Monday, 15 April 2019

The First Brexiter

The Express has this fun little article about the finding of a coin issued by Allectus. According to them, he was the first Brexiter - a Roman Emperor who took Britain out of the Roman Empire.

Now it's always been a mystery to me why anyone would believe anything the Express says about anything. Its constant  predictions of the "Coldest Winter Ever" and killer heatwaves, nearly always followed by mild, calm weather, makes one wonder if they ever get anything right. I mean, the constant flow of new "revelations" about Lady Di have got to make you wonder if the editorial team live in a fantasy land. So, naturally, I checked.

Just wiki, but I reckon the ingredients on a cereal packet generally have more historical and political use than the Express's constant promises of sunny uplands after Brexit. So let's see.

Allectus didn't take Britain out of the Roman Empire. His boss, Carausius, did that. Allectus was his treasurer.

After killing  Carausius, Allectus spent three years trying to run Britain, during which time he lost his territories in Gaul. When the Empire invaded, he ran away but, after being cornered, he died in battle. He had  stripped off his "imperial" insignia  so he could  not be  identified.

Wiki notes that:

"Carausius had deliberately used his coinage for propaganda purposes"

Which might remind us of the promise to produce a new Brexit 50p piece, to ram down the throats of now more than half the population that "you lost, snowflake".

So a backstabbing Little Englander who used the currency for propaganda. Who made constant backward steps. Who never achieved his objective. Who couldn't deliver his promises of freedom.  And who tried to ensure that, when it all ended up in failure for his followers, he couldn't be identified with the disaster.

Yep. Fair do's.  The first Brexiter.

Well done, Express. You  got one right.




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1 comment :

  1. It does sound an improbable story, but much of the media is made up of this sort of rubbish. Believed only by the ardent leavers, who should perhaps leave themselves, go to one of the countries of Empire and see what sort of reception they will receive there.

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