The Norman Conquest of England
William of Normandy led the Norman and French army when they invaded Britain. This all started because when King Edward the Confessor died in 1066 William thought he deserved the throne. However, Harold II was crowned king instead because he was the brother-in-law of Edward, and Edward had no children. William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings.
When William secured his spot on the throne many things in England changed. He built castles to retain military strongpoints, speaking French was introduced, and there were changes in the upper class. The elimination of slavery was the biggest change although we may never know for sure if that was the result of the invasion. One thing that didn't change much was the government, the only real change the government saw was the Norman administers taking over the many forms of government.
While we were at the Museum of London I was able to see many different artifacts pertaining to the Norman Conquest. I read about this before I left, but it took going to the Museum of London to fully understand it. To see these artifacts made learning about this was more hands on and easier to grasp.
When William secured his spot on the throne many things in England changed. He built castles to retain military strongpoints, speaking French was introduced, and there were changes in the upper class. The elimination of slavery was the biggest change although we may never know for sure if that was the result of the invasion. One thing that didn't change much was the government, the only real change the government saw was the Norman administers taking over the many forms of government.
While we were at the Museum of London I was able to see many different artifacts pertaining to the Norman Conquest. I read about this before I left, but it took going to the Museum of London to fully understand it. To see these artifacts made learning about this was more hands on and easier to grasp.
My Thoughts on the Norman Conquest
What I feel about this is I wonder if William didn't kill Harold II would Britain have the progressed and changed as much as it did or would things have stayed the same? Things happen for a reason at the time they are supposed to happen. Britain must have been ready for these changes because America wasn't we didn't progress at the same rate as Britain. We are a much younger country but it leaves me to wonder, did this change the course of history? I love to learn about this stuff because more often than not it leaves you wondering and you have to come up with your own conclusions and it's intriguing to guess. The Norman Conquest seemed unnecessary to me and I feel like William put more effort into this than he really needed to.