English people

This article is about the English as an ethnic group. For information on the population of England, see demographics of England.

English

File:English-people.JPG
Regions with significant populations
United Kingdom:    45,265,093 United States:    28,410,295 Australia:    6.4 million Canada:    5,978,875 South Africa:    1,000,000 (est.) New Zealand:    281,895
Languages
English
Religion
Christianity, atheist, agnostic, other.
Related ethnic groups
Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Frenchmen, Scotsmen, Irishmen

The English are an ethnic group associated with England and the English language. The majority of the ethnic English currently live in England, the largest division of the United Kingdom.

History

The English as an ethnic group can trace their heritage back to several groups including: indigenous Ancient Britons (when one thinks of the English Kingdom, Welshmen such as the Tudor dynasty are chief representative); Anglo-Saxons, descended from peoples who settled south and eastern Great Britain between the 5th and 7th centuries (Teutonic tribes thought to be involved in this settlement include the Angles, Jutes, Saxons, Frisians and Franks); and Danish-Vikings who formed the Danelaw during the time of Alfred the Great. The name of the area known as England derives from the Angles.

At one time it was widely believed that the Anglo-Saxons supplanted the native Romano-British populations. Genetic studies have shed some light on the matter but the results are not as yet conclusive (tests have been carried out on only a small section of the DNA). Many archaeologists also see only limited evidence of mass immigration in the record. Recent studies suggest that the Anglo-Saxons may have established political and cultural dominance over the Romano-British natives and intermarried with them.

Y chromosome analysis of people from the British Isles, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Friesland and the Basque Country has revealed that some areas of England have a higher Germanic (Danish/North German/Frisian) component in the male line of descent than others. Germanic Y chromosomes are at their highest concentrations in York and Norfolk, here the Germanic male sex chromosome occurs in about 80% of men, with indigenous Y chromosomes comprising about 20%. The research cannot distinguish between Danish (the presumed source of Danish-Viking settlers to East and Northern England), North German (Schleswig-Holstein, modern era) and Frisian (Anglo-Saxon) Y chromosomes. The study concludes these data are consistent with the presence of some indigenous component in all British regions. It should be noted that the work cannot make reference to the extent of settlement by Anglo-Saxon/Danish-Viking women. It is therefore the case that even in places like York, the total genetic contribution of these peoples may represent less than 80% of the whole if fewer women than men migrated, conversely the total contribution to the gene pool by these peoples would be greater than 80% if there were more women settlers than men.

A further settlement of Danes occurred during the 9th century in northern and eastern England.

Some people concentrated in several English counties, generally further from the south and east, notably the Cornish and the Cumbrians claim to have a noticeably less diluted connection to the pre-Anglo-Saxon ancient Britons; As a result of this, some people from Cornwall claim not to be English but Cornish.

Population movements within England over the centuries indicate that further genetic research would be useful.

One influence on the English language is from Scandinavian culture, particularly in the north of England. This is most pronounced in York, formerly the Danish settlement of Jorvik. These groups had a noticeable impact on the English language, for example the modern meaning of the word dream is of Scandinavian origin. Additionally place names that include thwaite and by are Scandinavian in origin.

England in AD 600 after the Saxon invasion

The Anglo-Saxons established several kingdoms, commonly referred to as the Heptarchy. These were united in the early 9th century under the overlordship of Wessex, forming what would eventually become the modern nation of England.

These kingdoms were then subjected to a series of raids, conquest and settlement by Vikings originating from Denmark from the 9th century onwards. The Treaty of Wedmore gave the Danes dominion over territory north and east of a line between London and Chester called the Danelaw and represented the beginning of a period of acceptance and assimilation of the Danes.

Most notably, this period saw the rise of Alfred the Great, the only king in English history to receive 'the great' appended to his name. Alfred was king of the region of Wessex which effectively held off the Danish conquest of what would later become England. Wessex grew from a relatively small kingdom in the South West to the complete annexing of all remaining Anglo-Saxon kingdoms not in the Danelaw.

The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought English and Danish rule to an end, both culturally and socially, for the native inhabitants. The new Norman elite almost universally replaced the English aristocracy and church leaders. The Anglo-Norman aristocracy spoke French until a full assimilation was made by the time of Chaucer, in the late 1300s (as evidenced on Richard II of England's coat of arms; he re-added Edward the Confessor's royal arms). By this time a large number of French words had been added to the English language. The impact of the Normans on English government, law and culture was a long and drawn out process between 1066 and 1485. This exchange had already been undwerway for millenia, with a neolithic material culture shared between Southern Britain and Northern Gaul that reached its first historic record in the Roman Empire and the proto-feudal relationships which developed during that era (see Gallic Empire). Further cementation of a Channel-bound culture was shared by Offa and Charlemagne; the English and French being more or less good friends until the success of Danish and Norman invasions created a social rift between them and wars were fought between royal houses with a considerable blend in the founding ethnic peoples and their Nordic invaders. These circumstances of population and material transfer encouraged stable capitals for the states of England (Winchester, London) and France (Paris), which have always been hugging the Channel watershed/basin.

For the global genetic make-up of the English and other peoples, see also: [5] and [6]

Culture

Contribution to humanity

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 and George Orwell, the composers Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst, 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, Bertrand Russell, Michael Oakeshott and Roger Scruton.

Thanks to the legacy of the British Empire, the English language is now the world's unofficial lingua franca, while English common law is also the foundation of legal systems throughout the English-speaking countries of the world.

Language

English people traditionally speak the English language, a member of the West Germanic language family. The other language traditionally spoken is Cornish, a Celtic language originating in Cornwall spoken by about 3500 people. In addition to these languages, Welsh is still spoken by a few people in the area adjacent to the border with Wales. More recently immigrants from across the globe have brought other languages to England which are mainly used privately as a home language, in religion or for traditional purposes. Such languages are extremely numerous and include those from the Commonwealth of Nations as well as outside it.

Religion

Ever since the break with the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, the English have been predominantly a Protestant people. Perhaps the moment when the Protestant identity of England began to be questioned most radicallly was during the Ritualist controversies of the nineteenth century. Today, most English people practising organized religion are affiliated to the Church of England or other Christian denominations such as Roman Catholicism and Methodism. At the 2001 Census, a little over 37 million people in England & Wales professed themselves to be Christian however few would argue that in practice the English today are generally a secular people.

Irish immigration during the nineteenth and twentieth century enlarged the Roman Catholic minority.

Jewish immigration since the seventeenth century means that there is a relatively assimilated Jewish English minority mostly 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, and the long-term future of the community is a matter of some concern to community leaders.

The 2001 census also revealed that 7,171,332 (15%) of the population of England claim no religion.

Sports

There are many sports invented by the English, which then spread worldwide predominantly via trading partners and the British Empire.

• Football

• Cricket

• Croquet

• Badminton

• Rugby

• Table Tennis

• Lawn tennis

England, like the other nations of the United Kingdom, competes as a separate nation in many international sporting events. The English Football, Cricket and Rugby teams have contributed to an increasing sense of English identity. Supporters today (2006) are more likely to carry the St George's Cross whereas twenty years ago the British Union Jack would have been the more prominent.

Symbols

English flag

The English flag is a red cross on a white background, commonly called the St George's Cross 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. "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" and "I Vow to Thee, My Country."

Royalty

England's heritage has most often shifted as a result of royal politics and personal unions, although parliamentary influence has been more recent in that regard--especially since the change from England to Great Britain. Symbolism which largely defines the total English identity is usually featured in the coat of arms held by Sovereigns (Canute the Great did not have any arms as they did not exist then, but his dominions represented the phase of English culture at the time); the change in this more recent and due to Parliamentary control of the Monarchy since 1689-1707. For instance; all Englishmen (like Scotsmen and Irishmen, but mostly Langues d'oïl when referring to Frenchmen) in this present day and age, have the sum total of royal heritage the House of Stuart had (see the Coat of arms of Canada for the broad cultural identity Englishmen have acquired, in connection with other ethnic groups due to a shared Sovereign), which is largely the culture England is known for around the world in its distinction from a modern state such as Great Britain under their heirs the House of Hanover and other German aristocrats (House of Windsor) whom have had a distant relationship with the English people--through the middle-man that is Parliament.

All of the old-style (Mediaeval) Royalty had a direct, hands-on and personal, even genetic relationship with their subjects--with whom they intermarried quite frequently. All Englishmen can claim pre-Union Royal and thus, national heritage as opposed to provincialism--which exists now in the form of the Home Nations as quasi-separate entities. England may have formed as a melting pot in respects of the former Danish/Norwegian/Swedish relationship while its capital was still located at Winchester, but its later relationship as determined from London--with the French, Scottish and Irish has always been one of multiculturalism in its natural state. The lack of total union between the English and French is made up for with the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France, sort of enveloping England in French circles. Indeed, French is still the lingua franca among Englishmen--while Celtic languages (despite geographical closeness) are ignored for the most part. For a rather insensitive relationship based upon colonialism, the Irish do not feel appreciated as part of this community so much (running their own affairs and contributing in that sense, being accepted as equals) and the Scottish feeling a tentative toehold on affairs (removed from the Channel focus).

Identity

England and Wales were united in the Acts of Union in 1536 and 1543, in 1707 England and Wales formed a union with Scotland, and in 1801 Ireland was joined to the existing union to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, although most of Ireland broke away from the union in 1922 as the Irish Free State. A new 'British' identity was developed through the nineteenth century, to some extent overlaying regional identities. The English, along with the other peoples of the British Isles found their old identities undermined in favour of a new British national identity.

The 1990s saw the beginning of a gradual reclamation and reformation of English identity in reaction to nationalist identity by Scottish and Welsh nationalist movements who sought autonomy or independence from, in their view, an English-dominated British State. The political developments that led to the establishment of a Northern Ireland assembly were followed by referenda that enacted the Welsh assembly and the Scottish Parliament. Partly in response to devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the rise in general of nationalism in the "Celtic" fringe some English people now question what it is to be English and its relationship with being British. English nationalist parties have been formed, they are growing as some English people begin to feel their loss of an identity and what some perceive as a reduction in democratic rule for England itself. see English nationalism.

See also

• List of English people
• List of Scottish people
• List of Welsh people
• Anglosphere
• English language
• Anglo-Saxon
• Culture of England
• Immigration to the United Kingdom
• Population of England — historical estimates
• German-Briton

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
• Can we talk about what it means to be English ? The English Democrats Party