For English School kids, when does English history start?

[beancounter]

In the U.S., American history for grade school kids usually begins with the Mayflower in 1620.

England is a much older country, so Iwas wondering what year is considered the start of England's history. Or maybe it's not an exact year but a specific event?

 

[shyvas]

I remember the Stone Age as one of my first history lessons.

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/timeline.html

 

[beancounter]

That's neat!

When was England considered a unified country? I understand around the Roman times, England was ruled by several fiefdoms. Who is the first official king?

 

[shyvas]

I had to google this up. Apparently historians cannot agree to who was England's 1st king ; Kings of Wessex or Kings of the English:


Kings of Wessex
Egbert (802-39, from 829 bretwalda/overlord)
Athelwolf (839-55)
Athelbald (855-860)
Athelbert (860-65/66)
Athelred I (865/5-871)
Alfred, the Great (871-99)
Edward the Elder (899-924)
Elfweard (924, uncrowned, ruled 16 days)
Kings of the English/England
Athelstan (924-39, First named King of the English)
Edmund I, the Magnificent (939-46)
Eadred (946-55)
Eadwig/Edwy, All-Fair (955-59)
Edgar, the Peaceable (959-75, First Crowned King of the English)
Edward, the Martyr (975-78)
Aethelred II, the Unready (978-1013, deposed)
Swein/Sven/Sweyn, Forkbeard (1013-14)
Aethelred II, the Unready (restored, 1014-16)
Edmund II, Ironside (1016)
Cnut/Canute, the Great (1016-35)
Harthacanute (1035-37, deposed)
Harold, Harefoot (1037-40)
Harthacanute (restored, 1040-42)
Edward I, the Confessor (1042-66)
Harold II (1066)
Edgar, The Atheling (1066, uncrowned)
House of Normandy
William I, the Conqueror (1066-87)
William II, Rufus (1087-1100)
Henry I, Beauclerc (1100-35)
Stephen (1135-54, deposed and restored 1141)
Matilda, Empress of Germany (1141, uncrowned)
House of Anjou/Plantagenet/Angevin Line
Henry II, Curtmantle/Fitempress (1154-89)
Richard I, Lionheart (1189-99)
John, Lackland (1199-1216)
Louis (1216-1217)
Henry III (1216-72)
Edward I, Longshanks (1272-1307)
Edward II (1307-27, abdicated)
Edward III (1327-77)
Richard II (1377-99, abdicated)
Plantagenet/Lancastrian
Henry IV, Bolingbroke (1399-1413)
Henry V (1413-22)
Henry VI (1422-61, desposed, 1470-1, deposed)
Plantagenet/Yorkist
Edward IV (1461-70, deposed, 1471-83)
Edward V (1483, deposed, uncrowned)
Richard III, Crookback (1483-5)
House of Tudor
Henry VII Tudor (1485-1509)
Henry VIII (1509-47)
Edward VI (1547-53)
Lady Jane Grey (1553, deposed after 9 days)
Mary I, Bloody Mary (1553-58)
Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
House of Stuart
James I (1603-25)
Charles I (1625-49, executed by Parliament)
The Protectorate (No Monarch)
Oliver Cromwell (1649-58, Lord Protector)
Richard Cromwell (1658-59, Lord Protector)
House of Stuart
Charles II (1660-85)
James II (1685-88, deposed)
House of Orange and Stuart
William III (1689-1702) and Mary II (1689-1694)
House of Stuart
Anne (1702-14)
House of Brunswick, Hanover Line
George I (1714-27)
George II (1727-60)
George III, Farmer George (1760-1820)
George IV (1820-30)
William IV, The Sailor King (1830-37)
Victoria (1837-1901)
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Edward VII (1901-10)
House of Windsor
George V (1910-36)
Edward VIII (1936, uncrowned)
George VI (1936-52)
Elizabeth II (1952- present

 

[beancounter]

So I guess England officially began around 800-900AD.

Thanks!

 

[Amy SF]

If I ever get a male dog I'm going to name him Athelwolf.

beancounter, I thought US history lessons usually start with Christopher Columbus "discovering" America in 1492. That's what I was taught in grade school. Otherwise, in describing the voyage of the Mayflower, it's going to sound like the Pilgrims set sail from Europe without knowing where they were going and just happened to land in Massachusetts.

 

[SummerRain]

I remember the Stone Age as one of my first history lessons.

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/timeline.html

Yeah I don't think history here "starts" at a particular point, you go back as far as per-historic, you definitely do a lot of Romans (2000 years ago). I think history always felt disjointed, jumping around quite a lot from the Romans to the second world war to Florance Nightingale... plus when I was a kid, any time before about 1980 felt like ancient history. I guess there's just not enough hours to do it all.

I always wanted to do more modern world history, I think it would help put current world events into better perspective.

 

[beancounter]

If I ever get a male dog I'm going to name him Athelwolf.

beancounter, I thought US history lessons usually start with Christopher Columbus "discovering" America in 1492. That's what I was taught in grade school. Otherwise, in describing the voyage of the Mayflower, it's going to sound like the Pilgrims set sail from Europe without knowing where they were going and just happened to land in Massachusetts.

Well, I was thinking more in terms of when people actually started settling here and setting up a country. Columbus is more Spanish history. But I guess that would be an unpopular opinion, because without him, we would have one less Monday holiday.

 

[ledboots]

My kids did have some ancient native American history in their US history courses.

Per wiki
"St. Augustine (Spanish: San Agustín) is a city in Northeast Florida and the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States.[4] "

~snip~
"San Agustín was founded in September 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, and subsequently served as the capital of Spanish Florida for two hundred years."

 

[Clueless Git]

All I remember from school history ..

1. Anything and everything ever done in the world that was worth doing was done by an Englishman.

2. Christopher Columbus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Enstein, Plato, Quinn the Eskimo, et-others were all Englishmen despite any clues to the contrary.

3. Genghis Kahn was not actualy an Englishman but you have to give him credit for trying.

4. The Chinese may have invented gunpowder but it took an Englishman to figure out how to add bullets.

5. England only ever invaded countries who begged us so to do in order to free them from 'wogdom'.

6. Wogdom begins at Calais.

And why we were a bunch of racists at the time in hand still remains a total mystery.