Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/275

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X44 : THE HISTORY Book!. planted upon the fame principle in Britain ; Claudius fettling a ftrong body of legionary veterans at Camulodunum or Col- thefter, the firft of x all the Roman colonies in Britain ; and he and the fucceeding legates fixing no lefs than eight others in other quarters of the ifland, at Richborough, at London, at Gloucefter, and at Bath, at Caerleon in Monmouthfhire, at Chefterford near Cambridge, at Lincoln, and at Chefter * s . That colony was neceffarily efteemed as the head-quarters of the legion, where fbme of the principal cohorts were lodged* where the eagle was repofited, and where the prepofitus was re- fident. Such was Deva for the twentieth Valerian Vi&orious legion, Eboracum for the fixth Viftorious, Caerleon for the fe- cond Auguftan, and Glevum for the feventh Twin Claudian * And the reft muft have been peopled by the other cohorts of fchefe legions, as we (hall hereafter fee Caerleon, Ixmdon, and Richborough all peopled by the cohorts of the fecond Au- guftan ir ; and the tenth Antoniah muft have been lodged in the common ftations, as the tenth legion had three ftations, the twelfth five, and the twenty-fecond fix, in Germany and in. Gaul * Thus were large bodies of the foldiery kept together by the Romans, at Richborough, London, Colchefter, Chefter- ford, Lincoln, and York along the eaftern fide of the ifland,, and at Bath, Gloucefter, Caerleon, and Chefter upon the weftern,,

  • eady at once to fupprefs any infurre&ion at home and to repel

any invafion from abroad. And thus did thefe Roman legiona- ries live together without any intermixture of the natives, fuf*- fering no Britons to become proprietors among them *% and al- lowing none probably to refide with them at all but the ufeful traders and the neceffary fervants. Beneath a government partly civil, the legionary colonifts were fubjed to the Roman laws, were governed by their own fenators or decuriones, and enjoyed all the privileges of Roman citizens *°. Beneath a government partly military; tha legionary colonifts undoubtedly ftrengthened their towns with regular for- tifications and guarded them with regular watches, and undoubt- edly had their names retained upon the quartcr-mafterV roll i , and 4