segunda-feira, 1 de novembro de 2010

A part of England's history


England is a country that is part of the U.K. The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th countries. England became a unified state in ad 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact of the wider world.The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law the basis for the commom law legal systems of many other countries around the world developed in England, and the country's parlamentary system of government.


Peaceful settlement

Some Anglo-Saxons came to Britain to fight, but others came peacefully, to find land to farm. The Anglo-Saxons knew Britain was a rich land. Their own lands often flooded, making it difficult to grow enough food. There was not enough land for everyone.
Whole families set off across the North Sea in small boats. Each boatload of people formed a settlement with its own leader. They brought their tools, weapons, belongings and farm animals with them to Britain.


How did England get its name?
The Roman Britons spoke Latin or local Celtic languages. The newcomers spoke their own languages, which in time became a language now known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English. The Anglo-Saxons themselves called it 'Englisc'. The country taken over by the new settlers became 'England'.
Some Britons settled down with the newcomers. Others moved west and north, taking their Latin-Celtic culture with them. Place names give clues to where the new 'English' lived. A place-name ending in -ham, for instance, shows it was once a Saxon settlement. Ham in Anglo-Saxon English meant 'village'.

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