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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers approximately 62%, and over 100 smaller adjacent islands. It has land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both the largest city and the capital.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The Kingdom of England, which included Wales after 1535, ceased to be a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union brought into effect a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland that created the Kingdom of Great Britain.

England is the origin of the English language, the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football, and the Anglican branch of Christianity; its parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford, founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains, especially in the centre and south. Upland and mountainous terrain is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor, the Lake District, the Pennines, and the Shropshire Hills. The country's capital is London, the metropolitan area of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. England's population of 56.3 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. (Full article...)

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Drawing as head of the Order of the Garter, c. 1430–1440 in the Bruges Garter Book

Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His fifty-year reign is one of the longest in English history, and saw vital developments in legislation and government, in particular the evolution of the English Parliament, as well as the ravages of the Black Death. He outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, and was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II.

Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. At the age of seventeen, he led a successful coup d'état against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of England, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland, he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne, starting the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Following some initial setbacks, this first phase of the war went exceptionally well for England and would become known as the Edwardian War. Victories at Crécy and Poitiers, in 1356, led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny, in which England made territorial gains, and Edward renounced his claim to the French throne. Edward's later years were marked by foreign policy failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his decreasing activity and poor health. (Full article...)

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Portrait by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, c. 1775

Captain James Cook FRS (7 November [O.S. 27 October] 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He served during the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec, which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. This acclaim came at a crucial moment for the direction of British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1768 as commander of HMS Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various England-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 2The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found^[update]. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments. (from Culture of England)
Image 3National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 4King's College in Cambridge is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late English Gothic architecture. It has the world's largest fan vault, while the chapel's stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. (from Culture of England)
Image 5Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 6The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 7Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 8The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 9The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 10King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 11Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 12The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 13King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 14The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 15Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 16King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 17Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 18Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 19Alfred Hitchcock is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, and was described as "a straightforward middle-class Englishman who just happened to be an artistic genius." (from Culture of England)
Image 20Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 21The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 22The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 23The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 24First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 25The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)
Image 26Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 27Jack In the Green, a traditional English folk custom being celebrated in Hastings Old Town, known for its many pre-Victorian buildings. (from Culture of England)
Image 28Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 29The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 30The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 31Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 32A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 33Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 34A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 35Frontispiece of Bede's Life of St Cuthbert, showing King Æthelstan presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. c. 930 (from History of England)
Image 36First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 37Francis Bacon led the advancement of both natural philosophy and the scientific method and his works remained deeply influential in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 38The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 39Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 40Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 41The Roman Baths in Bath; a temple was constructed on the site between 60–70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. (from Culture of England)
Image 42Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 43Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 44Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 45King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 46Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 47Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 48The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 49Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 50Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 51Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 52Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 53Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 54Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 55Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 56The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 57One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 58Portrait of the Royal Tudors. At left, Henry VII, with Prince Arthur behind him, then Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), and Prince Edmund, who did not survive early childhood. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Princess Margaret, then Princess Elizabeth who didn't survive childhood, Princess Mary, and Princess Katherine, who died shortly after her birth. (from History of England)
Image 59Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 60Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 61View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 62Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 63England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 64King Charles II, a patron of the arts and sciences, supported the Royal Society, a scientific group whose early members included Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton. (from Culture of England)
Image 65Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 66The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 67Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 68The first general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the first half of the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve hours. (from History of England)
Image 69Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 70Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 71Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Primate of All England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior bishop of the Church of England. (It was the property of the Roman Catholic Church before the English Reformation.) (from Culture of England)
Image 72Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 73Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 74King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 75Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 76William Hogarth's depiction of a scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest is an example of how English literature influenced English painting in the 18th century. (from Culture of England)
Image 77England playing Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in the 2009 Ashes series. After winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup, England became the first country to win the World Cups in football, rugby union and cricket. (from Culture of England)
Image 78Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)

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"Quaille, an English Water Spaniel" (1797) by Henry Bernard Chalon (1770–1849)

The English Water Spaniel is a breed of dog that has been extinct since the first part of the 20th century, with the last specimen seen in the 1930s. It was best known for its use in hunting waterfowl and for being able to dive as well as a duck. It is described as similar to a Collie or to a cross between a Poodle and a Springer Spaniel with curly fur and typically in a white and liver/tan pattern.

Pre-dating the Irish Water Spaniel and thought to have been referred to by Shakespeare in Macbeth, it is believed to have genetically influenced several modern breeds of dog, including the American Water Spaniel, Curly Coated Retriever and the modern variety of Field Spaniel. It is unknown if the breed was involved in the creation of the Irish Water Spaniel. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that the HMS Queen (1902) was fitted with Babcock and Wilcox cylindrical boilers due to service problems with the water service boilers?
...that the Charter Roll is the administrative record created by the medieval office of the chancery that recorded all the charters issued by the chancery?
...that Canterbury in eastern Kent was abandoned at the end of the Roman period, but was resettled by the Saxons?
...that English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history?

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In the news

13 September 2024 – Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal: Seven men receive prison sentences ranging from six to 25 years for sexual offences against girls aged 11 to 16 that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until 2013. (BBC News)
13 September 2024 –: Bedfordshire Police arrest an 18-year-old man on suspicion of murder after three people are found dead in flat in a tower block in Luton, England, United Kingdom. (BBC News)
10 September 2024 –: His Majesty's Prison Service begins releasing thousands of prisoners in England and Wales early amid a record high prison population and a shortage of prison cells for new inmates. (BBC News)
10 September 2024 – 2021–present United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis: The House of Commons of the United Kingdom votes 348–228 to end the Winter Fuel Payment for 10 million pensioners in England and Wales after Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the scheme was no longer affordable to be applied universally. (Sky News)

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“

I have seen much to hate here, much to forgive. But in a world where England is finished and dead, I do not wish to live.

”

— Alice Duer Miller

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Related WikiProjects

England • Bedfordshire • Brighton • Cheshire • Cornwall • Derbyshire • Dorset • Greater Manchester • Hampshire • Lincolnshire • London • Merseyside • Northamptonshire • North East England • Sheffield • Surrey. Warwickshire • West Midlands • Worcestershire • Yorkshire

Topics

Cities and major towns: Blackpool • Birmingham • Bristol • Chelmsford • Leeds • Liverpool • London • Manchester • Newcastle • Nottingham • Oxford • Portsmouth • Sheffield • Southampton • Stoke-on-Trent

Culture: The Football Association • Rugby Football Union • England and Wales Cricket Board • English inventions and discoveries

Geography: Geology • Climate • Mountains and hills • Islands • Rivers

Economy: Bank of England • London Stock Exchange • Chancellor of the Exchequer • Monetary Policy Committee • HM Treasury

History: Timeline of English history • Prehistoric Britain • Roman Britain • Anglo-Saxon England • Norman England • Plantagenet England • House of Lancaster • House of York • House of Tudor • House of Stuart

Governance: Kingdom of England • Prime Minister of the United Kingdom • Parliament of the United Kingdom • Home Secretary • Local Government Boundary Commission for England • Administrative divisions of England • English law

Symbols: Flags • Flag of England • St George's Cross • Tudor rose • Coat of arms of England

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