England As An Amazing, History-Filled Country: Unique Cuisine, Glamorous Customs And Fascinating History

England, an amazing, history-filled country, lies in the western region of Europe. This country shares land borders with Scotland north of it and Wales west of it. There are two seas that surround this country: the Irish Sea and the North Sea. England has low-lying lands and plains, along with high uplands and hills. Many parts of the land are green-rich and beautiful to look at. Also, the country is home to some mountains and large, major rivers, such as the Thames River and the Mersey River. England has an area of 50,346 square miles, which includes the water forms. In January through April and November through December, the temperature remains in the upper forty degrees to lower thirties.(Fahrenheit). In May through October, it varies from the upper sixties, the seventies, and to the lower fifties. The average amount of rainfall per month is about 49 mm. England is sunnier than most other countries in Europe and has a lot of clear skies

An abundance of languages resides in England. English is the official language of the country, and the most commonly spoken. (93.2%) The people of England speak -English which has a few different words and phrases, and is spoken with the commonly-known accent. Polish is the second-most-commonly spoken language. Other languages include the following: French, Welsch, and Scots.

Like all countries, England has a unique cuisine. To start off, Fish and Chips are one of the most classic English foods. The fish is traditionally cod, pollock, or haddock breaded and deep-fried. Fresh potatoes are peeled, sliced, and then deep-fried to have fries to go with the fish in this well-loved meal. Malt-vinegar or lemons are common sides of this dish. Toad-in-the-Hole is another classic English dish. In this dish, a batter is made using the following: eggs, milk, flour, English powder, and salt. After the batter is baked, sausages are cooked and placed inside. Then, an onion-filled gravy is placed on top of the sausage to finish the dish. Sunday Roast, is another common meal served in England. Roast beef is covered in gravy, and shares a spot on the dish with roast potatoes, peas, carrots, and Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is a side dish made from eggs, flour, milk, and beef tallow. Even though it is called pudding, it is not pudding, but rather a savoury food. A dessert unique to England is called Trifle. Trifle is constructed in a fancy cup with trifle sponges (or angel cake) on the bottom covered in sweet sherry. (Sherry is a sweetened wine.) Then strawberries are put on next with custard or ice cream on top of it. More strawberries are laid on top of the custard or ice cream. On the very top, usually additional strawberries and whip-cream reside. The English people drink tea very much; the most popular type is black tea taken with usually taken with milk.

England is full of glamorous customs. Poppy Day is held on November 11th to remember the soldiers from WWI and WWII. Also called Remembrance Sunday, there is a two minute period of silence to recall the fallen heroes that served. Poppies became a symbol of this holiday because poppies bloomed in a battlefield that was used in WWI. Another special day is called Boxing Day. This is celebrated on December 26th, right after Christmas. On this day, people can recover from the Christmas holiday, spend time with family, and is especially important for sports. The name comes from when the rich “boxed” up gifts for the poor many years ago. England’s fashion is extremely westren and modern. Men and usually wear sneakers as shoes, while women wear fashionable boots or heels. The clothes are also western, and have leggings, jeans, tops, t-shirt, leather jackets, dresses, and scarves. Sports in England include soccer, boxing, rugby, and cricket. Rugby has similarities to football, just like cricket has many things in common with baseball.

England has a wide variety of both imports and exports. England’s main industry consists of automobile parts, chemicals, machine parts, and electrical equipment along with many metals. Petroleum and paper products are also on top. Agriculturally, beef, hogs, barley, potatoes, poultry, and wheat are commonly manufactured in England. The Netherlands are the biggest partner with England for both imports and exports, along with Germany, USA, France, and China. England receives many things that they export like machinery and electrical equipment, but they also receive precious metals, plastics, medical substances. Cars are both created and shipped into England as it is a very popular product. Apparel and precision instruments are among the list of things imported as well.

Government is very important when keeping a country in order. Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and England are all in one union, the UK, and thus are all under one government. A Constitutional Monarchy is the form of government England has. This system is when a monarch splits power with a constitutional government. In England, the Parliament is similar to what Congress is in the USA; the functions are scrutiny, debating, budgeting, and legislation. Parliament is made up of three sections which are the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy. The House of Commons, the lower section of the Parliament, is a group of 650 people elected by the public to represent the people. The House of Lords, the upper part of the Parliament, can consist of an unlimited amount of people (as long as they are qualified) with aristocratic lineage, the title of Baron, and the title of duke. They are appointed by officials, but this house has less supremacy than the House of Commons, because the Commons are elected by the people. The head of government is called the prime minister. The prime minister is the head of the cabinet, represents the Uk on major issues, and has a final say in the cabinet issues. Prime ministers are not elected by the people, but first by the political party which is in power. The political parties include the Conservatives, the Labour, the Lib Dems, the Green Party, and the Brexit Party.Once the leaders are in place for each political party, people vote for the seatings in the House of Commons which happens every four years or so. Once a political party has the most seatings, the leader they elected as prime minister. The Queen will officially appoint the Prime minister in her name, then they will continue on to name members of the cabinet. There are more than six secretaries of state who make up the cabinet. The PM can serve as long as they keep winning elections. The Queen has less power than the PM, but can still do things like open and close a parliamentary session. Also, the Queen can command all the armed forces, which is still very powerful. On top of that Queen Elizabeth II can pardon criminals, issue passports, and appoint ministers to the crown. Not to mention, she can also appoint citizens to honor which means instead of Joe Brown, they would be called Sir Joe Brown.

England has a rich, fascinating history. The first settlers in what would be England arrived around 5000-2000 BC, and introduced farming to the area. In 650 BC, Celtics introduced metal weapons. After a few thousand years, Julius Caesar began expeditions in England in 54 BC. In 47 AD, England was controlled by Emperor Claudious of Rome. (London, the modern capital of England, was founded around this same time; 46 AD) However, in 390 AD, the Romans withdrew from England. The big conversion of the Catholic religion took place two-hundred- seven years later when St. Augustine arrived to teach the newly settled Anglo-Saxons. King Egbert became the first ruler over Anglo-Saxon England in 827 AD. About fifty years later, Vikings invaded England, and battles lasted until the end of the tenth century. England was also involved in the 150-year-long crusades, beginning in 1095, which were missions to take back the holy land, Jerusalem. The Pope had influenced many knights and other soldiers to take the land from the Muslims for Christian purposes. In 1215, the Magna Carta was signed to limit the monarch’s power and to declare human rights. One of the longest wars, The Hundred Years’ War, began in 1337, between England and France. (The war actually lasted 116 years; from 1337- 1453.) The war started because the king of England was ultimately trying to claim France as his own for land and heritage reasons. France, with the help of Joan of Arc, ended up winning the war. England had lost all of its land in France, not to mention many fighters throughout the time period. Many people also fought the Black Death Plague which killed half the population in 1348. In 1455, the War of Roses was fought between the Plantagenets and Lancastrians (both royal houses) for the throne. The war ended with Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, marrying Elizabeth of the Plantagents. After, Henry defeated his rival, Richard III, therefore, taking the throne as Henry VII in 1485. Wales became legally part of the England Kingdom during 1535-1542, even though it was incorporated into England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. In 1620, the Mayflower, a ship filled with Pilgrims who wanted religious freedom, sailed away from England, and landed in America, making one of the first settlements in that land. In 1707 an Act of Union took place; this incorporated Scotlad and England to be one state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Also during this time, the official UK parliament was created. Because government reforms were taking place to limit power, Sir Robert Walpole became the first PM from 1721- 1742. Another big war broke out in 1756; this time, Britain had allies, as did their foe, France. France led an alliance that consisted of the Austrain-led Holy Roman Empire, the Russain Empire, Spain, Sweden, and the Muhgal Empire of India while England led an alliance that had the Kingdom of Prussia, Portugal, the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg, and a number of tiny German states. Britain and France were fighting one another for control over the colonies and over India. Many battles were fought with many people around the world in locations such as Europe, the oceans, the Colonies, Canada, and India. Also, some of the countries switched sides along the way. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris (of 1763) was signed to end the war between all the countries on agreeing terms. After many conflicts with colonists, the Revolutionary War began in 1775 with the colonies in North America because the colonies wanted to be free from rule. The Declaration of Independence was created and signed by the 13 colonies saying that they were breaking away from rule in 1776. The colonies were successful in doing so, because in 1781, George Washington beat General Cornwallis at Yorktown, which marked the end of the war. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed declaring the colonies free and promoting peace. Britain engaged in more wars like the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and smaller wars with France during their revolution.(1793- 1815) Ireland (all of it) joined the UK because of an Act of Union in 1801. Britain abolished slavery in 1833 by passing the Abolition of Slavery Act. From 1837 to 1901, Queen Victoria ruled over the UK,; this era was known as the Victorian Era. Over this era, many things occurred in the UK which are the following: urbanization grew, technology was getting more advanced, and more inventions were being created/delivered to benefit society. The first world war, starting in 1914, was participated in by Britain who were part of the Triple Entente, consisting of France, Britain, and Russia. The Triple Alliance were the opposing side that included Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. At the end of the war, 1918, one million UK soldiers were killed, and many more wounded. Four years later, only Northern Ireland decided to remain in the UK, so the rest of Ireland were on their own. A declaration of women’s suffrage was laid out in Britain in 1928. Between 1929 and 1939, England and the UK were hit badly by the stock market crash, also known as “the devil’s decade.” Another World War began in 1939, and Britain teamed up with countries like China, the USA, Brazil, Canada, France, and Malta to up the Allies that fought to take down the Nazis (Germany) and their following countries. (Italy, and Japan) By 1940, Britain wasn’t doing so well; they were bombed in the Battle of Britain badly by the Germans. In desperate need of help, Winston Churchhill, the PM, accepted support from the USA. After three more years of fighting the Allies won against the Axis in 1945. England suffered many losses of soldiers, and innocent civilians. The current queen, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned in 1953, on June 2nd. Britain joined the EU, a unified economic and monetary system that breaks down trade borders, promotes peace, and also promotes a competitive global market, in 1973. Lately, the UK made an effort to exit the European Union on January 31st. (Brexit) Borris Johnson, the current, newly-elected PM, helped make this happen. The main reason for leaving was that the people didn’t want to be under the EU’s jurisdiction; they wanted the UK to be self-governing and not having to endure the cons of the EU. Also, the people didn’t want to be under certain standards, and they didn’t like the lack of control over immigration.

There are several other attributes that make England one special place. England’s official faith is Chritsianainity in different forms, but the other main faiths are Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The pound is the currency of England; both banknotes and coins are used. England has an estimated population of 66,435,600 people as of 2020. The capital of England is the old city, London. In London there are many famous landmarks like the Tower Bridge, the nineteenth-century bridge with a great view of the city. Another famous structure is the House of Parliament which has attached to it, the giant clock-tower Big Ben. The Shard, is an over-one-thousand-foot building literally shaped like a shard, with many, many glass windows covering it. Perhaps the most famous place is the giant one-hundred-thirty-seven-year-old Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. The Westminster Abbey is an old, detailed church that serves as the coronation of monarchs and sometimes marriages of royal family members too. Stonehenge is an ancient structure built with stones for mysterious reasons long ago. The beautiful White cliffs of Dover are another popular spot located right by the English Channel. A variety of wildlife also inhibits England’s lands. There are a few types of bats, deer, rodents, song birds, and birds of prey, snakes, and frogs. In addition, red squirrels, river otters, trout, and salmon also reside in the area. England also has a number of flowers that include the following: deadly nightshades, bluebells, brambles, early purple orchids, poppies, and foxgloves. England has many remarkable, unique features that make it one memorable country.