But Roman administrators, blinded by their superior military power and a tactical victory over a rebellious leader, behaved arbitrarily. People prefer a known burden, even if large, rather than constantly and randomly changing impositions. His response was a prolonged counterinsurgency campaign accompanied by a northward extension of Roman influence.Īgricola’s strategy was based on four principles, easy to understand but difficult to implement, and with few guarantees of success.įirst, “little was accomplished by force if injustice followed.” A key source of discontent was the capriciousness of the existing Roman rule. There, over the course of several years (77-85 AD), he faced a rebellious local population. Agricola was a Roman general who spent the bulk of his military and political career at the frontier of imperial power in Britain. This gem of historical literature can be read in many ways, and one of them is to treat it as a manual of counterinsurgency. One such rich source of knowledge is the Roman historian Tacitus, and in particular his short eulogy of his father in law, Agricola. Not surprisingly, therefore, insurgencies, rebellions, and fragile political control are a recurrent reality in history, and much can be learned from past, even ancient, examples. It is because the realm of politics is a realm of constant competition that in many cases erupts in violence. The exercise of power, even the most well-meaning and just, always generates some level of dissatisfaction and opposition.
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