Publius (Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian and senator who wrote several historical documents, including some that spoke of ancient Britain. Around 98 AD, Tacitus wrote a peculiar document called "Galgacus: On Roman Imperialism", which focused on a speech supposedly given by Galgacus, a British military leader. In fact, if Tacitus had written this speech celebrating the Britons and inviting them to fight for freedom, why would he have used the name Galgacus? First, Tacitus was a Roman senator who witnessed the negative impact of imperialism, so he imagined this speech to criticize the barbarism of the Roman Empire without incriminating himself. Second, this speech celebrates the British while demonizing the Romans, who once again it would be dangerous to claim as one's own. Finally, being a historian, Tacitus was interested in recording the past, so through this speech Tacitus preserves a history that would otherwise have been lost. Clearly, from the reasons he uses the name Galgacus and the words he uses, Tacitus wrote this speech, and an analysis of the work will show this. The analysis of the words used by Tacitus will also highlight his authorship, but will also provide readers with an insight into both societies. Tacitus' father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, was a Roman general involved in the British resistance, so this gave him an insight into British society. Therefore, with his experience in the Roman political sphere and the knowledge imparted by Agricola, Tacitus was well equipped to write this speech. For the sake of clarity, the names "Tacitus" and "Galgacus" will be interchangeable since Tacitus wrote it under the name Galgacus. The speech begins with Galgacus declaring the freedom of unification, which suggests… midway through the paper… if we heard this speech, did he have access to it? Senators rarely traveled, especially not to enemy territory, so this possibility is unlikely, and having heard this speech from Agricola is also unlikely due to the different languages. From all the evidence provided, it is unmistakable that Tacitus wrote Galgacus' speech to show the Roman leaders the error of their ways. Since commenting publicly on this topic was impossible, Tacitus had to be creative and, using Galgacus as a spokesperson, was able to express his opinions freely. In the end, Tacitus leaves his readers with one final question: Does calling a society civilization automatically make it civilized? Bibliography Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. “Galgacus: on Roman imperialism”. Life of Gneo Giulio Agricola,29-33. Accessed January 16, 2012. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/tacitus-galgacus.asp.