BEFORE THE CONQUEST 



thing that he did was to build and equip a first-class fleet. The Emperor 

 attempted to crush him, but his fleet was inferior in material and 

 personnel, and after being damaged by a storm was routed by the 

 seamanship of the usurper. He was then compelled to acknowledge 

 his rule, but three years later Constantius Chlorus was not so com- 

 placent, and in the year 292 recaptured his base and a large part of his 

 fleet and stores. Preparations were being made for a big campaign to 

 reconquer Britain when Carausius was murdered in 29.'^ by the Prefect 

 of his Guards. There is no doubt that he was a tyrant and usurper, but 

 he thoroughly understood sea power and made the most of it. 



The Romans at Sea. 



Throughout the whole of their history the Romans were inclined 

 to be soldiers at sea far rather than sailors, just as the Spaniards and 

 Germans were in later days. Their ships were fitted with slings and 

 even heavy engines for throwing missiles, but they much preferred to 

 get to grips and board, when they could get the utmost value out of 

 their short swords, in the use of which they knew that they could not be 

 approached. If they could not do this they relied very largely on 

 throwing spears, and the whole routine of their fleet was entirely 

 military. Perhaps this accounts for their eagerness to build a number 

 of strongholds along the shores of all the countries in their possession. 



The Coastal Fortifications. 



Wherever the Romans went the coast is dotted with fortresses, and 

 those along the shores of Britain are among the most interesting whose 

 remains still exist. Archteologists believe that the two earliest castles 

 are those at the Reculver and Brancaster, which would guard the two 

 great commercial waterways of that time, the Thames and the Wash. 

 Besides these, and of widely varying date, are the castles at Burgh near 

 Yarmouth, Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex, Richborough in Kent, Dover, 

 Lymne at the edge of the Romney Marsh, Pevensey, and Porchester 

 above Portsmouth Harbour. It has been suggested, and the idea is not 

 at all improbable, that several of these fortresses were built when the 

 Count of the Saxon Shore proved himself unable to keep out the pirates 

 with his fleet, and that garrisons were therefore placed at his disposal 

 in positions from which they could not be turned with the facilities 

 likely to be at the disposal of the invaders. 



The Evacuation. 



How Roman Rule in Britain declined and finally finished, owing to 

 the decadence of the Empire, is well known and need not be mentioned 

 here, but before the end Lupicimus, one of Julian's lieutenants, took 

 vigorous action at sea, and in his time repressed the piracy of the Picts 

 and Scots. Maximus also used his Navy, but normally the Roman 

 patrol flotillas, although they existed, made very poor use of their oppor- 

 tunities, and towards the end of the occupation they only occasionally 

 put to sea. As far as the Britons of and around the capital were con- 

 cerned the land invasions of the Scots were a matter of very small weight, 



7 



