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England history is an intriguing narrative of conquests, gruesome wars and watershed reforms. The country successfully created the greatest empire in human history. The history of England begins in the 5th century BC. The Celtic tribes were the first settlers in the land now delineated as England.
The Romans invaded England in 55 BC. The island territory became a part of the Roman Empire. Rome administered England for more than 400 years. The Romans also founded a city-Londonium, which finally developed into present day London. However, with the decline in the Roman settlements following Civil war in Rome, the Germanic tribes started to invade England. The Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes were the main Germanic tribes that made England their home. Together, they ushered in the eventful Anglo-Saxon age of English history.
The 11th century saw England come under the administrative control of the Normans. The intervening years saw the denizens of England embracing the Christian faith. The new religion was imported from Rome. With its growing popularity, the local and older religion-Paganism gradually became extinct. England before the Norman Conquest consisted of seven small kingdoms- Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Wessex, Sussex, Northumbria and Essex. The Danish monarch Canute invaded England in 1016. The Normans wrested administrative control in 1066. The Normans invaded England under the leadership of William the Conqueror. This invasion limited the Scandinavian influence initiated by the Danes. The seeds of the modern English language were sown at this time. William also commissioned the compilation of the Domesday Book. The book was an exhaustive collection of the English land and property at that time. A population census was also done.
The Middle Ages in England refer to a period from the 5th century to the beginning of the 14th century AD. The era was marked by political intrigue and concurrent civil wars. The economy was agricultural. Raw wool was exported to textile centers like Belgium for weaving cloth. The English developed their own textile manufacturing units in the 15th century.
The epicenter of power during the Norman rule lay in France. The island was the sourcing ground for new soldier recruits to serve in the scattered kingdoms of Europe. The Normans were followed by the Plantagenet rule. It was during this rule that a number of Anglo-Scottish wars took place. The Plantagenet rule was followed by the House of Lancaster. The Lancaster rule was followed by the House of York. The Black Death struck the English populace in 1348. The plague took unprecedented proportions as more than 70% of the English population died.
The War of Roses brought the Houses of Lancaster and York in confrontation with each other. The end of the War of Roses, which saw the defeat of Richard III, the last king of the York rule at the Battle of Bosworth saw the emergence of the mighty Tudors. It was the beginning of a new age for England. The Church of England was formed during the rule of Tudor monarch Henry VIII, as separate from the Roman Catholic Church. The reign of Elizabeth I in the later half of the 16th century initiated the existence of England as a powerful political entity distinct from its Continental European counterparts. It was the also the time when the colonialist tendencies were observed for the first time. England was gradually moving from being a prominent European state to a full-scale Empire. The English Civil War saw conflicts between Royalists and Parliamentarians. The founder of the Commonwealth-Oliver Cromwell ruled for a brief period of 7 years-from 1653 to 1659. The short rule cemented the influence of the British Parliament on subsequent British Monarchic administrations.
The British monarchy was restored in 1660 with Charles II being given back the throne. This event is referred to as the Restoration. The year 1707 saw the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland merge together to form a single administrative entity. The merged administrative entities were collectively renamed as the United Kingdom.
England started its colonial legacy in the 17th century. The first colonial settlement was the North American area of Jamestown in present day Virginia. The colonial era also initiated the founding of the slave trade. The slaves were of African and Native American origin. The 18th and 19th centuries saw English population enjoying the fruits of the Industrial Revolution. Through most part of the 19th century, England was ruled by Queen Victoria. England reached the pinnacle of imperialist endeavors during this time of its history. It was also the time of the Industrial Revolution in England. It initiated a process of rapid urbanization.
In the 20th Century, England played a very important role in the Great Wars. Its role was particularly significant in the World War II, when it was a prominent member of the Allied Forces.
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