ABSTRACT
Extent and Nature of the Occupation.—Caesar’s punitive expeditions against the Celts in 55 and 54 b.c. had no permanent results, but about a hundred years later (a.d. 43) the conquest of the island was systematically undertaken and completed within half a century. Britain became a Roman province. But the sphere of Roman power never extended much beyond the Tyne and the Solway. The attempt to reduce Scotland was finally abandoned in the second century, while the subjection of Ireland was at no time seriously contemplated. 1 Thus early in their history, the three main components of the British Isles parted company and pursued different roads in social and economic development. Later events, like the English and Norman Conquests, accentuated the separation, so that from this time onwards it is impossible to give a single connected account of the economic development of the British Isles. The economic history of each of the component countries must be treated separately.
