rainbow Dash (confident military powerwoman) as a close second. And since she had disabled and wounded Britons in her army, she would have argued that Derpy is not an ableist character. (Well, she also killed thousands and burned down cities... but that doesn't fit with the narrative that I'm trying to construct and the biases I'm trying to push onto people, so I'm deliberately ignoring those parts like any good armchair historian.)

Boudicca would have supported the National Hockey League expanding to Quebec City. Boudicca lived in a cold climate and would have understood the need for winter entertainment. She had experience with taking road trips to more southern cities and emerging victorious. She was good at drawing crowds in small market cities, which is essential for a professional ice hockey team in a city of less than 1,000,000.

Boudica's story as a modern tabloid headline. Stroppy mum of 2 (31) kicks off a bender that leave three cities in flames. Finally apprehended by authorities near Wroxeter. Boudica's story as a broadsheet headline. Norfolk mother outraged by local government takes her grievances to London where she takes defiant action.

My homework assignment (as a Welshman): Boudicca would have been appalled that her legacy was kept alive by another bunch of foreign invaders, the English.

For my homework assignment: Boudicca had long red hair. It probably got in her face and mouth. It may have contributed to her defeat due to distraction and annoyance. Therefore Boudicca fought to bring scrunchies to Britain

Homework: Boudicca had regular encounters with stricter and more draconian regulations through the occupation of the Romans in Britain. The area of what we now call East Anglia where the Iceni lived was a rich and fertile land, supporting many who lived and worked in communities. These communities, through their day-to-day actions, produced a large amount of waste. Despite this, the Roman Empire persisted in creating more and more bureaucracy to make lives harder for those living in these areas, whilst collecting their gift-debt through the removal of regular promised services to support waste removal. In rising up against the oppressors and taking her fight to the other cities, Boudicca showed her willingness to fight against this bureaucracy and resist attempts to remove regular waste collection services. Which is why Boudicca would have supported weekly bin collections at the doorstep.

In Vietnam, there is a similar story from exactly the same century as Boudica as well: the Trưng sisters. What is now northern Vietnam was under Han occupation at the time, and it appears that the Han pissed off the natives quite a lot. After a native lord was killed by the Han, his wife Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị staged an uprising in 40 AD that was widely supported by other native peoples of the Red River Delta. They rode into battle on the backs of elephants, scaring the shit out of the Han soldiers (so opposite to Boudica, I guess). They managed to form their own government for a while, write up some laws of their own, before the Han sent a different commander, Ma Yuan, down south to crack down on the rebellion in 43 AD. This time, unable to defend their new state, the two sisters lost their lives. According to the Book of the Later Han, Ma Yuan had the two sisters beheaded. But that's just like a composite version made from the dynastical records of the Han (as far as I can remember). Vietnamese folklore disagrees with the Han versions a lot: for example, the Vietnamese believed that the women died by suicide to avoid being captured and violated. In some versions of folklore, there wasn't even a husband for Trưng Trắc; she and her sister just did an uprising because they were pissed. That's not to mention the fact that the Trưng sisters' rebellion were like the Avengers of the time: in the folk retellings of the Trưng sisters, you'll find mentions of dozens of women warriors from all over northern Vietnam who somehow got wind of the Trưng sisters doing a rebellion and deciding they wanted to support the sisters too. According to Vietnamese folklore, almost all of the Trưng sisters' generals were women, and wandering around in northern Vietnam, you're guaranteed to find some temple reclined against a mountain that turns out to be dedicated to one of the female generals under the Trưng sisters--people that none of the Han records mentioned. After the Vietnamese declared independence in the 10th century, Vietnamese historians started compiling Chinese records and local folktales to write their own dynastical historical records, and they too began talking about the Trưng sisters. They described all the glory of the revolt and were like: "See? Even women could do such a powerful thing! Where were all the men doing this? Too busy being cowards to the Han, perhaps?" Flash-forward to when Vietnam was colonized by France, the Trưng sisters became a symbol of Vietnamese resistance. And when the country was split in half after the Geneva Accords, both North Vietnam and South Vietnam worshipped the Trưng sisters with their own nationalistic festivals too. Nowadays, after the country was reunified and plunged into neoliberalism, you can even pick up some cheap books with a pink cover literally girlbossifying the Trưng sisters. It is impossible to even know what is truthful about the Trưng sisters, because there is little information about them left and every source that repeats their story has their own take too. Of course, I am not saying we should deny everything and say, "Well the Trưng sisters weren't real", but much like Boudica, their status as symbols has outlived who they really were, and it's up to each of us to decide what we should make of their story.

Homework: Boudicca was a fighter, legiones and radical hero at heart. She fought for her people and burned cities to the ground in name of retaliation against the Romans. For these reasons, I suggest the theory that Boudicca would’ve been pro-arson.

As a Norfolk gal, I adore Boudica. Sadly they closed the Iceni village living history centre, but we're very proud of her. A lot of local school houses are called Boudica.

I adore the philosophy tube vibes of effort put in to costume going on here.

Homework: When Boudicca marched upon the romans, she brought with her the young and the old, the injured and the ailing, because even if they slowed her army down, she knew that through banding together and ensuring all were taken care of, her people would be stronger and more numerous in the end, with the contribution of the thousands who would have died without aid. Boudicca would have been in favour of radical healthcare reform and free access to medical care for all, even if it required an overall increased tax burden.

There is someone from London who’s destiny it is to found the band ‘Boudican Destruction Horizon’ and I wish them godspeed.

This is nearly exactly what my thesis paper was for my BA back in college for my history degree - except with Cleopatra (THE Cleopatra VII). I even used Cassius Dio as one of my sources as well seeing as all the accounts of HER were written by male enemies years after her death. As soon as you started the 2nd part of the video I knew EXACTLY where you were going with this and I got SO excited!!! 😂 you did a fabulous job and I love that your thought process was so similar to mine here - helping to reframe the histories of women of the past instead of just taking accounts from people like Plutarch at their word(s).

I was introduced to Boudicca by Horrible Histories. I still got her song stuck in my head: "Boudicca, superstar..."

Homework assignment Boudica and the Britons suffered under the Romans oppression, with the taking away of their weapons. This, leaves them with lesser tools to fight in their rebellion, but also diminishes their freedom to own and use whatever they wish. Though this was said to be for some idea of collective good, in this case, to keep the peace, it was primarily to control the population and subdue them. In these modern times we face similar struggles with overreaching rulers in the name of collective good. So, it is clear to me, and anyone that has a clear view of history, that Boudica would have been against the implementation of paper straws. Edit: Thank you for the lovely comments, glad I got you.

Homework: Boudica engaged in conflict with the Romans in response to the percieved injustice of her daughters being denied their rightful inheritance, with the state authority usurping what was rightfully theirs. Consequently, it can be inferred that Boudica would have advocated for the elimination of inheritance taxation. You are right, this can be implied on anything haha

I was in a band once called Boudiccan Destruction Horizon. Imagine the Sex Pistols playing Herman’s Hermits. We did an awesome version of Men of Harlech.

As always, a brilliant video. It’s fascinating, seeing the parallels that can be drawn between Britain’s Victorian jingoism and the political climate of the modern-day UK. Thanks, J, for not leaving the politics out of the storytelling. To those who say “I don’t do politics”, as someone wise once said, we all should at least try: after all, you may not ‘do’ politics, but politics ‘does’ you 😊

These are so well written and so impeccably performed. The way you teach is top tier pedagogy

So here's a fun addendum, Colchester City Council has two icons it uses in different places - on is Boudicca, one is a Legionary. We have a statue of Boudicca outside the train station where she seems to be wearing a Roman helmet and carrying a Roman shield. Gotta play both sides!

As an American, I had never heard of Boudica and knew almost nothing about the Roman occupation of Britain. Thank you for bringing this bit of history to life in such an engaging and thought provoking way. Of all the channels I subscribe to, this is one of my Top 5 favorites, in no small part due to your obvious love of your subject and the care you put into each presentation. If I ever get to London and you're still doing walking tours, I'm going to sign up.

Anyone ever heard of the "Boudicca was actually an ancient alien and was the original reason for crop circles to appear in England" version? Okay maybe not, but your video was excellent! Your presentation, your use of role-playing and your passionate love of history really moved the story along. Great job!

As a Floridian, I watch in daily horror the overt politicization of our schools' curriculum. As such, it was intriguing to hear your thoughts on bias in history lessons. It has given me much to consider, not only in what's happening here in my home state, but in my own mind as well. Excellent piece!! (Really love these longer videos.)

I love the use of the Boudica story to demonstrate how it is impossible to tell history apolitically. I've never had much interest in history, but your channel and the stories you tell have been a wonderful route in to history as a subject. Thank you for all the videos you've made.

Tacitus might not have actually met Boudica, and might have written his Annals around 40years after the end of the revolt, but I personally think his history is pretty accurate. He was no doubt writing his Annals over a period of time, they were his final work but considering the size it would not have been surprising to learn that he had been working on them for a good long while. As such it isn't hard to think that many of his sources for Boudica's revolt were first hand and actually written down within a couple decades of the events, maybe even contemporary if Tacitus had access to first-hand written sources - he certainly had good contacts. Agricola, his own father-in-law, was literally serving in Britain at the time of the revolts, so I think Tacitus's sources were probably absolutely top drawer and, generally, he can be trusted. If anyone was writing a history as Roman Propaganda it could have been Tacitus but he is pretty scathing of the Romans and does not water down their treatment of the Iceni at all. Yes, he exaggerates the Roman's final victory over Boudica but that is not uncommon in history and doesn't necessarily imply bias. It is actually typical for humans to stand in large crowds and exaggerate the numbers around them, even today (just ask Trump, lol), and then add a decade onto the time between the event and it being retold and those numbers will only grow in one's mind. There is no way to physically do a head count and, when you are outnumbered and no doubt intimidated, 100 people can very easily feel like 1000. So I allow Tacitus a few inconsistencies but I think his core description of the events is probably fairly accurate and archaeology has since seemed to back him up.

Homework: Boudica loved children. She allowed the children to come with her on the march because she believed that new-born children would bring good luck and morale on the journey and because after what happened to her daughters she couldn't allow leaving the children behind unprotected. You see, besides being a powerful queen and warrior, Boudica was also a midwife for the Iceni. She cared deeply about children and was very interested in the miracle of childbirth. Just before going on the march, Boudica made a speech in which she famously said that Britain shall be repopulated with Britons once again. Because of her wonderful dedication to the wonders of childbirth and the British people, Boudica will always be remembered as the inventor of the pro-life movement. Writing this made like half of my muscles recoil and honestly made me feel a bit lightheaded. Coming up with a narrative that is so obviously not based on evidence just feels wrong when you're aware of it and not doing it for any particular reason.

Homework assignment: As person not natively from Ohio nor from Britain or Rome I can say that Boudicca would have been 100% in favor of Ohio’s legalization of cannabis. She fought for freedom the very same freedom that allows people like myself who live in Ohio enjoy cannabis. She said in her speech to her grand army of pure blood Brits that “Rome is weak and so is their pot. We must take back our country and only do indoor grows like true brits. God save the me!” She was truly an inspiration.

I just want to commend you for your ability to present complex events/ideas so clearly and eloquently. Thank you

Many years ago I watched a BBC documentary about Boudica, hosted by Tony Robinson. I have learned far more from your show than I learned from the BBC.

The irony of victorians idealizing boudicca when they were doing the very thing she fought against or said to have fought against is rather iconic But it feels good hearing about Brittons during the roman rule Thanks for the video :)

Well, I think you slowly become the David Attenborough and the James Burke of London and Britain's history. Plus the great acting skills. Plus the chameleonic makeup. You literally transformed yourself in Boudica and really transported us in her times. Amazing episode, congratulations!

I used to hate history class in school, because of the way it was taught. I have been learning so much from your videos and a few other youtubers I subscribe to. Thank you for showing people history is much more interesting when we have more information. When discussing this subject WWI is what I always mention (here in Canada at least) we were simply taught that the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand was the catalyst for the war. While yes that's true, they never taught us who he was, and why that was the case (not to mention how bungled the attempt was, and that it was pure chance that it actually occurred). I know they can only put so much in the lessons, but when the teacher can't actually tell you beyond what's in the text book it's a big problem.

When I was a kid, in the 1960s, about 15 miles south of Colchester, my grandmother told me Boudica ("Boadicea") was our queen. I can't remember anything else she might said about her, but I took it to mean the queen of the people in our part of Essex. I don't know where she got her information from, but having grown up in Victorian England, I guess it was just part of the narrative. As far as I remember, she was never mentioned in my school's curriculum, and the next time I heard of her would probably have been discovering her statue on the Embankment in my early 20s.

"The Italian battalion, the legionnaires from elsewheres" 😂 oh my gods I love it! Painting themselves into the blue corner was good, but this is too much awesome to not say something about it!

Great job as always. And if boudicca were alive today she would take the London walking tour with Jenny Draper.

Really REALLY love how you went into the biases present in both historical accounts and our interpretations of them! Everything about this video is top tier - I always love your content.

Homework: Boudicca brought the children along to watch the battle so she would be against putting age ratings on video games because she would think it’s good for children to see violence and actually it’s better for them to see it at a distance (both physically or through a screen) so they don’t grow up to be snowflakes (This is not my actual opinion on age ratings lol)

I do hope those lucky A-Level history students appreciate that they are getting first class tuition / guidance from a great historian / resercher. Congratulations J. Draper for being their chosen guide.

The Romans took a look at us Scots and went "Nope! Just put a wall there!" And Boudica is my absolute favorite Britton.

Literally every piece of info i get about Boudicca is tempered by my memory of spike milligan as Minnie Bannister as "Boadicea"

I absolutely love it when Jenny dresses up to make her stories come alive!

Amazing lesson on the inherent bias in history and storytelling!

Before the homework, can we just stop to once again appreciate what a cracking storyteller and writer Tacticus was? He may not have been a good historian. But he wrote *awesome* prose and created amazing characters and people! Homework: Boudica, as a member of the ruling class and a victim of outrageous government repression and overreach would clearly have been a proponent of Thatcherite policies, or at the very least advocated small, low-intervention government. (N.B. I feel I have to say this is stretching it, but that’s the my crux, you could easily spin the story to be a retelling similar to any of the myths about the American Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. Her story is right up there with Paul Revere.)

This is one great, well put together history lesson from a brilliant teacher! Came for the Boudica story, but subscribed because of the thoughtful presentation of history in general. Learned more than I thought I would and it was totally enjoyable. It's true, teaching is a gift and this lady is gifted. TY!

I'm American and had never heard of Boudica in my life, but this was absolutely fascinating! I love your channel. Your analysis and story-telling are *chef's kiss*

I love how you have very clearly shown how impossible it is to tell anything as "just the facts." One of the first things I learned in my first communication course, was that bias is everywhere. The question is not whether something is biased, but what is the bias? The best we can do is to acknowledge our own biases and go from there. When someone says to me they believe that the news or other media were less biased in some bygone era, I can't help but laugh. We have always made choices about what "facts" to present. Thank you.

I once wrote a song about Boudica for my folk metal band. It contained the line 'I see you, the Iceni' . Unreasonably proud of that one.

I like it when the narrator gets into the character of one's story. Keep up the good work, the paint and the approximate wardrobe

One of your best videos - the retelling and reframing of Boudica really makes her relevant to debates today!

Long form J.Draper content for breakfast? Yes please 🙂

No matter how good the research, or the rhetorical skills: It's the obvious joy in storytelling (and theatrical performance!) that makes this videos exceptional!

Homework: Around 1000 years ago an Iceni women was recorded as the figurehead in the temporary destruction of 3 settlements in Roman occupied Britain. ;)

Embellishing events and adding speeches was pretty standard for ancient historians. History was, as you point out, as much about scoring political points are recording facts, even more so than today. One must also wonder how Boudica could have spoken to 100,000 troops without a microphone.

Ooooh, I loved this so much. I grew up in South Africa , my dad was British, and I had always known Boudicca was an ancient queen because I was blessed with red hair myself. I loved that there was a strong warrior queen with red hair as a role model for me because redheads are much maligned there, as they are here, and I was bullied quite a bit. I also read an amazing novel called The Eagle and the Raven, by Pauline Gedge, which was well written and made the story seem so real. Thanks for this amazing episode, I love your shorts but prefer this in depth look at someone fascinating.

The second part of this video (in school teacher costume rather than Celtic warrior costume) is the best explanation of what is involved in writing 'popular' history that I've seen. I write in a rather niche field, Australian mountain history, but I've won a couple of awards, so my stuff can't be too bad. People have often asked me 'why do so many history books push a political argument' or 'why did this book leave that thing out'? While I don't push a political ideology and I try to include all relevant facts and viewpoints in my long form histories, I do appreciate historical works by those who do push an argument or ideology. Thanks for this video. In addition to being an outstanding popular history, it is also an outstanding explanation of the process involved in writing a history. When people ask me questions about the writing process, I will refer them to this video. 🙂

Homework: Boudica was a land owner whos rights were abused, and who was taxed with limited (almost no) representation in a government across an ocean from her, she fought against (roman) loyalists in her own country in this effort. This makes her a symbol of american revolutionaries... Also a few word changes away from being an american confederate.

Reminds me a lot of the figure of Vercingetorix here in France. Vercingetorix was the leader of a gathering of various gallic tribes into an army against rome trying to take over from 58 to 51 B.C., which they also lost pretty hard (see Gallic Wars if you want to do your homework). There was a lot of state propaganda especially during WW1 about this guy and the gauls alike. He was elevetad to a semi-legendary stature to serve as a symbol of resistance and national unity against invaders. Very much like Boudica, most of the sources on his life were written by romans, although there is a few more sources and less obscure of a life story as her. With the state re-writing history on biased sources, teaching that at school as ancient history of France until the 60's, and later pop culture with Astérix & Obelix (while being really cool comics beloved by everyone here for all the right reasons), it messed up a lot of public understanding about that period of time, even to this day. Althouhg things are a lot better now than they were 50 years ago 😅

For my homework assignment: I can make a pretty good argument for Boudicca being Pro-choice by the story of her daughters. Do YOU think she would have wanted her darling daughters to be forced to carry the invader’s children to term if there was a different safe option?!?!? Of course not!

Homework: Boudicca brought children and elderly people on her campaign in an effort to get all generations to lead a more active lifestyle. Burning London to the ground was merely an accident, she was talking about burning calories but someone misheard her. Also, battle tactics were considered part of a good education back then, so she brought the kids along to the final battle so they'd be able to analyse the situation in real time. In modern times, this would mean that Boudicca would support hands-on learning in schools (preferably Montessori schools), and multi-generational fitness regimens. Not much is known about her diet, but it's reasonable to assume that she would be in favour of healthy school lunches, too.

I’m a 47yo American male and Boudicca is one of my favorite historical characters. Your video was absolutely and completely brilliant. You staged it so perfectly with the mythology of her story and then ended with some really hard truth in that it’s impossible to tell her story without it being political. She can really be anyone’s hero for anything. I’ve got two young daughters under the age of 10 and Boudicca is an example that I use for them on being a warrior woman and politically I’m a very American Right wing but I find her historical example (as I’ve read it) the story of rebellion even though you know that your going to lose as something of inspiration. Thank you for how you laid out your video. It was truly brilliant

Since this is a dinner conversation: How was/is your dinner? My dinner was excellent! Even more so, because I was watching this amazing video! Not only was the "history" part of it interesting and thought provoking, but also the scrutiny of historical narratives and the politics of "writing history". As a history teacher, I loved the "homework" at the end. It really makes you think! THANK YOU for all your hard work! 🎉

Such a pity I can't give more thumbs up for this. Thanks a lot for your wonderful videos and impeccable performance.

Me, a Yorkshireman, early in the video: "We don't know where she's from? Oh, clearly there's a case she might be from Yorkshire then."; Me, later in the video: "How dare you call me out on my biases!". Me, now: "Wait. I hate homework. This comment is blatantly conformant to the homework requirement. AAAARGH"

Colonialism is the greatest tragedy of human history, whenever and wherever it happened

Excellent! Really puts "historians" in the spotlight and under a microscope. Bravo!!

"Boudica in the local language means 'victory', might have been a nickname!" -With her track record of military success, that might be a nickname similar to naming the tallest person of a group Shorty. That would indicate one of the earlier appearances of British humour! 😊

Your content keeps getting better by the minute! It's really inspiring to see someone that is genuinely interested in a subject and wanting to share it. I'm really liking the kind of "historical monologue" them you're trying out recently! Hope you get more subscribers fast !

What a fun pleasure it is to learn awesome history from you! Thank you for jumping into character(s)and your sense of humor & inclusiveness of characters as you illuminate your topics. I’ve learned so much!

This whole video was a ride worth taking but the last five or so minutes captures how it feels to be someone passionate about historical discussion. Thank you for such a great video! Looking forward to more.

Homework: After the death of Boudica’s husband, we do not see any more Iceni coins, and her name never appears on any coins. This means she must have been opposed to currency as she refused to issue more coins. This means she rejected money, as coins were basically the only form of money at the time, so she couldn’t’ve favored another sort of currency. This shows a deep opposition to the financial system, which is the pillar upon which capitalism is built. In many way, the derivatives and stocks that are so important to our economy today would be rejected by Boudica. She would also reject money as a whole, which means she would also reject capitalism.

The way you unfold these multiple events with many names and stories and times/dates so seamlessly and enthralling is top tier! Love your work

Ohh!! I’m so excited to see what you bring with this story! Not disappointed!! This is now one my TOP 10 FAVORITE videos on KZfaq, all time. So .. just well done. This is just so good, every single word and the closure. So good!

Just found your channel today, I really appreciate the way you include context on sources & biases in deconstructing the story!

It's not always popular to say "we don't know" but it is often more accurate. I found this video to be very interesting and I will use it as an exemplar of good practice. Thank you.

Like so many others, I love your content and your passionate delivery. I've learned more about British history from you than I ever did at school, and your content has made me laugh, cry and always kept me interested. Thank you so much.

This is fantastic. Engaging and thought-provoking and fun. Exactly how I think of history and wish more people could. Proud to see my name on those credits! Keep on with your awesome self!

The thumbnail got me watching (coolest outfit since Britannia), the content kept me watching. Best costume, great delivery! This channel is becoming a favorite.

Homework: Boudica lost the battle in part because she had elderly, children & wounded marching alongside her, thus losing the race to get to London and as such the terrain advantage. her dedication to include all of her tribe in all of their community endeavours shows how passionate she was about accessibility. she never would've stood for municipal changes being forced on disabled people with minimal community consultation and no consideration for access. Boudica would've been against LTNs

Boudica could well be a first name just like Victoria is. There is also an ancient Roman era headstone from Cirencester that commemorated a woman called Bodocacia suggesting that such names were in use.

Brilliant story telling, wonderful visual costume changes, and balanced rational thinking! Please keep up this great work!

What a brilliant video. Thank you for taking the time

Homework: Boudica would have pronounced "GIF" with a hard G, as in "Those were gifts, goddammit!"

VERY COOL video! I'm American but have been interested in England, etc. most of my life and I never heard of Boudica until I was in my mid-forties. I love that you presented the myth/the legend first then presented factual research. Beautifully evenhanded explanation of how history becomes slanted to push an agenda!

I love your content. Especially the long form content. Keep it up!

Keep it up with the extended videos... I LOVE THEM!!!

It is very interesting to me how lot of European countries have similar story about a hero from a local tribe, beginning by working with the romans before rebelling and winning one or more battles before loosing the war. I am french. I learnt about Vercingetorix in school. Later during a german class, I learned about Arminius who has a very similar story.

I would say this is the best episode you have done, because of the careful presentation of levels from what might be more commonly known (or accepted), to a separate, adult level where you entice your viewers to think better of themselves for being willing to consider Roman historians’ versions of the story and then their contexts and political motivations, finally introducing a variety of more modern examples of the same process … concluding with hoisting yourself on your own petard, then most importantly, inviting the viewers to participate in the process of adapting historical figures to present issues and personal perspectives! You have given an exemplary and entertaining introduction to critical thinking, applicable not just to historical documents and figures long dead; this is something we very much need in the world generally, in the U.S.A.

I've once again come back, for the umpteenth time, to watch this video. THIS is history and perspective. I've never heard about Boudica, and don't care for her story. But this video is mandatory for everyone.

Brilliant. Thank you for this. You're an international KZfaq treasure (writing/watching from Canada)

Boudica can be seen as one of the great women of the Roman Empire. She represents the Roman ideal of a passionate mother, dedicating her life to her daughters. Through the inspiration of her words and deeds she worked effusely toward the destruction of a vast number of rebellious peoples and, despite ties of countryhood and tribe to these traitors of Rome, she was willing to stand against and even fight directly her own British people. She supported clearing space for the opportunity of Roman building projects. She brought a genuine warmth to the cities she visited. And for her passion, by the end of her quest, she was surrounded by those who supported her and her movement, from young children up to wise elders, all the way to the end of her ambitions. And so, though she was only from one of the more remote corners of the empire she will be remembered as a hero of Rome.

I very much enjoyed this informative video from a true historian, I truly hope you continue to make these wonderful treasures.

You are SUCH a breath of fresh air! This was wonderful.

I've watched this video twice now, and it inspired me to read more into this subject. What a great explanation of history, and I appreciate how the video finished by explaining bias within history! Thank you, thank you for your great work, J.Draper!!!! Also, the homework is such a good idea for engagement! Love the comments! Love this little historically inquisitive community ❤

Thank you for this 'well rounded' view of this great woman. Though living here, in Australia, those of us who look back at 'Our' history do feel isolated in many ways from such stories. Also considering we are dealing or tiring to deal with more recent violence on native people. And if we are feeling lazy about our recant, well then we get to blame it all on the 'British Empire'! It's wasn't Us it was Them! History, what a swamp of ideas and information it is. And if we like it or not, we all one day find ourselves drudging through it. Keep up the good work

William Cowper (supposedly an ancestor of mine), was a weird poet, and for no sensible reason (even as he tells it) he ran a hare sanctuary. But his name is pronounced like someone who makes barrels, not like someone who works with cows.

I really appreciated the talk about bias and reciting historical events without invoking a bias. It makes you think about how the news today is presented and how it would be virtually impossible for an institution like the BBC to remain 100% bias. Great content, thank you for sharing!

Its 50 years since my high school history teacher taught me, I teach what i have to, if you want to understand history, read it for yourself, from as many different sources as you can, work out who is writing it and why, remove the propaganda, then assemble an opinion based on what's left over. History is there, but read between the lines to find the truth. This was a nice reminder of a great teacher, who taught me an important lesson in a few sentences, thankyou