Coordinates: 51°30′N 0°7′W

England
England is a country in Europe. It is a country with over sixty
cities in it. It is in a union with Scotland, Wales and Northern England
Ireland. All four countries are in the British Isles and are part of
the United Kingdom (UK).

Over 55 million people live in England (2015 estimate). This is

84% of the population of the UK.[2] The capital city of England
is London, which is also the biggest city in the country. Other Flag
large cities in England are Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester Coat of arms
and Leeds. Motto: Dieu et mon droit (French)
"God and my right"
The English flag is a red cross on a white background. This
cross is the cross of Saint George, who is the patron saint of Anthem: None (de jure)
England. Some other symbols used for England are a red rose God Save the Queen (de facto)
and three lions.

Contents
Geography
History
Achievements
Language
Climate Location of England ( dark green)
English culture – in the European continent ( light green & grey )
– in the United Kingdom ( light green)
Sport
Capital London
People from England and largest city 51°30′N 0°7′W
Related pages National language English
Notes Regional languages Cornish
References Ethnic groups 87.5% White,
Other websites (2009 6.0% South
[1]
) Asian, 2.9%
Black, 1.9%
Mixed race,
Geography 0.8% Chinese,
0.8% Other
England is the largest part of the island of Great Britain, and it is Demonym(s) English
also the largest constituent country of the United Kingdom.
Government Non-devolved
Scotland and Wales are also part of Great Britain (and the UK), state within a
Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. To the east and constitutional
south, and part of the west, England is bordered by sea. France monarchy
is to the south, separated by the English Channel. The Channel • Monarch Elizabeth II
Tunnel, (Chunnel) under the English Channel, connects • Prime Minister of Boris Johnson
England to northern France (and the rest of mainland Europe). the United
Ireland is a large island to the west, divided into Northern Kingdom
Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic Legislature Parliament of
of Ireland. the United
Kingdom
London is the largest city and the capital. The longest river in Area
England is the River Severn. Other large rivers are the Thames • Total 130,395 km2
(which runs through London), the Trent and the Humber. (50,346 sq mi)
Population
History • 2015 estimate 54.8 million
• Density 407/km2
England was named after a Germanic tribe called the "Angles", (1,054.1/sq mi)
who settled in Central, Northern, and Eastern England in the 5th GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
and 6th centuries. A related tribe called the "Saxons" settled in • Total $2.68 trillion
the south of England. That is why that period of English history • Per capita $50,566
is called "Anglo-Saxon". For most of this time, England did not
Currency Pound sterling
exist as a united country. The Anglo-Saxons lived in many small (GBP)
kingdoms, which slowly united.
Time zone UTC0 (GMT)
The countries of England, Scotland and Wales correspond to • Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
boundaries of the earlier Roman Britain. It also corresponds Date format dd/mm/yyyy
with language differences, since the German tribes did not reach (AD)
those areas, at least in any large numbers. The English language
is derived from German languages of the time, whereas the Driving side left
native British languages of the time were Celtic languages. Calling code 44

The English kingdoms fought both the Scots, who were also ISO 3166 code GB-ENG
uniting into one kingdom, and Danish invaders. The Danes Internet TLD .uk[note 1]
formed their own large region in the Northeast of England
called Danelaw. Many villages and towns in this area
(particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) have Danish names,
and use some Danish-based words. At one time Wessex (in the
West of England) was the only English kingdom left. After many
battles, King Alfred the Great of Wessex became king of the
whole of England, and the old kingdoms (Mercia, Northumbria,
etc.) just became provinces, called "Earldoms" governed by an
"Earl". By AD 927 Alfred's grandson Athelstan was the king of
all of England not controlled by the Danes. War with the Danes
continued and from 1016 to 1042, the king of Denmark (Knut or
Canute,who died in 1035,and then his sons) ruled England.

When King Edward the Confessor died, Harold Godwinson (the

Earl of Wessex) became king. William the Conqueror, Duke of
Normandy (today part of northern France), said that Harold had
promised to make William the king. He invaded England and
fought King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William
won, and became king of England.[3] England in the 9th century

The kings of England spoke French for the next 300 years.[4]
England took over the country of Wales in the 13th century. There were many wars, often against France and
Scotland.
For several centuries the religion of England was Roman Catholicism. The bishops (church leaders) of
England and all their churches obeyed the Pope and the church in Rome, Italy. During the Protestant
Reformation many did not agree with this. In the 1530s, the Pope told King Henry VIII that he could not
divorce his wife. King Henry VIII created the Church of England (a "Protestant" church) partly so that he
could divorce his wife. He made Protestantism the official church in England. For the next 200 years, there
was struggle over whether the King (or Queen) of England should be "Roman Catholic" or "Protestant".

Queen Elizabeth I was Henry's second daughter. She was a powerful queen who ruled for more than 40 years.
When Queen Elizabeth I died, she had no children, and in 1603 James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary,
Queen of Scots) became King James I of England. He called his two countries "Great Britain", but they were
still separate countries with their own parliaments and laws, even though they were in personal union. They
shared the same monarch.

James' son, Charles I and the English Parliament fought each other in the English Civil War (Scotland and
Ireland were involved as well, but the story is complicated!). Oliver Cromwell became leader of the
Parliamentary Army (the "Roundheads") and defeated the Royalist Army (the "Cavaliers"). King Charles was
beheaded in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell became dictator ("Lord Protector"). When Cromwell died, his son
Richard was not strong enough to rule, and Charles II, the son of Charles I, was invited to come to England
and be king in 1660.

When King Charles II died, his brother James II was the next king. A lot of people did not like James because
he was Roman Catholic. William of Orange was invited to invade England.[5] He was the ruler of part of the
Netherlands and husband of Mary, the daughter of King James. Many people welcomed William because he
was a Protestant. James left the country without a fight and Parliament asked William and Mary to become
King and Queen together. When Mary II of England died, William ruled alone. Queen Mary's sister Anne
became the next queen. While she was queen, England and Scotland were officially joined as one country.
This was called the Acts of Union 1707. It also merged their separate parliaments. The parliament in London
now included Scottish Members of Parliament ("MPs"), and was called the Parliament of Great Britain.

After this, the history of England becomes the history of Great Britain and United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom was formed in 1800, when the Irish Parliament merged with the British one. later on,
many in Ireland fought against this merger. The result was the separation of the Republic of Ireland. This is not
the whole island of Ireland. The rest of the island, Northern Ireland, is now the only part of Ireland still in the
UK. England is the only country of UK not to have its own government, Parliament or Assembly, but is
governed by Parliament of the United Kingdom. Seats in Parliament are decide by the number of electors in
the various parts of the UK.

Achievements
England has been central to many aspects of the modern world. Global exploration and trade, the British
Empire, modern science, modern agriculture, railways, the industrial revolution, the development of modern
representative democracy... In all these developments England was deeply involved. In some of them, such as
the industrial revolution, England was the place that modern developments first occurred.

Language
The English language is a West Germanic language spoken in many countries around the world. With around
380 million native speakers, it is the second most spoken language in the world, as a native language. As many
as a billion people speak it as a second language. English is an influence on, and has been influenced by many
different languages. Some people in England speak other languages, such as Welsh.
Climate
All of Great Britain has an oceanic climate. There can be a temperature difference of 5–10°c between the north
and the south (the north is generally colder), and there is often snow in the north before there is in the south.

The prevailing wind for most of the year is from the Atlantic, to the west of England. Therefore, there is more
rain on the western side of the country. The east is colder and drier than the west. The country usually has a
mild climate because the Gulf Stream to the western side is warm water. The climate is warmer than it was 200
years ago, and now ice and snow are rare in the southern part of the country. Occasionally, air from the Arctic
Circle comes down the eastern side of the country and the temperature can drop below 0o C.

English culture
See English literature, English Heritage, Aldeburgh Festival

Sport

The English football team won the World Cup in 1966. They came close in Italy 1990, closely losing in the
semi-final against West Germany on penalties. In the 2006 World Cup they got to the quarter finals, then lost
to Portugal after penalty kicks. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they came close again only to be knocked out in
the semi-final, losing 2-1 to Croatia.

English people invented:

Football
Rugby Football
Snooker
Billiards
Darts
Cricket
Lawn Tennis

People from England

There are many well known English people. Here are just a few of them:

William Shakespeare, playwright

Sir Isaac Newton, scientist
Charles Dickens, author
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
The Beatles, musicians, who came from the city of Liverpool
Sir Winston Churchill, former prime minister, and led the country during World War II
King Henry VIII, King of England during the 16th century
Queen Victoria, Queen for most of the 19th century
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church
Charles Darwin, natural selection and the origin of species
Michael Faraday, discoverer of electromagnetism
 Jane Austen, novelist
William Wordsworth, poet
J. R. R. Tolkien, author and poet
Led Zeppelin, rock band
The Rolling Stones, rock band
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997).
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, 1979-1990
David Beckham, footballer
Alan Shearer, footballer
Geoff Hurst, footballer
Tim Henman, tennis player
Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker player
Mo Farah, athlete
Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 driver and world champion 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 & 2019
Amy Winehouse, singer
Robbie Williams, singer and member of Take That
J.K. Rowling, author

Related pages
Shire

Notes
1. Assigned on a United Kingdom basis, not constituent country.

References
1. Office for National Statistics (2009). "Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (experimental)" (htt
p://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=276743&c=
london&d=13&e=13&g=325264&i=1001x1003x1004&o=322&m=0&r=1&s=1305747150781&e
nc=1&dsFamilyId=1812). neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
2. Jonathan, McMullan (28 June 2018). "Population estimates for UK, England and Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland" (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/popul
ationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/latest).
www.ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics.
3. Bartlett, Robert 1999. England under the Norman and Angevin kings, 1075–1225. Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-925101-0
4. Crouch, David 2006. Normans: the history of a dynasty. Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 978-1-
85285-595-6
5. Colley, Linda 1992. Britons: forging the nation, 1701–1837. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-
300-05737-9

Other websites
The website for tourism in England (http://www.enjoyengland.com)
The British Government website (http://www.direct.gov.uk)
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=England&oldid=7209274"

This page was last changed on 11 December 2020, at 10:51.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License and the GFDL; additional terms may
apply. See Terms of Use for details.