Facts about England

England has a glorious, humorous and powerful reputation as a European country. Following are interesting facts about England.

Facts about England

Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation.

As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being.

Enough about that, let's get on to the facts about England:

The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
England was originally part of Europe, but slowly pulled away after the last ice age.
France and England have strong historical ties, often marrying their royalty to each other.
England conquered Wales and Scotland in the 13th century.
The "Hundred Years War" between France and England began in 1337.
King Henry VIII had England leave the Roman Catholic Church. He created the Church of England.
In the 19th century, Britain produced one third of the world's industrial output.
London is the capital.
During the height of colonization, Britain controlled Cuba, Florida, Dominica, Turks and Caicos Islands, New Zealand, Australia, St. Vincent, Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Barbados, Montserrat, Anguilla, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Hong Kong, Fiji, Belize, New Guinea and even rented Cyprus from the Turks for a year.
In 1982, the UK defeated Argentina in the Falkland Islands War.
The first English vessels to reach the New World [Americas] were commanded by Italian Giovanni Cabot.
Britain outlawed boiling criminals to death in 1547, deciding to burn them at the stake.
Burning criminals at the stake was outlawed in 1789, with hanging taking its place.
In 1857, England began its rule of India.
Until 1862, soap was used only by uppercrust Brits.

The average life span of London residents in the 19th century was 27 years of age.

Outside of the city, it was 22.

Queen Berengaria was married to King Richard, but never actually visited England despite being the queen.

Ben Franklin lived in London for 14 years and preferred it to the U.S.

England was the first country to use postage stamps.

Initially, affixing a stamp with the image of the Queen upside down was an act of treason.

During World War II, American pilots fought in the Royal Air Force.

In 1963, British tennis player Michael Stanger hit the fastest recorded serve: 154 miles per hour.

Badminton is named after the Badminton House in Gloucestershire, England.

Golf was banned in England in 1457 by King James II.

Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel On August 6, 1925.

Charles Moncke, a british blacksmith, invented the Monkey Wrench.

Britian developed the first tanks for warfare.

The U.K. is slightly smaller than Oregon.

The population is just over 60 million.

As you can see from these facts about England, it has a long and storied history. Entire libraries have been created out of facts about England, so keep in mind there is plenty more to investigate.

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