Belgae

Belgae, German and Celtic peoples of antiquity, who inhabited northern Gaul. According to Julius Caesar, who was the first to write an account of the Belgae, they occupied the region enclosed by the Seine, Marne, Moselle, and Rhine rivers, the English Channel and the North Sea (now Belgium, part of north-eastern France, and a portion of the Netherlands). During the 1st century bc a number of Belgae crossed the English Channel and settled in southern Britain, especially in what are now the counties of Sussex and Kent. Composed of numerous tribes, notably the Atrebates, Remi, Bellovaci, and Suessiones, the Belgae fiercely fought against Caesar's legions at the beginning of the Gallic Wars (58-51 bc). Although Caesar subdued them in 57 bc, they nevertheless offered stubborn resistance for years afterwards. In ad 43 they led the resistance against the Roman invasion of Britain.