It was the Norman Invasion. There's a very good reason why the one date most people can remember is 1066: it's because the invasion and the years of subjugation and looting at the hands of the Normans that followed had a very special role in forming the British persona.
The British have since carried a consciousness of being a separate island state at their very core. It was behind their resistance of Napoleon and Hitler; these days it's a component of resistance of the EC and fears regarding immigration.
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The Relic
Richard Dawkins for Pope. |