Well, if they did go willingly into the Roman realm, as your post suggests Vort, then why all the conquering? Why did Caesar have to go all across Europe whupping the Gauls and taking their lands?

That is not to say that there was no Roman influence in the area - there could hardly not be any. But this doesn't mean that the Gauls did go willingly into the clutches of Rome. If anything, the evidence would suggest otherwise, taking into consideration two very simple facts:

1. Caesar did have to conquer the lands beyond Transalpina.

2. The revolt of the Gauls that sparked this conversation in the first place!

LVF