England
England is the largest of four states that form United Kingdom.
About 55 million people live in England. England is bordered by Wales and Scotland which are both also on the island of Great Britain. The capital city of England is London, which is also the largest city in England. Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester are also large cities in England.
The English flag is white, with a red cross. This cross is the cross of Saint George, who is the patron saint of England. Some other symbols used for England are a red rose (for rugby) and three lions (for association football).
Geography.
England is on the island of Great Britain. Scotland is also part of Great Britain, joining the north of England, and Wales is to the west. To the east and south, and part of the west, England is bordered by sea. France is to the south, separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel under the sea, links England and mainland Europe. Ireland is a large island to the west, divided into Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. Other countries of Europe that are near England are France and the Iceland.
London is the largest city and the capital. Other large cities are Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol and Liverpool. The longest river in England is the Thames, (called the Tems) which runs through London. Other large rivers are the Severn, the Trent and the Humber.
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 third 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.
History.
England was named after a German tribe called the "Angles", who settled in Central, Northern, and Eastern England in the 5th century. A related tribe called the "Saxons" settled in the south of England. That is why that period of English history is called "Anglo-Saxon". For the majority of this time, England did not exist as a united country. The Anglo Saxons lived in many small kingdoms, which slowly united.
England became one country in 937. The first King of England was Athelstan, but he lost a lot of England to Danish invaders, who formed their own country in the East and North. Many villages and towns in this area (particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire), still have Danish names, and use Danish-based words in their dialects. At one time Wessex (in the West of England) was the only English kingdom left. After many battles, King Alfred of Wessex became king of the whole of England, and the old kingdoms (Mercia, Northumberland, etc) just became provinces, called "Earldoms" governed by an "Earl". Soon after Alfred died, the king of Denmark (Knut or Canute) ruled England.
England soon had an English king again. When King Edward (the Confessor) died, Harold (the Earl of Wessex) became king. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, said that Harold had promised to make William the king, so he invaded England and fought King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
William won, and then became king of England. The kings of England spoke French for the next 300 years (The present ruler, Queen Elizabeth II is a descendant of William, but not very directly). England took over the country of Wales in the 13th century. There were many wars, often against France and Scotland.
The religion of England was Roman Catholicism. The bishops (church leaders) of England and all their churches looked to the pope and the church in Rome, Italy, for leadership. Many of the bishops did not agree with this. During the reign of King Henry VIII in the 1500s, the bishops made an agreement with Henry to give him a divorce, if he would break with the Church of Rome. The Church of England (a "Protestant" church) became the official church in England at this time. For the next 200 years, there were difficulties over whether the ruler was "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 had the same King.
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 King 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. James was unpopular with a lot of people because he was Roman Catholic. England was invaded by William of Orange (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 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, in 1707, and lost their separate parliaments. The parliament in London now included Scottish "MPs", and was called the British parliament.
After this, the history of England becomes the history of Great Britain and United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom was formed in 1800, when Irish Parliament merged with British one. (Northern Ireland is now the only part of Ireland still in the UK.) England is the only state of UK not to have its own government, Parliament or Assembly, but to be Governed by Parliament of the United Kingdom.
English culture.
See English literature.
Sport.
The English football team has won the World Cup. They came close in Italia 1990, narrowly losing to West Germany on penalties. In the 2006 World Cup they reached the quarter finals, then lost to Portugal after penalty kicks.
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