England

Location of England
England is located in the north west of Europe, in the south-eastern part of the British Isles. It has Scotland to the north, the North Sea to theeast, English Channel to the South, Atlantic Ocean to the south west, and Wales and the Irish Sea to the west.
Historical Summary of England
During the ninth and tenthcenturies the Kingdom of Wessex, one of several competing Saxon kingdoms in England, grew to dominate the region as the Kingdom of England. In 1066 multiple claimants to thethrone invaded, including Scandinavian leaders, and the Norman Duke William; the latter was successful in taking and holding the kingdom for the long term. After numerouswars over the throne, including the “Anarchy” of Stephen’s reign and the Wars of the Roses, the height of English personal monarchy was reached with the reign of HenryVIII, he of the six wives. During this period England broke with the Catholic Church, creating the Church of England.
The monarchy remains strong in England, broken only bythe ‘Interregnum’, a period following The English Civil War when Oliver Cromwell and son ruled as Lord Protector, and also having survived the expulsion of James II andthe invitation to William of Orange to accept the throne; he did as William III. During the early modern and modern period England conquered an empire, including lands inAmerica, Africa and India, having already fought with the other countries in the British Isles and conquered Wales. Throughout its history English armies have fought warson the continent, in the twentieth century playing roles in World Wars 1 and 2. Currently England is in a political union with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.