 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ] Next Last |
Main article: History of England
Since the term "English" explicitly refers to peoples who arrived on the island of Great Britain relatively recently, it is anachronistic to talk of England's prehistory or ancient history, which (although rich and interesting) are properly dealt with as part of the history of the island of Great Britain as a whole. Suffice it to say that when the geographical region we call "England" was invaded inconsequentially by Julius Caesar in 55 BC, and then again more conclusively the next century by the Emperor Claudius, it was inhabited by Celtic tribes collectively called "Britons." The whole southern part of the island — roughly corresponding to modern day England and Wales — became a part of the Roman Empire until finally abandoned early in the 5th century.
Unaided by Roman legions, Roman Britannia could not long resist the Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, pushing the Britons back into modern-day Wales and Cornwall. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilised, recognisable states formed and began to merge with one another. (The most well-known state of affairs being the "Anglo-Saxon heptarchy".) From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon king, recognised as the " Bretwalda" by other rulers, had effective control of all or most of the English; so it is impossible to identify the precise moment when the country of England was unified. In some sense, real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions which occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871– 899).
Some school histories of England begin with the Norman conquest in 1066, and the numbering system used for English monarchs treats that event as a blank slate from which to count. (For example, the Edward I who reigned in the 13th century was not the first king of England of that name, only the first since the conquest.) But although he unquestionably engineered a pivotal moment in the country's history, William the Conqueror did not "found" or "unify" the country; he took over a pre-existing England and gave it a Norman-French administration and nobility who gradually adopted the language and customs of the English over the succeeding centuries.
From the late 13th century, the neighbouring principality of Wales was joined to England, and gradually came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes, although in the modern era it is more usually thought of as a separate nation (fielding, for example, its own athletic teams). The history of England as an independent country stretches on through the middle ages and renaissance to the reign of Elizabeth I, often remembered as a golden age in its history, notable both for its culture and mercantile success. Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal union of the two crowns was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707 which finally joined England and Scotland into the germ of the present-day United Kingdom. For the history of England after that date, see History of the United Kingdom.
Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom, Government of England
England ceased to be an independent political entity with the Act of Union with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom since that date, though in 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only part of the Union with no devolved assembly or parliament such as exist in the other three nations of the United Kingdom. As all legislation for England is passed by Parliament at Westminster there are some complaints about the ability of, Northern Irish, Welsh, and Scottish Members of Parliament to "interfere" in purely English affairs when English MPs have no similar right of "interference". This apparent injustice is highlighted by both English and Scottish politicians, often those opposed to devolution, and has become popularly known as the West Lothian question.
There are calls by some for an English Parliament but the current Labour government favoured the establishment of regional governments, claiming that England was too large to be governed as a sub-state entity. In some regions, notably the South West and South East there is little interest, but in the north of England there was some support. A referendum on this issue was held in North East England on 4 November 2004. Voters decisively rejected the proposal.
Unlike the other nations of the Kingdom, there is very little call for independence of England from the UK. This is overwhelmingly due to its dominance in the Union. Those groups that do campaign for such a thing tend to be right-wing organisations with very little popular support.
Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the Act of Union 1536 with Wales, England has shared a legal identity with Wales as the joint entity of England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland retain separate legal systems and identities.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|