England

England is the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom). It is bordered on its west by the constituent country of Wales and to its north by the constituent country of Scotland. England formed a political union with the Kingdom of Wales and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707; the Kingdom of Ireland later joined the union until its territory was reduced to today's Northern Ireland.

Brief History

England was first settled by modern humans after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age. Successive waves of migrations from the European mainland eventually coalesced into a people who adopted the Celtic culture then present in Ireland and Scotland. The country derives its name from the Angles, a group of migrants from what is today the northern coast of Germany. By the medieval era, a number of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms politically united into the entity that is today known as England. Many people use the term England to refer to Great Britain or the United Kingdom, but this is a mistake. England is merely a constituent country of these entities.