When was England last invaded? 1066 or 1688?
I always tell foreigners that England was last invaded in 1066 when the Normans beat the English at the Battle of Hastings. I always argue that this lack of invasion or occupation or liberation in almost a millennium explains our strange but effective political system which has evolved slowly and pragmatically over many centuries.
However, maybe I’m wrong. Currently, I am reading a long book: the near-600 page work entitled “A History Of The World” by Andrew Marr. In this book, Marr argues that the accession to the English throne of William and Mary in 1688 was an invasion mounted by 53 war ships and about 400 supply ships.
No battles were fought and no blood was spilt. The English Parliament offered the throne to the Dutchman and his wife in return for agreement on a Bill of Rights that provided that in future no British monarch could raise taxes or have a standing army without the agreement of parliament and that he had to allow free and frequent elections. This is what we call the ‘Glorious Revolution’.
Marr states: “The British do not, in genertal, make much of this invasion. Even quite educated people believe that England has not been invaded since the Normans arrived in 1066.”
He quotes the view of the historian Lisa Jardine that “what happened in 1688 happened because the Dutch decided it must, not because the British asked for it to happen”.