English people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English
Elizabeth I • Isaac Newton • William Shakespeare • Charles Darwin
Total population	Unknown
Regions with significant populations	United Kingdom:[1] United States:[2] Australia:[3] Canada:[4] New Zealand:[5] South Africa:[6] Spain:[7]
Language	English
Religion	Anglicanism, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and other minority faiths. Increasingly secularised (particularly in England) since the 20th century, with many English claiming no religion.

The English are an ethnic group and nation primarily associated with England and the English language. They are native to the country of England. The largest single population of English people reside in England, the largest constituent country of the United Kingdom.^[8]

[edit] Origins

Main article: Prehistoric settlement of Great Britain and Ireland

Further information: Anglo Saxons, Ancient Britons, Romano-Britons, Vikings, Danelaw, Normans, Sub-Roman Britain, Immigration to the United Kingdom (until 1922)

The English as an ethnic group trace their heritage largely to the Anglo-Saxons^[9], the Romano-Britons ^[10], the Danish-Vikings^[11] that formed the Danelaw during the time of Alfred the Great, and the Normans.^[12][13] The name of England derives from the Angles. Anglo-Saxon is a collective term usually used to describe the culturally, ethnically and linguistically similar peoples living in the south and east of the island of Great Britain (modern England) from around the mid-5th century AD to the Norman conquest of 1066.^[14] It was once generally believed that a mass invasion by various Anglo-Saxon tribes largely displaced the native British populations.^[15]

Some archaeologists however see only limited evidence of immigration "in the record". Francis Pryor writes,

Germanic immigrants and Roman auxiliary troops may have settled in Britain long before the departure of the legions; indeed German auxiliary troops may even have been involved in the Roman invasion of the island in the 1st century A.D.^[17] This same process occurred in many other provinces along the Roman border with the Germani. There is no reason to assume that the process of immigration was any different to other Roman provinces, in which case there may have been a Germanic influence on indigenous culture and language long before Roman legionaries left the island.^[17]

Archeological discoveries suggest that North Africans may have had a very limited presence in those parts of Britain that were to become England at the time of the Roman Empire.^[18][19]

[edit] Danish - Viking influence

Further information: Danelaw, Treaty of Wedmore, Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum

By the time of the first Viking attacks around 800 CE, the numerous petty kingdoms in south and east Britain had coalesced into what is commonly referred to as the Heptarchy. The most powerful of these at this time were Mercia and Wessex. The increasing pressure of Viking attack led to more cooperation between Wessex and Mercia; most notably, this period saw the rise of Alfred the Great, the only English born King of England to be titled 'the great'.

Alfred defeated a Danish army at the Battle of Edington in 878, coming to terms with the Danish leader Guthrum. After the Battle of Edington, Alfred negotiated the Danelaw with the Danes, resulting in a settlement of Danish-Vikings in northern and eastern England.^[20] The influence on the English language by Danes, particularly in the former Danelaw, is most pronounced in places like York, formerly the settlement of Jorvik, although Jorvik is derived from the Old English Eoforwīcthe and in turn possibly from the Brythonic name Eborakon which was a settlement long before the Danes.^[21] These groups had a noticeable impact on the English language; for example, the modern meaning of the word dream is of Old Norse origin.^[22] Additionally place names that include thwaite and by are Scandinavian in origin.^[23]

Southern Great Britain in AD 600 after the Saxon invasion

[edit] Unifying into a people

Following Alfred's victory, his son Edward the Elder, daughter Æthelflæd lady of the Mercians and grandson Athelstan gained significant military success, incorporating much of the Danelaw into the nascent kingdom of England. The nation of England was initially formed in 937 by Athelstan of Wessex after the Battle of Brunanburh.^[24][25] Therefore Wessex had grown from a relatively small kingdom in the South West to become the founder of the Kingdom of the English, incorporating all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Danelaw.^[26] Over the following century and a half England was for the most part a politically unified entity, and remained permanently so after 959. There were both English and Danish kings during this period, including Aethelraed Unraed (sometimes referred to as Ethelred the Unready) and Canute the Great.

The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought Anglo-Saxon and Danish rule to an end, and began a diminished period, both culturally and socially, for the native inhabitants. The new Norman elite almost universally replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and church leaders. The Anglo-Saxons existed as a subject class for about 300 years with the aristocracy speaking Anglo-Norman until a full assimilation was made by the time of Chaucer, in the late 1300s. By this time a large number of French words had been added to the English language. Although few Normans actually settled in England, they made great impacts on the culture, government, and law of England.^[26] However, most of the English nobility and upper classes are descended from the Normans.

[edit] Recent contributions

Further information: Immigration to the United Kingdom

Since Oliver Cromwell's resettlement of the Jews in 1656, there has been a small but continuous Jewish community in England, which has produced many notable people, including the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.^[27]

Irish immigration has also added a significant contribution to the English populace over the past few centuries due to sustained and sometimes mass exodus emigration from Ireland. Current estimates place around 6 million people in the UK with at least one grandparent born in the Irish Republic.^[28] Liverpool, Manchester, and London are cities with significant Irish elements present.

There had also been a very small black presence in England since at least the 16th century, due to the slave trade and an Indian presence since the mid 19th century because of the British Raj.^[29] Since 1945, this proportion has grown, as immigration from the British Empire and subsequent Commonwealth of Nations was encouraged due to labour shortages during post-war rebuilding.^[30]

Today England as a nation is home to a wide variety of ethnic minority communities. A recent survey by the Sun newspaper claimed to have found at least one native of every recognised country in the world, barring the Federated States of Micronesia, who was resident in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Geographic distribution

Map showing the population density of United States citizens who claim some English ancestry in the census. Dark red and brown colours indicate a higher density: highest in the northeast as well as Utah and surrounding areas. (see also Maps of American ancestries).

Further information: English Americans,  English-Canadian,  Anglo-African, and Anglo-Australian

English emigrant and descent communities are found across the world, and in some places, settled in significant numbers. Countries with significant numbers of people of English ancestry or ethnic origin/ethnicity include the United States (particularly Utah, New England, New York, California, Virginia and the Southern States), Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. They were classified as a Narodnosti in the First All Union Census of the Soviet Union in 1926.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Contribution to humanity

Further information: List of English people and List of English Americans

The English have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Prominent individuals have included the scientists and inventors Isaac Newton, Francis Crick, Abraham Darby, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin and Frank Whittle; the poet and playwright William Shakespeare, the novelists Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf and George Orwell , the composers Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten, and the explorer James Cook (for a complete list of famous English people see List of English people). English philosophers include Francis Bacon, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Paine, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell.

English common law has also formed a foundation for legal systems throughout the world.^[31]

The rules for many modern sports including Football, Rugby, Cricket and Tennis were first formulated in England.

[edit] Language

Further information: English language, English English and British English

English people traditionally speak the English language, a member of the West Germanic language family. The modern English language evolved from Old English, with lexical influence from Norman-French, Latin, and Old Norse. In addition, Welsh is also used by a number of speakers across England, predominantly on the border with Wales and in the London Area.^[32] A third language traditionally spoken is Cornish, a Celtic language originating in Cornwall, currently spoken by about 3,500 people. A fourth language also of the Brythonic Celtic group, Cumbric, used to be spoken in Cumbria in northwest England, but it died out in the 11th century although traces of it can still be found in the Cumbrian dialect. Because of the 19th century geopolitical dominance of the British Empire and the post-World War II hegemony of the United States, English has become the international language of business, science, communications, aviation, and diplomacy. English is the native language of roughly 350 million people worldwide, with another 150 million to 1.5 billion people who speak it as a second language.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Religion

Further information: Religion in the United Kingdom, Medieval Religion in England, Church of England, Anglicanism and English Reformation

Ever since the break with the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, the English have predominantly been members of the Church of England, a branch of the Anglican Communion, a form of Christianity with elements of Protestantism and Catholicism. The Book of Common Prayer is the foundational prayer book of the Church of England and replaced the various Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

Perhaps the moment when the Protestant identity of England began to be questioned most radically was during the ritualist controversies of the nineteenth century^{[citation needed]}. Today, most English people practising organized religion are affiliated to the Church of England or other Christian denominations such as Roman Catholicism and Methodism (itself originally a movement within the Anglican Church). In the 2001 Census, a little over 37 million people in England and Wales professed themselves to be Christian. Jewish immigration since the seventeenth century means that there is an integrated Jewish English population, mainly in urban areas. 252,000 Jews were recorded in England & Wales in the 2001 Census; however this represents a decline of about 50% over the previous 50 years, caused by emigration and intermarriage,^{[citation needed]} and the long-term future of the community is a matter of some concern to community leaders.^{[citation needed]} The gradual integration of migrants from India and Pakistan since the 1950s means that a large number in England practise Islam (818,000), Hinduism (467,000), or Sikhism (301,000). Islam has also been important for Arabic speaking, North African migrants. The 2001 census also revealed that about seven million people, or 15% of the population of England, claim no religion.

Many of the Englishmen who settled in the United States were Puritans, a group that was dissatisfied with the Church of England. Most ultimately joined new churches; today, the Baptist, Congregationalist, Methodist and Unitarian denominations include large numbers of people of English ancestry. The American Episcopal Church, a member of the worldwide Anglican communion, counts about 2.5 million members.

[edit] Sports

There are many sports codified by the English, which then spread worldwide due to trading and the British Empire, including football, cricket, croquet, badminton, rugby union, rugby league, table tennis and lawn tennis.

England, like the other nations of the United Kingdom, competes as a separate nation in some international sporting events. The English football, cricket (the England Cricket team represents England and Wales)^[33] and rugby union teams have contributed to an increasing sense of English identity. Supporters are more likely to carry the St George's Cross whereas twenty years ago the British Union Jack would have been the more prominent.^[34]

[edit] Symbols

Saint George's Cross, the English flag.

The English flag is a red cross on a white background, commonly called the Saint George's Cross, it was adopted after the Crusades. Saint George, famed as a dragon-slayer, is also the patron saint of England. The three golden lions or leopards on a red background was the banner of the kings of England derived from their status as Duke of Normandy and is now used to represent the English national football team and the English national cricket team. The Tudor rose and the English oak are also English symbols.

England has no official anthem; however, the United Kingdom's "God Save The Queen" is widely regarded as England's unofficial national anthem. However, other songs are sometimes used, including "Land of Hope and Glory" (used as England's anthem in the Commonwealth Games), "Jerusalem", "Rule, Britannia", and "I Vow to Thee, My Country." Of these, only Jerusalem specifically mentions England.

[edit] Identity

Wales was annexed by England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, which incorporated Wales into the English state. In 1707 England formed a union with Scotland by the passage of the Acts of Union 1707 in both the Scottish and English parliaments, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. This was replaced again by the Act of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922 to form the Irish Free State, and the remainder became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.^[35] A new British identity began and was subsequently developed when James I expressed the desire to be known as the monarch of Britain (he was James I of England and James VI of Scotland).^[36] The English, along with the other peoples of the Britain found their old identities succeeded in favour of a new British identity.^[37]

The late 1990s saw the beginning of a gradual renaissance of English national identity, spurred by devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some English people now question what it is to be English and its relationship with being British, and are calling for the creation of a devolved English Parliament, claiming that there is now a discriminative democratic deficit, known as the West Lothian question, against people living in England.^[38]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of English people
• List of Scottish people
• Anglo-Scot
• List of Welsh people
• Anglosphere
• English language
• Old English language
• Culture of England
• Immigration to the United Kingdom
• Population of England — historical estimates
• German-Briton
• 100% English Channel 4 TV programme (2006)

[edit] External links

• BBC Nations Articles on England and the English
• The British Isles Information on England
• Mercator's Atlas Map of England ("Anglia") circa 1564.
• Viking blood still flowing; BBC; 3 December 2001.
• UK 2001 Census showing 49,138,831 people from all ethnic groups living in England.
• Tory MP leads English protest over census; The Telegraph; 23 April 2001.
• On St. George's Day, What's Become Of England?; CNSNews.com; 23 April 2001.
• Watching the English — an anthropologist's look at the hidden rules of English behaviour.
• The True-Born Englishman, by Daniel Defoe.
• The Effect of 1066 on the English Language Geoff Boxell
• BBC "English and Welsh are races apart"
• Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration
• Origins of Britons
• What does being British mean? Ask the Spanish.

v • d • e

Topics on England

History:	Anglo-Saxon England • The Blitz • Elizabethan era • Civil War • Jacobean era • Kingdom of England • Norman Conquest • English Reformation • English Renaissance • Tudor period • Union with Scotland • Wars of the Roses
Politics:	Government of England • Parliament of England • Monarchy of England • National Flag • List of English flags • Royal Arms
Geography:	Regions • Counties • Districts • Gardens • Islands • Places • Towns • Parishes
Economy:	Bank of England • London Stock Exchange
Demographics:	English English • Famous English people • English people
Culture:	Castles • Church of England • Education • England cricket team • The Football Association  • Museums • English rugby team • Innovations & discoveries • English cuisine • St George's Day

v • d • e British Census: White British
Native inhabitants	Anglo-Irish • Brython • Cornish • English • Gael • Irish/Irish Traveller • Scottish • Welsh
Immigrants	Australian • French • German/German-Briton • Greek • Italian • Spanish • Polish • Russian