England is the largest and most populous of the four nations of the United Kingdom: it covers the central and southern part of Great Britain, some 130,000 square kilometres, and is home to almost 59 million people, 85% of the kingdom's population. Often confused abroad with the UK itself, it is in fact a nation with its own history and identity, born in the 10th century from the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the political, economic and cultural heart of the country, with London as its capital.
Geography
England borders Scotland to the north, along the river Tweed and the Cheviot Hills, and Wales to the west; it is washed by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Irish Sea to the north-west. The landscape is dominated by plains and gentle hills, especially in the south and east, while the north is crossed by the Pennines, the "backbone of England". The highest peak is Scafell Pike, 978 metres, in the Lake District. The main rivers are the Thames, the Severn, the Trent and the Ouse. England has ten national parks, including the Lake District and the Peak District, the moors of Dartmoor and the North York Moors, and famous landscapes such as the White Cliffs of Dover, Dorset's Jurassic Coast, the Cotswold hills and the wetlands of the Norfolk Broads.
History in brief
After the Romans, who occupied the island from AD 43 to 410, came Angles, Saxons and Jutes from the continent, who gave the country its name, Englaland, "land of the Angles". The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were unified in the 10th century, resisting Viking invasions, until in 1066 William the Conqueror's Norman conquest changed language, society and architecture for ever. Then came Magna Carta in 1215, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses, Henry VIII's Reformation, the golden age of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, the Civil War of the 17th century and the birth of parliamentary monarchy. From 1707 English history merges with that of the United Kingdom: see the history of the United Kingdom.
Institutions
Unlike Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, England has no parliament of its own: laws affecting it are passed by the Westminster Parliament, where MPs from the other nations also sit, an issue known as the West Lothian question. In recent years the government has transferred growing powers to combined authorities led by elected mayors, such as those of London, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire and the North East. England is divided into nine statistical regions and into counties and districts: see administrative divisions. The Church of England, Anglican, is the established church, with the monarch as Supreme Governor (see the Church of England).
Economy and society
England's economy is the richest in the UK, but very unbalanced: London and the South East produce a disproportionate share of wealth, while many parts of the North and the Midlands, once the heart of the Industrial Revolution, have lower incomes and shorter life expectancy. This North-South divide is one of the great themes of British politics. England is also the most multicultural part of the country, with large communities of Asian, African, Caribbean and European origin concentrated in the cities.
Symbols and identity
The English flag is the St George's Cross, red on white, flown above all during football matches; the patron saint is St George, celebrated on 23 April, which is also the anniversary of Shakespeare's death. National symbols include the Tudor rose, the three lions of the royal arms and the oak. England codified the modern rules of football in 1863, as well as rugby and lawn tennis, and cricket is its most traditional sport. For many English people national identity long blurred into Britishness, but in recent decades a sense of "Englishness" has grown, partly as a reaction to devolution.
The cities
As well as London, England has great cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol and Newcastle, historic cities such as Oxford, Cambridge, York, Bath and Canterbury, and seaside towns such as Brighton and St Ives. See British cities.