England has a very interesting, if not complicated, history. Nobody is quite sure when and how England even became a country! Some historians believe that England became a nation long after the Norman Conquest in 1066, but others believe that England and the English law was created by the Anglo-Saxon sucessers of Alfred the Great, long before the Norman Conquest.
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| William the Conquerer |
About 1000 years ago, the Dark Ages ended and the well known Medieval Times began. The Vikings also ended their reign over England and the Normans, from France, took over. The Normans spoke French and ruled over England, parts of France and parts of Ireland. This was also the time of the crusades, where you had to be a Christian or you were put to death. William the Conqueror also lived during this time. He invaded England in 1066 and ruled with a network of barons which he brought with him from England and France. William and his followers built the Tower of London, which was home to kings and rulers for 500 years.
200 years ago, England was always at war with France because the French were determined to dominate all of Europe. England was also trying to extend the English empire worldwide. As a result, England began to create colonies in India, Burma and Mayasia and lost their colonies in the USA. Their "Finest Hour", as they like to call it, began 50 years later. This was the time of the industrial revolution, the birth of the steam engine. This made life so much easier for the English but it cost a lot of citizens their jobs. It was also during this time that the second round of the Bubonic plague (Black Death) hit England and the Great Fire of London took place. The second round of the plague was the most serious but it was "burnt out" by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The fire killed four-fifths of England's population and left 100,000 people homeless. To prevent another devestating fire, King Charles ordered that the houses were to be re-built with stones or bricks instead of wood.
England's history has lots of twists and turns and has involved many major wars like World War I and World War II. However, one consistent part of England's history is their love for the monarchy. Their first monarch was King Henry II in 1154 and the monarchy has continued to survive even to our present day with Queen Elizabeth II. The monarchy is in no threat of disappearing from England with William and Kate next in line for the royal throne.
Websites Used:
http://www.historyofengland.net/content/view/31/41/
Wow! That is very interesting! You are right! England's history is very interesting. The london fire was a huge tradgedy. It killed a whole bunch hof people. I've never heard of William the Conquerer before. He is almost as old as my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteEngland's history is definitely complicated and very interesting! It has much more of an eventful history than Australia, with the Great Fire of London, the world wars, their monarchy, and the Bubonic plague. Looking forward to seeing your next blog!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a lot of history! I know history is quite a boring topic to blog on but, you've managed to make it make it very interesting. I love hearing about England because it's such an interesting country. That Bubonic Plague sounds very scary. I'm glad I wasn't around to suffer through that. Well, I'm very excited to see your next post!
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