England
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
England is the biggest of the four countries of the United Kingdom. (Note: Many people sometimes say "England" when they actually mean the United Kingdom or Great Britain.)
About 50 million people live in England. England is next to Wales and Scotland, on the island of Great Britain.
The capital city of the United Kingdom is London, which is also the largest city of England (England does not have a separate parliament or Government, so London is not the capital of England).
The English flag is white, with a red cross. This cross is the cross of Saint George, who is the patron saint of England. Some other symbols used for England are a red rose (for rugby) and three lions (for football).
There are many well known English people:
- William Shakespeare, the famous English playwright
- Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist
- Charles Dickens, the famous 19th century author
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
- The Beatles, who came from the city of Liverpool
- Sir Winston Churchill led the country in World War Two
- Queen Victoria was the Queen for most of the 19th century.
[edit] History
England was named after a German tribe called the "Angles", who settled in England in the 5th century. England became one country in 937, when it was ruled by King Athelstan. William the Conqueror took over England in 1066. Queen Elizabeth II is a descendant of William. England took over the country of Wales in the 13th century. There were many wars, often against France and Scotland. England joined with Scotland in 1707 to form the kingdom of Great Britain. In 1800 Ireland was united with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom. Now, Northern Ireland is the only part of Ireland still in the UK.
[edit] Geography
England is on the island of Great Britain. Scotland is to the north and Wales is to the west. France is to the south, separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel under the sea links England and France.
Some of England's largest cities are: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford and Liverpool.
