The Belgae are a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BCE, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland.
They give their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, and very much later, to the modern country of Belgium.
Groups of Belgae begin to control significant parts of the South of England from around 150–100 BCE.
This invasion, like the earlier one by the Parisii, would have constituted movements of a relatively small number of people who established themselves as a warrior elite at the top of pre-existing native systems, rather than any kind of annihilation.
The Belgic invasion is on a much larger scale than the Parisian settlement; however the continuity of pottery style demonstrates clearly that the native population basically remained in place under new rulers.
All the same, it is accompanied by significant socio-economic change.
Proto-urban, or even urban settlements, known as oppida, begin to eclipse the old hillforts, and an elite whose position is based on battle-prowess and the ability to manipulate resources re-appears much more distinctly.
