Thousands of scholars over the course of time have written countless books on the history on England. England’s history is a long an elaborate one filled with murder, intrigue and fantastic accomplishments. If one was sit down and start to write a history of England they would have to pick just one aspect of the countries history, or they would be writing undoubtedly to the reached their death.
The royal family has always been a point of interest to people. Several novels could and have been written on the monarchy of England, and they way each of those monarchs have chosen to rule over the country. An exciting point in history came when those kings and queens no longer had complete and total control over all of the decisions made in the country, and instead worked along with a parliament to make decisions for the English people.
Just walking through the streets of England you can tell that it is a country enriched with history. Many of the buildings that stood hundreds of years ago are still standing today. Unlike their counterparts England stands true to tradition. Many of their traditional buildings still remain in tact, and are still used for the same purposes that they were used for when they were originally built. You have the opportunity to just walk by, or even stop and walk in a piece of history everywhere that you go.
In England you can visit the homes of famous writers for centuries before, and actually have the opportunity to walk around in their homes. In some other counties you just have the opportunity to read about the countries history, in England you have the ability to experience it firsthand through traveling to historical landmarks, and physically seeing how they were then, and how they still are today.
England started to become what we know today in 1588 when they defeated the Spanish armada. After that terrific win, Great Britain set its sights on the world and has remained a highly respected world power to this day. Although physically smaller than many other countries, England has managed throughout the years to maintain a great position of power throughout the world.
Throughout the years by way of a political or military decision both Scotland and Wales have been made a part of England several times. Today the two are set apart from England as their own countries, yet all are a part of the collective United Kingdom. Each of those transfers is filled with history, that you can in some ways still see today when making a trip to the other countries as well as England.
Another exciting part of English history has been the pulls between Catholicism and Protestants in the country. Once primarily catholic, King Henry VII was responsible for England’s ultimate breaking with the catholic church due to his desire to divorce his current wife and marry another. That break remained somewhat permanent, despite many future attempts to reinstate it, most famously Queen Mary Tutor (Bloody Mary)’s slaughter of numerous Protestants during her reign. Even today England is eighty percent protestant.
Before you plan any trip to England first take out a history book and scan through for paces where exciting events in history have taken place within England’s borders. Throughout the years a number of highly important events that have changed not only England, but also the entire world have happened within England’s borders. When making a trip to visit the country you have the opportunity to often see the exact place that these types of events took place.
Copyright 2005 S Wander