English (Civ5)

English
Introduced in Civilization V
Leader
Elizabeth
Unique
Unit	Longbowman
Replaces	Crossbowman
Unit	Ship of the line
Replaces	Frigate
Ability
Sun Never Sets *+2 Movement for all naval units Receives 1 extra Spy ()
Notes
Starts bias	Coast
Language spoken	English

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The English people represent a civilization in vanilla Civilization V.

• Musical Theme: I vow to thee, My country (arranged by Geoff Knorr)
• Music Set: European
• Architecture: European
• Spy Names: James, Scarlett, Mycroft, Charlotte, Gwendolyn, Mr. Eks, Dr. Grey, Andrew, Scott, Anne
• Preferred Religion: Christianity () or Protestantism ()

Strategy

The English are one of the strongest seafaring civilizations in the game. They start on a coast and get a movement bonus for all ships (of any kind, including embarked units). This bonus is more powerful than it looks at first glance, because it allows them to explore the world much faster, and to move units across seas and oceans in the blink of an eye. The Ship of the Line seals their naval advantage in the Renaissance/Industrial Era. Another great combat advantage on land is the Longbowman, which gives them incredible striking range. Entrench these in Forts, Citadels, and cities across your empire and lay waste to any fools trying to attack you. Another strategy is to build the Great Lighthouse early on to give your naval units additional bonuses to their movement and sight.

As a bonus, the English get an extra spy right from the Renaissance Era, allowing a greater espionage power for them throughout the rest of the game. Develop that further by building Constabularies and Police Stations, and crown it with the National Intelligence Agency Wonder to become the greatest spying civilization in the game! On a side note, having extra spies in Brave New World means that you have more spies to place as Diplomats in other civilizations' capitals, giving England an advantage in diplomacy as well.

The only problem with the English is the early game. Build up your defenses to be sure you won't get wiped out by someone with early game advantages, such as the Huns.

Civilopedia Entry

History

England is located on Great Britain, a "green and pleasant" island off of the western coast of Europe. It is the largest member of the sovereign state known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Historically a seafaring people, for much of the past 500 years the English have used their incomparable navy to project their power into Europe and across the globe.

Geography and Climate

England occupies the greater part of the island of Great Britain (along with the Welsh to the west and the Scots to the north). At some 80,000 square miles in size, Great Britain is slightly larger than the state of Kansas in the USA. In pre-historic times to until approximately 6000 BC a land bridge connected Great Britain to Europe; since that time the two have been separated by the English Channel, which is some 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.

England is endowed with rolling hills and plentiful natural resources, including coal and (at one time) extensive forests. Benefitting from warm water brought to its shores by Atlantic Ocean currents, England enjoys plentiful rainfall and relatively mild winters.

Early History: Enter the Romans

The first detailed written description of England comes from the Romans, who under Julius Caesar invaded Great Britain in 55 BC. Caesar found an island of perhaps one million Celtic people divided into various warring tribes and possessing an Iron Age level of technology. Caesar led two expeditions to the island in total, and though he fought several successful battles, unrest in Gaul drew him off the island before he could solidify his conquests.

The Romans returned to Great Britain 90 years later - and this time they came in force. In 43 AD four legions (some 20,000 soldiers) under Aulus Plautius landed somewhere on the southern or south-eastern coast (the exact location is unknown) and made their way inland. After a number of stiff battles they crushed the local opposition, establishing a provincial capital at Camulodunum (Colchester). Over the next fifty years the Romans extended their borders west, conquering Wales despite fierce resistance, and north as far as the river Tyne. In 122 AD construction was begun on Hadrian's Wall, a fortification designed to protect Roman Britain from the fierce Picts (proto-Scots) in the northern highlands.

The Romans remained in power in Great Britain for another three centuries, until approximately 410 AD. They had a profound effect upon the natives during their occupation, introducing important advances in agriculture, technology, architecture, and letters.

The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Saxons

As the Roman military presence retreated from Britain and Western Europe - under pressure from invading Germanic tribes such as the Vandals - local warlords appeared to fill the power vacuum. But none were strong enough to hold off the ever-increasing attacks on the island by the Picts, the Irish, and other barbarian invaders. According to legend, King Vortigern invited the Germanic Saxons into Britain to fight the Picts, but in 442 AD the Saxons turned on their hosts and conquered much of the lowlands. The Saxons remained in power for roughly fifty years until they were driven out largely thanks to the skilful use of cavalry by the surviving British.

In the mid-sixth century a fresh wave of Germanic invaders, the Anglo-Saxons, reappeared, and they all but annihilated the original inhabitants, driving the remnants of the population west into Cornwall and Wales. The Anglo-Saxons would remain in power for several centuries, a period which saw the conversion of the population to Christianity, and a great increase in scholarship on the island, largely centered on the new Christian monasteries. It is during this period that the inhabitants of south-east Great Britain began to consider themselves "English."

The Vikings

By the ninth century England (and Scotland and Ireland, not to mention much of Europe) was under continuous assault from Scandinavian raiders known as the Vikings. The Vikings captured cities and towns along the North Sea, and by the middle of the century they controlled almost half of Great Britain, including London. In 877 Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, was able to stop their advance into Southern England, and over the next 50 years he and his heirs fought relentlessly to retake all of the Danish conquests. Athelstan, Alfred's grandson, was the first man to rule all of England in 927.

However, the Danes were not finished with England, and another wave of raids began in 980. Worn down by 20 years of continuous fighting, in 1013 the English surrendered and accepted Sweyn of Denmark as their king. Sweyn was succeeded by Canute, who ruled until 1035. The Danes and the English coexisted fairly peacefully for the next 30 years until 1066, when England was once again subject to invasion.

The Norman Conquest

On September 27, 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, launched a major invasion against England, leading 6000 knights and foot soldiers across the English Channel. After defeating the English army and killing the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William marched on London. By December of 1066 most of the English nobility had sworn allegiance to William, and he was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas. Under Norman rule the country's historical ties with Scandinavia were largely severed and England came into much closer contact with Europe.

The Middle Ages

Lots of history occurred in England over the next 400 years. There were bitter power struggles, revolts, civil wars, as well as wars in Europe, Scotland and elsewhere. There were several Crusades, a number of plagues and famines, and there were many kings named Richard and Henry, some of whom appeared to be quite mad. Unfortunately, space and time constraints require us to move rapidly to the 16th century, and the rise of Elizabeth.

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most remarkable rulers in English history. The daughter of King Henry VIII, Elizabeth took the throne in a period of great social and religious upheaval in England (and across Europe). Intelligent, beautiful, and with a great deal of courage, Elizabeth inherited a country that was virtually bankrupt, on the brink of religious civil war, and under threat of conquest by its much stronger neighbor, Spain. During her reign Elizabeth I united the country, confounded Spain's attempts at conquest, and ushered in one of the great golden ages of arts and literature in human history. She also oversaw a major expansion of the English navy, which would dominate the world's seas for centuries.

For a more detailed discussion of Queen Elizabeth I, see her Civilopedia entry.

The Stuarts

Elizabeth I died childless, and the English throne passed to James, the Stuart King of Scotland, who became James I of England. Charles I, James's successor, was overthrown by Parliament after the English Civil War (1641-1645). The crown was reinstated in 1660, but much weaker, serving "at the will of Parliament."

The United Kingdom

In 1707, the "Acts of Union" united the kingdoms of Scotland with that of England and Wales. The English and Scottish Parliaments were merged, and England ceased to exist as a political entity. However, England was the largest, wealthiest and most powerful part of the United Kingdom, so much so that many still use the terms England and the United Kingdom interchangeably, much to the annoyance of the Welsh and Scots (and later, the Northern Irish).

In 1800 the United Kingdom attempted to unite with Ireland, becoming the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." Many of the largely Roman Catholic Irish were bitterly opposed to the union, leading to a terrible insurgency that lasted for over a century. In 1922 the southern portion of Ireland was granted its independence, and the UK was once again renamed, this time becoming "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

Rule Britannia

Queen Elizabeth's reign saw the first British colony established in the New World, while the powerful British navy protected the growing British interests across the world. England's earliest colonial interests lay in the Caribbean and North America, but over time they expanded into Asia and the South Pacific as well. As British power grew in India, all European competition was driven out, and the English East India Company came to rule the subcontinent in everything but name.

In the late 18th century Britain lost control of much of North America to the Thirteen Colonies (later, the United States of America) in a long and difficult revolution. While this was a great blow to British prestige, the Empire continued to expand unabated, and by the early 20th century the British Empire was the largest and most powerful in history, encompassing one quarter of the Earth's landmass and human population.

The UK at War

For much of its history, the UK has sought to keep anyone from becoming a dominant power in Europe, and to keep anyone from developing a navy to rival that of the UK's. During Elizabeth's reign Spain was the biggest threat, and the UK sought to bankrupt Spain by intercepting the Spanish treasure fleets from the New World and to support insurgencies taking place in Spanish possessions. In the 17th century the UK fought a series of wars against the Netherlands when Dutch ships threatened British naval primacy.

In the 19th century the UK faced off against the mighty French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. The French had an incomparable army and perhaps the greatest general in human history, while the UK had its navy and the wealth from its worldwide empire. The titanic struggle lasted some 12 years, but eventually Napoleon was defeated and the UK emerged victorious.

The 20th century of course saw the UK pitted against Germany (and allies) in two terrible conflagrations, World Wars I and II. These wars would test the British to the limits of human endurance, and though the UK would be on the victorious side, the cost in wealth and human lives would leave the nation exhausted and virtually bankrupt, bereft of much of its once-great empire.

The Present and Future

It has taken some years, but the UK has recovered from the devastation's of the wars of the 20th century. Although it is no longer a super power – the United States and increasingly China are the world's "superpowers" – it retains a powerful navy, a thriving culture and a relatively strong economy with the exception that the currency the British Pound is kinda weak due to the heavy burden of a half a trillion US dollar national Debt. Also While the UK is an integral part of the increasingly united and powerful Europe it is also the strongest ally of the United States of America. In the year 2012 the United States said that it would cease its war on terrorism for a few years. After this the British and French teamed up and fought wars in Syria, Libya, as well as Egypt and won all of these short lived conflicts with out the aid of American Soldgiers joining in these small wars to remove the dictators in a event known as "the Arab Spring".

There is no doubt that the "green and pleasant land" will continue to affect the course of world events for now and the foreseeable future. In the year 2016 there was a vote known as the BREXIT or (British Exit). The British left the European Union. It is known that despite leaving the European Union that the British have pledged to continue there Alliance with the United States as well as France that they have had since the year 1917 when the 3 countries joined together to fight the Germans during the first World War.

English Trivia

File:British Flag.png

The United Kingdom's Flag

The world's first public zoo opened in London in 1829.

The Bank of England is one of the few with its own nickname: The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.

Before the invention of the mechanical clock in the 14th century, the most complex machine in Europe (and perhaps the world) was a pipe organ in the cathedral in Winchester, England, completed in around 950 AD. It had 400 pipes, and 70 men were needed to operate its 26 bellows.

Queen Berengaria, the wife of Richard the Lion-Heart, never set foot on English soil – she instead ruled from Italy and France.

The delicious Colchester oysters were one of the main reasons for the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD.

List of Cities

Founding Order	City Name	Notes
1	London	Capital city, old Roman fort town, home of the Globe Theatre and Big Ben
2	York	Former capital of England
3	Nottingham	Home to the legend of Robin Hood
4	Hastings	Site of battle between King Harold and Duke William
5	Canterbury	Located in Kent, seat of the Archbishop
6	Lincoln	Old Roman settlement
7	Coventry	The most central city in the UK
8	Warwick	Historic medieval town
9	Newcastle	Major industrial port city
10	Oxford	Famous university city
11	Liverpool	Major industrial port city
12	Dover	Coastal port that is near the Channel Tunnel link to France
13	Brighton	Popular seaside resort in the south of England, notable for its acceptance of the gay community
14	Norwich	Early Anglo-Saxon Settlement
15	Leeds	Third largest city in the UK
16	Reading	Ancient Viking town
17	Birmingham	Second city of England, famous for its jewelry trade
18	Richmond	The most duplicated place name, with 57 worldwide
19	Exeter	The most South-Western Roman fortified settlement
20	Cambridge	Famous university city
21	Gloucester	Ancient Roman Settlement
22	Manchester	Ancient Roman settlement, third city of England
23	Bristol	Ancient Roman Settlement, largest city in South West England
24	Leicester	Ancient Roman settlement, close to the site of the Battle of Bosworth
25	Carlisle	Roman outpost associated with Hadrian's Wall
26	Ipswich	Possibly the oldest town in England
27	Portsmouth	Major port city, home to a historic dockyard that is part of the Royal Navy
28	Berwick	Appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Berewice
29	Bath	Ancient Roman settlement
30	Mumbles	Town in Wales adjacent to Swansea
31	Southampton	Saxon and Medieval walled town turned major commercial port city, famous for embarkment of Great War infantry and the Titanic
32	Sheffield	Inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic, underwent rapid growth during the Industrial Revolution
33	Salisbury	Closest city to the Stonehenge, tallest cathedral spire in Britain is home to a copy of the Magna Carta
34	Colchester	Ancient Roman capital
35	Plymouth	Gateway port to the new world
36	Lancaster	Ancient Roman settlement
37	Blackpool	Tourist city, Nicknamed "Gay capital of the North"
38	Winchester	Original capital city of England
39	Hull	Founded in the 12th century at the mouth of the river Hull

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