19th October 2011, 07:53 AM
Quote:There's a difference between selectively importing bits of another culture and having it foisted upon you willy-nilly, so I don't see how it can be a valid comparison.Back to the Saag Aloo Theory then. What about the food? You can't "foist" foreign food on a population, unless you cut off supplies to the indigenous stuff that surrounds them.
Before AD43, some Southern Brits were *choosing* to knock back imported Roman wine, olive oil and - lordelpus - garum, amongst other imported delicacies like the exotic chicken. And they were drinking/eating it out of Samian. Not only that, but they had the economic wherewithal to obtain it in the first place.
In the Late Iron Age, parts of Britain were indulging in plenty of Roman pleasures, without having a gladius pointed at their guts. They were being every bit as selective about the bits of Roman culture they imported, as we are with American culture (although I'd argue that we're not selective at all, but that's a different socio-economic discussion...).