English people

:This article is about the English as an ethnic group. For information about residents or nationals of England, see demographics of England.

History

The English as an ethnic group can partially trace their heritage back to the Anglo-Saxons who between the 5th and 7th centuries, after the withdrawal of the Roman Empire, came to occupy most of lowland Britain (although a lack of documentation from the Dark Ages means few individuals can prove such descent). The name of the area known as England derives from this settlement. At one time it was widely believed that the Anglo-Saxons mostly supplanted the Celtic populations. Recent genetic studies disagree, suggesting the Anglo-Saxons established political and cultural dominance over the Celts and intermarried with them. In particular, analyses performed upon the mitochondrial DNA of modern day English suggest that any continental admixture from the period of Germanic invasions would have been almost exclusively derived from the male line, suggesting a process of intermarriage between male invaders and female indigenous Celts.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxons - Roman Empire - Britain - Dark Ages - England - Celts

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

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Some British ethnic groups, notably the Cornish and the Cumbrians have a noticeably less diluted connection to the pre-Anglo-Saxon Celtic Britons; As a result of this, some Cornish claim not to be English but Cornish. A further 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.

Related Topics:
Cornish - Cumbrians - Celt - Britons - Cornish - Scandinavia - York - English language

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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 state of England.

Related Topics:
Heptarchy - Nation state

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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 of period of acceptance and assimilation of the Danes.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Wedmore - Danelaw

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The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought Anglo-Saxon and Danish rule to an end, and began a diminished period, both culturally and socially for the native inhabitants. The new Norman elite began a scorched earth policy against the rebellious Anglo-Danish population north of the Humber during the winter of 1069-70, which became known as The Harrying of the North. The English existed as a subject class for about 300 years with the aristocracy speaking French until a full assimilation was made by the time of Chaucer , in the late 1300s.

Related Topics:
Norman Conquest - 1066 - Scorched earth - The Harrying of the North - Chaucer

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During Britain's centuries as a major colonial power, people migrated from all over Britain's sphere of influence to England, leaving a small, but noticeable mark on English culture. Also, and sporadically for much of its history as a recognisable political entity England has had a significant Jewish population.

Related Topics:
Britain's - Colonial - Britain's sphere of influence - England - Culture - Jewish

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