Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Casual HKTV is back! Well, not exactly... I won't have anything to post about HKTV. But I will be posting random historical content from time to time, since I am too lazy to create a new blog, but people wanted me to separate this from Casual TVB. 

I have recently been listening to The History of Rome podcast, which tells the story of the Roman Empire from its founding to its collapse. I thought I would share some of the things that I've learned along the way! Let's start with this map of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the first imperial dynasty of the Roman Empire. 

Julius Caesar had established himself as dictator of Rome after winning a civil war. He was famously assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) at a Senate meeting.

Octavian (later known as Augustus) was the great-nephew of Caesar. After Caesar was assassinated, it was announced that he had posthumously adopted Octavian and appointed him as his successor. Octavian emerged as the sole ruler of Rome after defeating his rivals in the aftermath of Caesar's death. He is known as the first Roman Emperor, but officially, he took the title of princeps ("first citizen").

Augustus was married to Livia. Livia had two sons from a previous marriage – Tiberius and Drusus. Their biological father was a member of the Claudian family. Drusus would die from a horse accident, leaving behind three children – Germanicus, Livilla and Claudius.

Augustus had one daughter, Julia, whom he thrice married to his intended successor. Julia's first husband was Marcellus, the son of Octavius (sister of Augustus). After Marcellus died, Julia married Agrippa, who was Augustus' loyal second-in-command. They had five children – Gaius, Lucuis, Julia the Younger, Agrippina the Elder and Postumus Agrippa.

Augustus groomed his grandsons, Gaius and Lucuis, to be his successors, but both died young. With no surviving male descendants, Augustus had no choice but to choose his stepson Tiberius as his successor. Augustus formally adopted Tiberius, on the condition that Tiberius adopt Germanicus (son of his brother, Drusus) to be his heir.

Germanicus died while travelling in the eastern provinces. He had been married to Agrippina the Elder (daughter of Julia and Agrippa). Their children included Caligula and Agrippina the Younger. Caligula would eventually succeed Tiberius.

Caligula was a diabolic ruler and was assassinated by the members of the Praetorian Guard (the royal bodyguards). After the assassination, the guards elevated Caligula's uncle, Claudius (brother of Germanicus), to the purple.

Claudius married his niece, Agrippina the Younger (Caligula's sister). Agrippina had a son, Nero, from a previous marriage. Claudius adopted Nero and he became emperor after Claudius' death (likely due to poisoning by Agrippina).

Nero's oppressive policies spurred rebellions in the provinces and he committed suicide after his guards abandoned him. His death marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Historical Context: Touch-Base Policy

Headline: HK government cancels Touch-Base Policy as of midnight (October 26, 1980)

We see it in Hong Kong dramas all the time. A police officer stops someone on the streets and asks to see their identity card. Ever wonder why everyone in Hong Kong must carry their identity cards with them at all times? Well, read on...

Before 1949, people could move freely between Hong Kong (then a British colony) and China. But with the Chinese Civil War, waves of refugees from China rushed to Hong Kong. The population of Hong Kong increased almost three-fold in just five years between 1945 and 1950. The sudden large increase in population posed a huge problem. A heavy strain was put on public utilities, such as housing, education and social services.

Famous people who immigrated to HK during this time: Ha Yu, Kara Hui, Lo Hoi Pang

In 1974, the Hong Kong government introduced the Touch-Base Policy (抵壘政策), which stated that immigrants who reached the city and connected (ie. "touched base") with their relatives, could apply for Hong Kong residency. Those who were caught at the borders were sent back to China immediately.

The rationale behind the policy is that if the immigrants continued to live in Hong Kong with an illegal status, they would enter the black market for labour or participate in criminal activities. Moreover, the immigrants could serve as a source of cheap labour for the thriving industries.

Anyone who made it past Boundary Street was considered to have reached urban territory.

Immigrants had to be south of Boundary Street before they were safely "in the city". When China ceded Hong Kong to Britain, the line was drawn at Boundary Street, with the north belonging to China and south belonging to Britain. Later, the British negotiated a 99-year lease for the "New Territories", making the territory north of Boundary Street part of Hong Kong as well. Although urban development sprawled up on both sides of the street, it was still traditionally seen as the separation between rural and urban.

However, the Touch-Base Policy did nothing to stop the influx of immigrants. If anything, it may have encouraged people to make repeated attempts to get to Hong Kong. In October 1980, the government abolished the Touch-Base Policy. Immigrants who had arrived before October 23 were given a three-day grace period to register for Hong Kong identity. After that, illegal immigrants were subjected to repatriation upon arrest.

Headline: HK government reminds residents over age 15 to carry their identity cards

The implication was that everyone above age 15 in Hong Kong was now required to carry their identity cards with them and present it to a law enforcement officer when requested, so as to detect illegal immigrants.


Originally posted at Casual TVB