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'It is seldom that two or three states unite to repel a common danger; thus fighting in separate groups, all are conquered.' Tacitus, The Agricola.
Late Iron-Age Britain
The Romans referred to the native Iron-Age Britons as Barbarians. For many this conjures up an image of grunting dirty and aggressive people with poor table manners, and that's probably how many at the hub of Roman civilisation would have considered them, but the truth is somewhat different.
By the Late Iron-Age the British Isles were home to a variety of people who though outside the Roman world were however influenced by it. Rather than uniting under one king, the nation was split into some 25 different tribal lands, each with their own chieftain kings. These tribes were renowned for being fine producers of cloth and masters of metalworking. Many groups used their own coinage and established their own lucrative trading networks with the empire through travelling merchants, and it was in this way that Rome became aware of Britain.
Caesar's expeditions
Apart from archaeological excavation, most of what we know about pre-invasion Britain comes from the accounts of Julius Caesar, who launched two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54BC. Though called 'expeditions', they can also be considered as marginal successes of conquest. After he conquered Gaul (modern-day France and Belgium) Caesar turned his attention to Britain where his first attempt at invasion was ruined by storms which wrecked his fleet. His second landings, a year later, were much more successful and his military power drew many tribes into submission and contracts of tribute. This achieved, Caesar withdrew and left a Roman imprint on Britain which ultimately lead to conflict generations later.
Claudius and the call for help
In AD41, nearly 100 years after Caesar's expeditions, Claudius became emperor. His position was somewhat tenuous following the death of Caligula and he desperately needed a political boost to consolidate his position. The answer was to expand the empire and draw on all of the prowess and kudos which comes with a bold military campaign, but where?
After generations of kings many of the British tribes struggled to remain sympathetic to the treaties their forefathers had made with the empire and several groups were continually fighting against each other for power; the Catuvellaunians of the south–east becoming particularly powerful. This unstable situation was brought to a head by the pleas of Verica, the pro-Roman king of the Atrebates, who fled to Rome to ask for help. Claudius' prayers were answered and he prepared for an invasion which would change the face of Britain for ever.
Invasion
Claudius gathered his forces under his favourite commander, Aulus Plautius. In all three legions from the Rhine (II, XIV and XX) and a fourth drawn from the Danube (IX) were rallied at Boulogne, a total of some 40,000 fighting men and a large unknown quantity of support units, horses and other logistical equipment and supplies. The invasion force landed without initial opposition (probably at Richborough) in AD43. One can only imagine what any onlookers may have thought as thousands of highly trained and well-equipped soldiers unloaded onto the shore, a disciplined and ultimately powerful massive force, the likes of which had never been seen on British soil. The Roman period had begun.
Click here for recommended books and websites about how the Roman period in Britain began.
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In AD 60 life was getting more and more harsh for the Iceni. 
