| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 90,000,000 worldwide | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 England | 45.26 million (estimate)[1] |
 United States | 28,410,295[2] |
 Canada | 6,570,015[3] |
 Australia | 6,358,880[4] |
 New Zealand | 44,202 - 281,895[5] |
| Languages | |
| English | |
| Religion | |
| Traditionally Christianity, mostly Anglicanism, but also non-conformists (see History of the Church of England) and also Roman Catholics (see Catholic Emancipation). Minority Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and others (See Religion in England). | |
The English are the people of England,[6][7] one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. As a nation they are defined as sharing a common English culture, English language, affinity and civic identity. As an ethnic group, the English are conventionally interpreted to be a Germanic people, the lineal descendants of the Angles, Frisians, Jutes and Saxons, Teutonic tribes that migrated to Great Britain from northern Europe following the Roman departure from Britain in the 5th century, and who came to absorb Britain's Celtic, Norse and Scandinavian influences thereafter.[8][9][10]
During the Dark Ages, the English (known then in Old English as the Anglecynn) were under the governance of independent Anglo-Saxon petty kingdoms which gradually coalesced into a Heptarchy of seven powerful states, the most powerful of which were Mercia and Wessex. The English unified under a single nation state—the Kingdom of England—in 937 under King Athelstan of Wessex, after the Battle of Brunanburh.[11][12]
After the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, although initially resistant,[13] the English came to think of themselves as simultaneously English and also British, so much so that the two identities have been embraced and applied indiscriminately.[10] The historical misappropriation of English for British, and vice versa, has been the cause of much displeasure for large sections of the United Kingdom's population, particularly the Irish, Scots and Welsh.[10] As Britons, the contemporary English are subject to British nationality law, but nevertheless remain a distinct population in cultural terms bla bla etc etc(need a rewording and source here of course)
The largest single English population live in England. English diaspora, Anglo-Irish, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-American? For purposes of civil registration and statistical outputs, the English are (broadly) subsumed into the racial classification of White British??? The English have been described as a hidebound,[clarification needed] homely and duteous people, whose social class-bound culture is marked by a tradition of competitive sports and games, and distinct regional accents and expressions.[10][14][15]
References edit
- ^ The CIA World Factbook reports that in the 2001 UK census 92.1% of the UK population were in the White ethnic group, and that 83.6% of this group are in the English ethnic group. The UK Office for National Statistics reports a total population in the UK census of 58,789,194. A quick calculation shows this is equivalent to 45,265,093 people in the English ethnic group; however, this number may not represent a self-defined ethnic group because the 2001 census did not in fact offer "English" as an option under the 'ethnicity' question (the CIA's figure was presumably arrived at by calculating the number of people in England who listed themselves as "white").
- ^ (Ethnic origin) The 2000 US census shows 24,515,138 people claiming English ancestry. According to EuroAmericans.net the greatest population with English origins in a single state was 2,521,355 in California, and the highest percentage was 29.0% in Utah. The American Community Survey 2004 by the US Census Bureau estimates 28,410,295 people claiming some English origin.
- ^ (Ethnic origin) The 2006 Canadian Census gives 1,367,125 respondents stating their ethnic origin as English as a single response, and 5,202,890 including multiple responses, giving a combined total of 6,570,015.
- ^ (Ancestry) The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports 6,358,880 people of English ancestry in the 2001 Census.[1].
- ^ (Ethnic origin) The 2006 New Zealand census reports 44,202 people (based on pre-assigned ethnic categories) stating they belong to the English ethnic group. The 1996 census used a different question to both the 1991 and the 2001 censuses, which had "a tendency for respondents to answer the 1996 question on the basis of ancestry (or descent) rather than 'ethnicity' (or cultural affiliation)" and reported 281,895 people with English origins; See also the figures for 'New Zealand European'.
- ^ Macdonald 1969, p. 164:
English, ing'glish, adj. belonging to England or its inhabitants or language.
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2004), English (Fourth ed.), dictionary.reference.com, retrieved 2009-06-29
Eng⋅lish noun:
- the people of England collectively, esp. as distinguished from the Scots, Welsh, and Irish.
- ^ Kidd 1999, p. 75.
- ^ Cavendish 2002, p. 555.
- ^ a b c d Kumar, Krishan (2003), The Making of English National Identity (PDF), assets.cambridge.org, retrieved 2009-06-05
- ^ Athelstan (c.895 - 939), bbc.co.uk, retrieved 2009-05-18
- ^ h2g2, The Battle of Brunanburh, 937AD, bbc.co.uk, retrieved 2008-05-18
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Colley 1992, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Paxman 1999, p. ix.
- ^ Paxman 1999, p. 3.
Bibliography edit
- Paxman, Jeremy (1999), The English: A Portrait of a People, London: Penguin, ISBN 0140267239
- Cavendish, Marshall (2002), Peoples of Europe, Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 9780761473787
- Macdonald, A. M. (1969), Chambers Compact Dictionary, Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, ISBN 0-550-10605-7
- Snyder, Christopher Allen (2003), The Britons, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 9780631222606