2015-10-22
1723
The Anglo-Saxons were agricultural people. Beside arable farming they continued their old occupations: cattle breeding, hunting and fishing. Each village was self-sufficient. There was very little trading in that time. Roads were very poor (in bad condition). The peasants of the village formed a community. But not all members of the community were equal.
The Establishment of the Kingdom
The greatest and the most important kingdoms were Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. Finally in 829 Egbert, the King of Wessex, was acknowledged by Kent, Mercia and Northumbria. Later all Anglo-Saxons kingdoms were united to form one kingdom which was called England.
Danish raids on England
The Danes carried out their first raids on Britain in 793. Their raids were successful because England had neither a regular army nor a fleet in the North Sea to meet them. In 871 the Danes invaded Wessex.
But small kingdoms were already united and were under the reign of king Alfred. Alfred managed to raise an army to stop the Danes. The first British Navy was built and it was larger and faster than the Danish one. The Anglo-Saxons won some victories over the Danes who had to settle in the North Eastern part of England.
The Normans conquest of Britain
The Normans invasion
The Normans lived in France under the rule of their own Duke. The feudal system had been established in France by the 11th century. The Norman Barons had come into possession of large tracts of land and a great number of serfs. The Dukes of Normandy had become very powerful.
In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, began to gather an army to invade England. He was a relative of the English king. Edward the Confessor died and didn’t leave the son. William hoped to succeed to the English Throne. But the king’s council of wise men chose another relative the Anglo-Saxons Harold.
William claimed that England belongs to him, and the Normans landed in the South of England and the battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place on the October 14, 1066 at Hastings. The Normans won. The Anglo-Saxons tried to offer resistance but in 1071 the subjugation of the country was completed.
