England, Scotland, and Wales
For much of its history, Great Britain has been divided into three politi- cal and cultural units: England in the south; Wales, a peninsula to the west of England; and Scotland in the north.
The term England comes from the Germanic tribes known as Anglo- Saxons and does not apply to the southern area of Great Britain before the first Anglo-Saxon invasions in the fifth century c.e. Even then the Anglo-Saxons, or “English,” were not politically united, and the Kingdom of England was not formed until the 10th century. However, southern Britain had a distinct identity before the coming of the English. The territory of the Roman province of Britannia was largely the same as that of modern England and Wales.
England is geographically the largest, the wealthiest, and demo- graphically by far the largest of the four major regions of the British Isles, including Ireland. For much of its history, England has dominated Britain and the British Isles. England is mostly a lowland country, with more fertile land and a more temperate climate than its rivals. The most prominent mountain range in England is the Pennines, which extends from the northern Midlands—central England—to northern England and southern Scotland. The highest peak in the Pennines, Cross Fell, is only 2,930 feet (893 meters) high.
England’s wealth has been a curse as well as a blessing, making it a tempting target for expansionist rulers on the European continent, including Roman emperors and Norman dukes. Mountainous and poor, Scotland and Wales have had less to fear from outsiders but more to fear from England itself.
One of the most important regional distinctions within England, affecting several phases of English history, is the division between northern and southern England. Southern England is made up pri-
For much of its history, Great Britain has been divided into three politi- cal and cultural units: England in the south; Wales, a peninsula to the west of England; and Scotland in the north.
The term England comes from the Germanic tribes known as Anglo- Saxons and does not apply to the southern area of Great Britain before the first Anglo-Saxon invasions in the fifth century c.e. Even then the Anglo-Saxons, or “English,” were not politically united, and the Kingdom of England was not formed until the 10th century. However, southern Britain had a distinct identity before the coming of the English. The territory of the Roman province of Britannia was largely the same as that of modern England and Wales.
England is geographically the largest, the wealthiest, and demo- graphically by far the largest of the four major regions of the British Isles, including Ireland. For much of its history, England has dominated Britain and the British Isles. England is mostly a lowland country, with more fertile land and a more temperate climate than its rivals. The most prominent mountain range in England is the Pennines, which extends from the northern Midlands—central England—to northern England and southern Scotland. The highest peak in the Pennines, Cross Fell, is only 2,930 feet (893 meters) high.
England’s wealth has been a curse as well as a blessing, making it a tempting target for expansionist rulers on the European continent, including Roman emperors and Norman dukes. Mountainous and poor, Scotland and Wales have had less to fear from outsiders but more to fear from England itself.
One of the most important regional distinctions within England, affecting several phases of English history, is the division between northern and southern England. Southern England is made up pri-
marily of fertile lowland areas, and it is more closely connected to the
European continent. For many periods of English history, northern
England has been a frontier region, closer to the Scottish border than
the capital at London. The north contains a higher proportion of less
agriculturally productive highland country. There is more raising and
consumption of oats and barley as opposed to the wheat diet of the
south. It is also more oriented to the North Sea in the east and the
Irish Sea in the west rather than the English Channel in the south.
The city of York in the northeast was one of the most important Viking
strongholds in England, and Viking culture had far more impact on
the north than the south. The culturally conservative north remained
predominantly Catholic after the Protestant Reformation of the 16th
century, led predominantly by southerners closely connected with the
Protestant movement on the European continent. In the 18th century
it was the north, with its abundant deposits of coal, that became the
heartland of the Industrial Revolution rather than the richer south. In
modern party politics the north is the land of Liberal and Labour rule,
in opposition to the Conservative south.
Another distinct English region is Cornwall in the far southwest, inhabited by the only large non-English ethnic group within England itself for most of its history. The Cornish were originally Celtic speakers like the Welsh and the Gaels, but they were too small in number to resist being politically absorbed into England at an early stage. Some medieval and early modern documents and proclama- tions, however, refer to “England and Cornwall,” and some Cornish nationalists have argued that Cornwall remains separate from England, although under the same government. The last speaker of Cornish as a native language died in the 18th century, but there have been modern efforts to revive it. For most of its history, Cornwall was dominated by fishing and tin mining. The first recorded contacts between the British Isles and the classical Mediterranean world was through Mediterranean traders visiting the tin mines of Cornwall, possibly as early as the sixth century b.c.e. They gave Britain the name Isle of Tin.
England’s capital city, London, has been the largest city in England and the British Isles throughout its history since its founding by the Romans as Londinium around the year 50 c.e. Modern London, the largest city in Europe and a great center of world culture, is an agglom- eration of urban units, including the core of medieval London—the City of London—as well as the administrative capital of the borough of Westminster and other cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Another distinct English region is Cornwall in the far southwest, inhabited by the only large non-English ethnic group within England itself for most of its history. The Cornish were originally Celtic speakers like the Welsh and the Gaels, but they were too small in number to resist being politically absorbed into England at an early stage. Some medieval and early modern documents and proclama- tions, however, refer to “England and Cornwall,” and some Cornish nationalists have argued that Cornwall remains separate from England, although under the same government. The last speaker of Cornish as a native language died in the 18th century, but there have been modern efforts to revive it. For most of its history, Cornwall was dominated by fishing and tin mining. The first recorded contacts between the British Isles and the classical Mediterranean world was through Mediterranean traders visiting the tin mines of Cornwall, possibly as early as the sixth century b.c.e. They gave Britain the name Isle of Tin.
England’s capital city, London, has been the largest city in England and the British Isles throughout its history since its founding by the Romans as Londinium around the year 50 c.e. Modern London, the largest city in Europe and a great center of world culture, is an agglom- eration of urban units, including the core of medieval London—the City of London—as well as the administrative capital of the borough of Westminster and other cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Wales is a term applied by the English, meaning “strangers” or “for-
eigners.” Unlike England and Scotland, Wales never became a united
kingdom. Its poverty and mountainous terrain made it impossible to
establish a centralized government, although on some occasions one
Welsh prince was able to dominate the entire country, taking the title
Prince of Wales, but always failing to establish a royal dynasty. After
encroaching on Wales’s frontier for centuries, England conquered the
country in the late 13th century, adopting the title Prince of Wales
for the English king or queen’s eldest son and heir. Wales was legally
united with England, forming the Kingdom of England and Wales, in
the 16th century, though the kingdom was usually referred to sim-
ply as “England,” emphasizing Wales’s subject position. Nonetheless,
it retained a separate cultural and linguistic identity that persists to
the present day. Religiously, it developed in the direction of sectarian
Protestantism rather than the Church of England. Large areas of Wales
are also major producers of coal.
Scotland remained a separate state through the Middle Ages and into the dawn of the 18th century. There were numerous wars between Scotland and England, basically caused by the conflict between the English desire to rule the whole island and the Scottish desire to remain independent. The border between England and Scotland varied before being established on its present course from the Solway Firth, an inlet of the Irish Sea, on the west to the Tweed River on the east. Like Wales, Scotland is relatively poor in good agricultural land com- pared to England. The conjunction of good harbors and fertile lowland with relative ease of transportation has made England (and Ireland) much more vulnerable to invasion by sea than Wales and Scotland, which were usually invaded from England. The most economically fertile area of Scotland for most of its history, and the heartland of the Scottish monarchy, is the lowland area to the southeast. No city domi- nates Scotland the way London does England, but its political capital has long been Edinburgh in the southeast. Other major Scottish cities include Glasgow in the south, one of Britain’s great industrial centers, and Aberdeen in the north.
Scotland is geographically even more isolated than England from the main centers of development on the European continent, and it was often considered by continental Europeans and even the English to be remote. However, it is a crossroads of the North Atlantic, with easy access from the south of Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia. The long- standing connection between Scotland and the north of Ireland plays
Scotland remained a separate state through the Middle Ages and into the dawn of the 18th century. There were numerous wars between Scotland and England, basically caused by the conflict between the English desire to rule the whole island and the Scottish desire to remain independent. The border between England and Scotland varied before being established on its present course from the Solway Firth, an inlet of the Irish Sea, on the west to the Tweed River on the east. Like Wales, Scotland is relatively poor in good agricultural land com- pared to England. The conjunction of good harbors and fertile lowland with relative ease of transportation has made England (and Ireland) much more vulnerable to invasion by sea than Wales and Scotland, which were usually invaded from England. The most economically fertile area of Scotland for most of its history, and the heartland of the Scottish monarchy, is the lowland area to the southeast. No city domi- nates Scotland the way London does England, but its political capital has long been Edinburgh in the southeast. Other major Scottish cities include Glasgow in the south, one of Britain’s great industrial centers, and Aberdeen in the north.
Scotland is geographically even more isolated than England from the main centers of development on the European continent, and it was often considered by continental Europeans and even the English to be remote. However, it is a crossroads of the North Atlantic, with easy access from the south of Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia. The long- standing connection between Scotland and the north of Ireland plays
