The Chauci were won over by Nero Drusus in 12 B.C. In A. D. 28 they joined in the Frisian revolt. They were on the side of Civilis, A.D. 69-70. Tacitus's high praise is not fully borne out by other authorities. Part, at any rate, of the people lived in poverty on the coast, and tried to improve its conditions by piracy, which led it into trouble with Rome in A.D. 41 and 47.