England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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| Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) | |||||
| Official language | None, English is de facto | ||||
| Capital | London | ||||
| Area - Total | Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² | ||||
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² | ||||
| Unification | 9th Century by Egbert of Wessex | ||||
| Currency | Pound Sterling | ||||
| Time zone | UTC+0 | ||||
| National anthems | Unofficial: God Save the Queen Land of Hope and Glory Jerusalem | ||||
England must not be confused with the United Kingdom or the island of Great Britain. Many people use the word England to refer to one or both of these. This usage is incorrect and can cause offence, particularly to people from other parts of the UK. It is of interest to note that England is far from being an independent nation since it has no national government, has no currency of its own, has no armed forces, and is not represented in the Olympic Games.
The name "England" is derived from "Engla-lond" or "land of the Angles". Other terms for England include "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign"; "this Green and Pleasant Land", from William Blake's poem Jerusalem. "Albion" was used by writers such as Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy in the 1st century, in reference to the white (Latin: "alba") cliffs of Dover.
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2 Politics 3 Subdivisions 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links |
History
Main article: History of England The country of England (as distinct from the states and provinces which had occupied the same territory at earlier times) formed through the gradual merging of the Angle, Saxon and Jute kingdoms during the 7th, 8th and 9th Centuries AD. Egbert, King of Wessex (d.839 AD) is often regarded as the first king of all England, though his official title was Bretwalda (literally, "Overlord of Britain") and he was technically a "first among equals" with other English rulers. The title "King of England" emerged two generations later with Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899 AD) Some school histories of England begin with the accession of William the Conqueror in 1066. Although William re-organised (and largely replaced) the English aristocracy, it cannot truly be said that he "founded" or "unified" the country. Much of the existing Anglo-Saxon infrastructure survived William's conquest, and the Norman immigrants formed only a minority (albeit a dominant minority) in English society.
More recent school histories begin with the geographical area which would one day become England, and therefore refer first to the various waves of Celtic and Gallic invaders, the invasions of Julius Caesar and later Roman expeditions. These studies of the history of the place itself, before it had gained the name "England" help us to understand the later developments of England as a nation.
The flag is painted with a red cross on a white background. This is the St. George's cross, the symbol of the patron saint of England, Saint George. It became a symbol of the crusade in the 13th century (1200) and was used as a national flag until 1606 when it became a component of the union flag for Great Britain. At that time period, the Republic of Guinea used it also.
Politics
Main article: Politics of England England, as a significant political entity, ceased to exist with the Act of Union 1707, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom between that date and 1999, when the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only nation in the Union with no representative body.
There are calls by some for an English Parliament but the current Labour government favours the establishment of regional governments, claiming that England is 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 is some support. Referenda will take place on this issue, possibly some time in 2004, and consideration has still to be given to what powers regions would be granted, and what impact this may have on the powers of counties or central government. Considerable disquiet was caused when changes were made to the system of counties in 1889.
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.
Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the 1536 Act of Union 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.
Subdivisions
Main article: Subdivisions of England Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire.
These counties all still exist in, or near to their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors.
The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to co-ordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England.
The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government.
London is a special case, and is the one Region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The thirty-two London boroughs remain the local form of government in the city.
Other than Greater London, the official Regions are:
- North East England
- North West England
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- East of England
- South West England
- South East England
Geography
Main article: Geography of England
England comprises most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales.
Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use.
England's five largest cities (in decreasing order of size) are; London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds.
The Channel Tunnel near Dover links England to the European mainland.
Major rivers
Major cities
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Bristol
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- London
- Manchester
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Nottingham
- Sheffield
Economy
Main article: Economy of England
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of England
England is both the most populous and the most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom with around 49 million inhabitants, of which roughly a tenth are from non-White ethnic groups.
This population is made up of immigrants who have arrived over millennia. The principal waves of migration have been in c. 600 BC (Celts), the Roman period (garrison soldiers from throughout the Empire), 350–550 (Angles, Saxons, Jutes), 800–900 (Vikings, Danes), 1066 (Normans), 1650–1750 (European refugees and Huguenots), 1880–1940 (Jews), 1950–1985 (Caribbeans, Africans, South Asians), 1985— (Citizens of European Community Member States, East Europeans, Kurds, refugees).
The general prosperity of England has also made it a destination for economic migrants particularly from Ireland and Scotland. This diverse ethnic mix continues to create a diverse and dynamic language that is widely used internationally.
Generally, an English person is someone who lives in England regardless of their racial origin. However, some people (including many south Asians and whites) use the label as only referring to the Britons of England: those people of indigenous, or "Anglo-Saxon" origin – preferring to instead use "British" as a racially neutral label. This is only possible due to the somewhat hazy distinction that many people make between "England" and "Britain".
See also Population of England – historical population estimates
Culture
Main article: Culture of England
- English literature
- Shakespeare
- Sir Thomas Browne
- English national football team, English Football League teams (Soccer)
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- Food and Drink
Miscellaneous topics
- English law
- List of monarchs of England - Kings of England family tree
- List of English people
- Angeln (region in northern Germany)
- UK topics
- List of British postal codes
- Education in England
External links