Asked • 04/23/19

Was England considered a "colony" of France?

After the "[Norman conquest of England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England)", many things including languages, the ways of life, etc. have changed a lot in Europe. Especially it affected the English language significantly that a lot of French words were borrowed by English. Now, I would like to know how history describes the period when England was ruled by royal families of France. Also, if it was regarded as a colony, was there any independence war against the French rule in England? When did England became free of the political influence by France and by what event?

Richard H.

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Short answer: England was NEVER ruled by the royal family of France. England was not directly subject to the French Crown due to the Norman Conquest. The Norman leader was a vassal to the king of France, meaning that he owed the king of France allegiance in return for the possession of Normandy. The Duke of Normandy, by right of conquest, became the King of England (though he claimed that Harold Godwinson, who he defeated at Hastings in 1066, was a usurper, and that he, William, had been chosen by King Edward the Confessor as the rightful heir). Thus the Duke of Normandy was simultaneously the King of England, and the titles were technically independent. There were repeated wars between the English and French, in part because the Norman rulers were often militarily more powerful than their French royal overlords. Eventually, a royal princess married the English King Edward II, and their child, Edward III, laid claim to the FRENCH throne, as the last surviving male heir of the senior branch of the royal family. This kicked off the Hundred Years War, which lasted til 1453, in which the English tried to conquer all of France.
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05/14/19

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Alejandro G. answered • 12/28/20

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During this medieval time-period, France was not unified in any practical way. The Duchy of Normandy, led by William the Conqueror, conquered England independently from the King of France. The Duke of Normandy was thus also King of England, independent from the King of France. Thus, France had never 'conquered' England, but the Normans definitely changed the political landscape of England, effectively replacing the Anglo-Saxon ruling elite with a French Norman ruling elite. With higher society now speaking French, old English disappears from the historical record, only to reappear with the loss of the Norman territories as the ruling elite embraced a mixture of English and French culture and language.

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