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The English are a people originating in the lowlands of Great Britain descending from Angles, and Saxons (combined to form the Anglo-Saxons [English]. The name is used for those who have descent from these native tribes from over 1,600 years ago.
Origins
After the withdrawal of the Roman Empire from Great Britain in the 5th century, various Germanic tribes crossed the North Sea to settle the fertile lowlands. It was formerly believed that the settlers came in large numbers and killed or drove out the Celts in order to gain the land, but more modern research indicates that the advancement of the land was a rapid and a relatively peaceful process.
This would point to English ethnicity as being distinct and highly cultural.
Very few other groups have been assimilated into the English over the past 1,000 years of history:
Until the 1950s there had been no major immigration into Britain at all since the Norman invasion nearly 1000 years ago. Later, about 100,000 Huguenots arrived from France in the 17th century, and a similar very small number of Jews in the late 19th century. Approximately 70,000 refugees from Germany were admitted in the 1930s. Major immigration from the New Commonwealth began in the 1950s onward with people from the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Asia and Africa. There continued to be substantial temporary migrations of people to and from the Old Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Southern Africa.
Lost Identity
With the Acts of Union in 1536, 1542, 1707 and 1800, England was joined with Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the United Kingdom, and a new 'British' identity was conceived. The English (along with the Scots, Irish and Welsh) found their old identities undermined somewhat in favour of 'Britishness'.
The rise of nationalism in the 19th century attracted many people to the rich heritage of being native English, their attraction was founded on strong traditional values and rich cultural heritage of the native English. However, due to a large increase in immigration in the late 20th century emphasis was placed on making England an "inclusive" nation. Thus, openly displayed English symbols or describing onesself as "ethnically English" became frowned upon. Some felt they were being maligned simply for to not wanting to discard their rich ethnic heritage for enforced government “multiculturalism”.
Reclaimed Identity
The 1990s saw the beginning of a gradual reclamation and reformation of English identity. For several decades popular nationalist movements had existed in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, but England had no counterpart. A number of English still feel that their native ethnicity and culture is still constantly being undermined in favour of the new ethnic minority immigrants' interests. However, unlike Wales and Scotland, the majority of people in England still consider themselves primarily British.
References
Population Data
- 1EuroAmericans.net (http://www.euroamericans.net/euroamericans.net/english%20census.htm) gives offical statistics from the 2000 US Census showing 24,515,138 persons with English ancestry. The greatest population in a single state was 2,521,355 in California, and the highest percentage was 29.0% in Utah.
- 22001 Canadian Census (http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=0) gives 1,479,520 respondents stating their ancestry as English only.
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