Despite his brief reign, Vitellius made two important contributions to Roman government that would long outlast him. He ended the practice of officers in the Roman Legions selling leaves of absence and exemptions from duty to the men under their command. He also expanded the offices in the Imperial Administration, allowing members of the Equestrian class to take up positions in the Imperial Civil Service.

The Death of Emperor Vitellius

In July, 69 AD, Vitellius received intelligence indicating that the Legions in the eastern provinces had proclaimed their loyalty to Titus Flavius Vespasianus, more commonly known as Emperor Vespasian. Not long afterward, the Legions in Dalmatia and Illyricum also swore loyalty to Vespasian and Vitellius was forced to give up the title of Emperor.

The exact circumstances of Vitellius’s death are uncertain. Vitellius waited for Vespasian’s Legions at Mevenia. The terms of resignation were arranged by Marcus Antonius Primus, the Commander of the Legions in Panonia and one of Vespasian’s primary supporters. However, the Praetorian Guard refused to honour the terms of the agreement and forced Vitellius to return to the palace while he was on the way to the Temple of Concord where he was to surrender the Imperial regalia. After Vespasian’s Legions entered the city, Vitellius was dragged out of his hiding place, which Tacitus claimed was a door keeper’s lodge. From there Vitellius was driven to the Gemonian Steps and killed. Suetonius claimed that Vitellius was drowned in the River Tiber, while Cassius Dio wrote that Vitellius was decapitated and his head paraded through the city.

The death of Emperor Vitellius and the ascension of Emperor Vespasian brought an end to the year of chaos that began with the death of Emperor Nero, and would become known as the Year of the Four Emperors.

Sources

SuetoniusLife of Vitellius. Jun.14/10

Dio, Cassius. The History of Rome. Jun. 14/10

Donahue, John F. Vitellius, Di Imperatoribis Romanus. Jun. 14/10

William’s exact date of birth is not known for certain, but he is thought to have been born some time between 1056 and 1060. William was the third of four sons born to William the Conqueror, who was then the Duke of Normandy. While William was young, he was educated by Lanfrac, the Archbishop of Canterbury. William was intelligent and seemed destined to become a great lord, but not King of England. However, a sudden change in circumstances altered William’s destiny. In 1080, Robert led a major rebellion against his father, as the result of a prank played on him by William and their youngest brother, Henry. A year later, the sudden death of William’s brother Richard, the Duke of Bernay and the second son of William the Conqueror, in 1081 following a hunting accident in the New Forest, put William in line to succeed his father as the King of England. In spite of his ascension to the English throne in 1087, there was much hostility between William and his oldest brother. However, William and Robert were reconciled following an attempted coup by William’s youngest brother, Henry, who would eventually rule England as Henry I.

The Reign of William II

Following the death of William the Conqueror, the division of his lands presented problems for members of the nobility with holdings in both France and England. Since William and Robert were natural rivals, the nobility on both sides of the English Channel was afraid of losing favour with one or both rulers. This led to a revolt against William, in favour of Robert, in 1088. However, Robert failed to appear in England, to support his followers there. As a result, William won back the support of his subjects with gold and promises of better government. In 1091, William invaded Normandy, inflicting a massive defeat on Robert’s army and forcing him to cede territory to William. William promised to help Robert reclaim land that had been lost to other members of the French nobility. This plan was eventually abandoned, but William remained committed to defending his French possessions for the rest of his reign.

In 1089, Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury and William’s tutor, died. In the wake of his death, William was reluctant to appoint a new Archbishop, mainly because he was funnelling the ecclesiastical revenue meant for the Church into the royal treasury. In 1095, following a serious illness, William appointed Anselm, a Benedictine Monk and the Abbot of Caen in France, to the office of Archbishop. This led to a long period of conflict between William and Anselm, who supported the Gregorian reforms which were being implemented in other parts of Europe. At one point in the conflict, William wrote, “Yesterday I hated him with great hatred, today I hated him with greater hatred and he can be certain that tomorrow and there after I shall hate him with ever fiercer and more bitter hatred.”

In 1095, William convened a council at Rockingham, where he intended to bring Anselm to heel. William was not successful and Anselm would not yield. In 1097, Anselm went into exile, taking his case to the newly elected Pope Urban II. However, Urban was embroiled in a conflict with Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, over the investiture of priests and bishops and could not afford to make another enemy. Pope Urban agreed to support the status quo in England, in exchange for William’s support in the Investiture Controversy. Anselm remained in exile, while William continued to collect Church revenues for the rest of his reign.

The Death of William II

Even though William lacked his father’s ability to forestall the nobles’ propensity for rebellion, he was equally as effective in resisting its effects. In 1095, Robert de Mowbray, the Earl of Northumberland, refused to attend the Curia Regis. The Curia Regis was a royal court that was convened three times per year, and at which William announced changes in government policy. William raised an army and quickly subdued Robert’s uprising, He also punished William of Eu, blinding and castrating him for treason.

Following the Battle of Hastings, southern England submitted quickly to William’s rule. However, resistance to the Normans continued for six years in the north. During the first two years of his reign, William suffered many uprisings and rebellions all over England, including revolts in Dover, Mercia and Exeter.

Resistance to Norman Rule

The worst crisis occurred in Northumbria, in 1068. Edgar the Aethling, who was declared King of England by the Witengamot, but not crowned, staged a revolt. William was able to successfully crush Edgar’s uprising, but Edgar fled to Scotland where he was sheltered by King Malcolm III. Shortly after this, Malcolm married Edgar’s sister, Margaret, which threatened to tip the balance of power in England against William. Sensing instability in William’s rule, Edgar, with the support of the Danes, attacked again, this time laying siege to York. However, Edgar’s forces were trapped and defeated at Lincoln by William, who also put down revolts in Exeter, Dorset and Somerset at the same time.

William then proceeded to lay waste to Northumbria between the Tee and Humber Rivers. William’s troops burned crops, vegetation and houses. They killed livestock, destroyed farm tools and sowed the fields with salt. As a result of this scorched earth policy, the region took over a hundred years to recover from William’s devastation and lost much of its autonomy in the process. Thanks to his brutal methods, William was successful in breaking the spirit of resistance in the English people.

In 1075, while William was away in Normandy, a revolt broke out, led by the Earl of Hereford and the Earl of Northumberland over William’s refusal to sanction the marriage of Emma Fitzosbern to the Earl of East Anglia. William sent his step-brothers, Odo of Bayeux and Robert, the Count of Mortain to put down the uprising. Known as the Revolt of the Earls, this was the last act of resistance against William’s rule in England.

As would become habit for his descendants, William spent much of his time in Normandy and ruled England through his decrees and royal writs. Nominally a vassal state loyal to the King of France, William’s successful invasion of England made Normandy extremely powerful and aroused the jealousy of the French nobility, who attempted to invade Normandy. In response to this aggression, William tried to invade Brittany and was stopped by King Phillip I. In 1076, William’s daughter, Constance was betrothed to Alan, who would eventually become the Duke of Brittany.

William’s Claim to the English Crown

In 1066, the death of Edward the Confessor sparked a power struggle for the English throne. William had a tenuous claim to the English crown through his great aunt, Emma of Normandy. Emma was the Queen of Ethelred the Unready and Canute the Great, as well as the mother of Edward the Confessor. In addition to William’s blood claim, he also contended that Edward, who had spent much time in Normandy while in exile, had promised William the English crown when William visited London in 1052. William also maintained that Harold Godwinson had sworn allegiance to William in 1064. However, William was not aware that he had actually sworn allegiance to Harold over holy relics.

In addition to William’s claim, the English throne was also claimed by Harold Godwinson and Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway.’s marriage was considered consanguine by the Church, as William and Matilda were distantly related. As penance, William and Matilda built St. Stephen’s Church and Holy Trinity Church, in Caen, France.

In January, 1066, Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England.

The Norman Invasion

Upon learning this news, William submitted his claim to the English throne to Pope Alexanader II, who sent William a consecrated banner. William established a war council at Lillebonne, near Le Havre, and began to raise an army. William also began to assemble an invasion fleet at Dive-sur-Mer.

On September 12, 1066, William’s fleet sailed for England after 8 months of waiting for the wind and tides to be right. Shortly after setting sail, a storm blew up and William’s fleet was forced to take shelter at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. On September 27, the Normans set sail for England once again, landing at Pevensey Bay, on the Sussex coast, on September 28. From there William moved quickly to Hastings, where he assembled a pre-fabricated wooden castle, brought from France. William chose Hastings because it was situated on a long peninsula and flanked on either side by impenetrable marshes

In the mean time, Harold Godwinson had gone north, upon receiving intelligence that Harald Hardrada had landed just ten miles from York. After defeating Harald at Stamford Bridge, Harold Godwinson turned south and after a four day force march, prepared to attack William.

On October 13, William received intelligence that Harold’s army had left London for William’s position. At dawn on October 14, 1066, William’s army left its encampment and began advancing toward the enemy, which was camped at the top of Senlac Hill, near the site of Battle Abbey, a few miles outside Hastings

The Battle of Hastings lasted all day. The forces of William and Harold were evenly matched for size, however, the composition of William’s forces were more evenly distributed among infantry, cavalry and archers, unlike Harold’s force which was composed mostly of infantry. Harold’s troops formed a shield-wall along the top of the ridge which was initially successful in keeping the Normans at bay. The primary sources claim that William was unhorsed and that he raised his helmet at this point to forestall any rumours of his death. Meanwhile, the English pursued the Normans on foot, and consequently came under attack from Norman cavalry. The English were further weakened by Norman archers. As the sun began to set, Harold Godwinson readied his troops for a final stand. It was at this point that Harold was killed, Popular legends say he was shot in the eye with an arrow. Following this unexpected turn of events, the English turned and fled.

William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066.

Sources

Douglas, David C. (1999) William the Conqueror; the Norman impact upon England, Yale English monarchs series, London : Yale University Press

Howarth, David (1977) 1066 The Year of the Conquest, London : Collins

As the British came under heavy fire, Gage’s advance guard took heavy casualties and was forced to withdraw. Despite their numerical advantage, the British were not used to fighting in the woods and were unnerved by the accurate Canadian musket fire. As a result the British fell into confusion and several British battalions began to fire at each other. The entire British battle force fell into disarray as the British were enveloped by the Canadians and the First Nations. At the same time, the French Regulars began advancing on the British position and succeeded in pushing the British back. In the meantime, Braddock had ridden forward in an attempt to rally his men.

At the same time, the American militiamen, who lacked the training and composure of the British, retreated to the trees where they began sniping at the Canadians. A number of American militiamen were shot by the British as a result of friendly fire, who believed them to be the enemy.

After three hours of intense combat, Braddock was struck in the chest with a musket ball and mortally wounded. In the wake of this sudden turn of events, British morale collapsed. The British conducted an orderly retreat back to the Monongahela River, where they were attacked by the First Nations, who were armed with tomahawks and scalping knives. Panic set in once again among the British, who believed that they were about to be massacred.

Even though he had no official authority in the expedition’s chain of command, George Washington was able to impose and maintain order, forming a rear guard and fighting a holding action that allowed the remnant of the British force to disengage.

Of the 1,300 men under Braddock’s command, 456 were killed and another 422 were injured. Commissioned officers also suffered a high rate of attrition. Of the 86 officers who took part in the battle, 26 were killed and 37 were injured. Braddock died on July 13, 1755. He was buried near the ruins of Fort Necessity.

Following the death of General Braddock, Colonel Dunbar took command after the survivors reached his position. He ordered an immediate retreat, and set fire to 150 wagons loaded with supplies and munitions to keep them from falling into French hands.

The Aftermath of the Braddock Expedition

In Britain, the battle was considered to be a devastating defeat. In addition to marking the end of the Braddock Expedition, the Battle of the Monongahela River awakened many in both Britain and the Thirteen Colonies to the scale of the forces needed to defeat the French and their First Nations allies.

The failure of the Braddock Expedition also had a profound effect on British tactical thinking. Even though Braddock had positioned troops to protect his flanks, they had not been trained to do anything except stand in line and deliver volleys of musket fire. The British learned from this mistake and applied these lessons learned in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.

The French remained dominant in the Ohio Country for another four years, until Fort Duquense finally fell to the Forbes Expedition in 1758.

Sources

Borneman, Walter R. (2007). The French and Indian War. Rutgers

Jennings, Francis. Empire of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies, and Tribes in the Seven Years War in America. New York: Norton, 1988

O’Meara, Walter. Guns at the Forks. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1965

The Battle of Lunenburg

Raiding along the frontier continued in May, 1756, with a raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia was the scene of conflict before the start of the French and Indian War. Between 1750 and 1753, the British established colonies at Halifax, Dartmouth and Lunenburg. They also settled Protestants in areas formerly occupied by the Catholic Acadians. However, the settlers of Lunenburg, although Protestant, were primarily of French, German and Swiss extraction. In order to thwart the growth of these settlements, the Acadians, in conjunction with the Mi’kmaq and the Maliseet, attacked Halifax, Dartmouth and Lunenburg numerous times.

Following the Battle of Fort Beausejour, on the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the frequency of native and Acadian attacks increased. In 1756, the Governor of New France, Pierre Francois de Vaudreuil, ordered Charles Deschamp de Boishebert to send a Maliseet war party to attack Lunenburg. The Maliseet left St. Anne’s Point and arrived on the outskirts of Lunenburg on May 8, 1756. The Maliseet killed and scalped 20 settlers, burning their homes. The Maliseet also took Marie Payzant hostage, along with her four children.

In response to this, the Governor of Nova Scotia placed a bounty on the head of every Mi’kmaq and Maliseet in Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile, the Maliseet marched their prisoners back to Quebec. Marie Payzant and her children remained in captivity until 1760.

In spite of the harsh measures instituted by the governors of the British colonies the First Nations continued raiding along the colonial frontier.

Sources

Layton, Linda G. A Passion for Survival: The True Story of Marie Ann and Louis Payzant in Eighteenth-Century Nova Scotia. Nimbus Publishing, 2003

Bothwell, Robert. The Penguin History of Canada. Penguin Canada.2006