List of wars involving England
This is a list of wars involving the Kingdom of England before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain by the Acts of Union 1707. For dates after 1708, see List of wars involving the United Kingdom.
- English victory - 34
- English defeat - 29
- Another result * - 12
*e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive, inconclusive
10th and 11th centuries
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & allies | England's opposition | ||||
| 927 | 937 | Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland |  England
 Deheubarth
 Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwent
|
 Scotland
Norse-Gaels
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Dublin
|
Stalemate |
| 946 | 954 | Northumbria's war of independence | England
Earl of Bamburgh
|
Northumbria | Victory
|
| 1016 | 1016 | Cnut the Great's invasion of England | England |
 Kingdom of DenmarkCnut the Great |
Defeat
|
| 1026 | 1026 | Battle of Helgeå | North Sea Empire Kingdom of England
|
.svg){kind=small} Sweden Norway
|
Victory
|
| 1066 | 1088 | Norman Conquest of England | England |
.svg){kind=small} Duchy of NormandyWilliam of Normandy |
Defeat
|
| 1067 | 1081 | Norman invasion of Wales | England
|
Welsh kingdoms | Defeat
|
| 1075 | 1075 | Revolt of the Earls | William I of England
|
Three earls | Internal Conflict, William was Victorious
|
| 1096 | 1099 | First Crusade |  England
Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of France
Duchy of Apulia
Byzantine Empire
|
 Great Seljuq Empire
Danishmends
 Fatimid Caliphate
Almoravids
|
Victory
|
12th century
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & allies | England's opposition | ||||
| 1145 | 1149 | Second Crusade | England (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of Jerusalem (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of France (Iberian and Holy Land Crusade)
Holy Roman Empire (Wendish and Holy Land Crusade)
Kingdom of Portugal (Iberian Crusade)
Castile (Iberian Crusade)
County of Barcelona (Iberian Crusade)
León (Iberian Crusade)
Byzantine Empire (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of Denmark (Wendish Crusade)
Duchy of Poland (Wendish Crusade)
Kingdom of Sicily (Holy land Crusade) |
Sultanate of Rum (Holy Land Crusade)
 Almoravids (Iberian Crusade)
.svg){kind=small} Almohads (Iberian Crusade)
Zengids (Holy Land Crusade)
 Abbasids (Holy Land Crusade)
Fatimids (Holy Land Crusade)
Obotrite Confederacy (Wendish Crusade) |
Partial Crusader Victory
|
| 1189 | 1192 | Third Crusade | England (Holy land Crusade)
Kingdom of Jerusalem
.svg){kind=small} France
.svg){kind=small} Holy Roman Empire
|
Ayyubids Zengids Sultanate of Rum Byzantine Empire | Partial Crusader victory |
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13th century
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14th century
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15th century
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & allies | England's opposition | ||||
| 1470 | 1474 | Anglo-Hanseatic War |  England
|
 Hanseatic League
|
Defeat, Hanseatic victory |
| 1496 | 1498 | Italian War of 1494–1498 (1494–1498) |
League of Venice:
|
 Kingdom of France
|
Victory
|
16th century
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17th century
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & allies | England's opposition | ||||
| 1602 | 1661 | Dutch-Portuguese War (1602–1661) |  Dutch Republic England(until 1640)  Johor Sultanate Kingdom of Kandy Kingdom of KongoKingdom of Ndongo |
 Kingdom of Portugal Crown of Castile(until 1640) Kingdom of Cochin Potiguara Tupis |
Stalemate
|
| 1625 | 1630 | Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630) | England Support: |
 Spain
|
Status quo ante bellum
|
| 1627 | 1629 | Anglo-French War (1627–1629) | England
|
 France
|
Status quo ante bellum |
| 1640 | 1668 | Portuguese Restoration War | Kingdom of Portugal France England
|
Crown of Spain
|
Victory
|
| 1652 | 1654 | First Anglo-Dutch War |  Commonwealth of England
|
Dutch Republic
|
Victory |
| 1654 | 1660 | Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660) | Commonwealth of England France (1657–59)
|
Spain.svg){kind=small} Royalists of the British Isles
|
Victory |
| 1661 | 1665 | Dano-Dutch War | England Denmark–Norway
|
Dutch Republic
|
Victory
|
| 1665 | 1667 | Second Anglo-Dutch War | England Bishopric of Münster
|
Dutch Republic Denmark France
|
Defeat
|
| 1672 | 1674 | Third Anglo-Dutch War | England France Bishopric of Münster Electorate of Cologne
|
Dutch Republic Denmark-Norway
|
inconclusive/other result
|
| 1672 | 1678 | Franco-Dutch War | England (1672–74)
|
England (1678)
|
Major French territorial gains
|
| 1686 | 1690 | Anglo-Mughal War | England East India Company
|
 Mughal Empire
|
Defeat
|
| 1687 | 1688 | Anglo-Siamese War | England East India Company
|
 Kingdom of Ayutthaya (Siam)(Unauthorised piracy by English sailors under Siamese employ) •  English defectors
|
Inconclusive
English factory rejected from Siam, after minor naval action, along with massacre in the aftermath: the war was not pursued. In 1688, a coup forced the closure of all official European trade in Siam for 150 years except for the Dutch. |
| 1688 | 1697 | Nine Years' War | Grand Alliance: Dutch Republic England  Holy Roman Empire Spanish Empire Duchy of Savoy Swedish Empire (until 1691) Scotland
|
France Jacobites
|
Victory
|
18th century
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & allies | England's opposition | ||||
| 1700 | 1721 | The Great Northern War (1700–1721) |
England (until 1707)
|
 Tsardom of Russia
|
Inconclusive for England
Russian Allied victory:
|
| 1701 | 1714 | War of the Spanish Succession | England (until 1707) Great Britain (from 1707) Austrian monarchy Dutch Republic Holy Roman Empire Piedmont-Savoy Prussia Habsburg SpainKingdom of Portugal |
France Spanish monarchy Bavaria (~1704) Cologne Mantua (~1708)
|
Victory
|
Civil wars and revolutions
| Start | End | Name of conflict | Belligerents | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Government | Rebels | ||||
| 1069 | 1070 | Harrying of the North | William I of England
|
House of Wessex |
Internal Conflict, William was Victorious
An uprising which started 4 years after the Norman Conquest. Edgar Ætheling, the grandson of Edmund Ironside and the last notable heir to the House of Wessex, fought with the support of the King of Denmark Sweyn II, Anglo-Saxons, and Anglo-Scandinavians. It ended in defeat for the Anglo-Saxons & Anglo-Scandinavians. William the Conqueror paid Sweyn and his Danish fleet to go home, but the remaining rebels refused to meet him in battle, and he decided to starve them out by laying waste to the northern shires using scorched earth tactics. The Norman campaign to reconquer Northern England resulted in a genocide against the people living there. |
| 1070 | 1071 | Ely Rebellion | William I of England
|
King of Denmark Sweyn II Hereward the Wake Morcar Bishop Aethelwine of Durham |
Internal Conflict, William Victorius
An anti-Norman insurrection centred on the Isle of Ely. The Danish king Sweyn Estrithson sent a small army to try to establish a camp on the Isle of Ely. The Isle became a refuge for Anglo-Saxon forces under Earl Morcar, Bishop Aethelwine of Durham and Hereward the Wake in 1071.[4] The area was taken by William the Conqueror only after a prolonged struggle.[5] |
| 1088 | 1088 | Rebellion of 1088 | EnglandWilliam Rufus
|
Duchy of NormandyRobert Curthose
|
Internal Conflict, William Rufus Victorius |
| 1135 | 1154 | The Anarchy | Supporters of Stephen of Blois | Supporters of Empress Matilda and Henry Curtmantle | Civil War
|
| 1173 | 1174 | Revolt of 1173–74 | .svg){kind=small} English royalists
|
English rebels Kingdom of France Kingdom of Scotland County of Flanders County of Boulogne Duchy of Brittany |
Internal Conflict
|
| 1215 | 1217 | First Barons' War | England
|
Rebel Barons
.svg){kind=small} France
|
Civil War, Angevinian victory
|
| 1264 | 1267 | Second Barons' War | English royalists
|
Rebel barons | Civil War, Royalist victory
|
| 1264 | 1267 | Welsh Uprising (1282) | English royalists
|
 Dafydd ap Gruffydd
|
Internal Conflict, Royalist victory |
| 1321 | 1322 | Despenser War | England |
Contrariants
Supported by:
|
Civil War, Decisive Royal victory
|
| 1326 | 1326 | Invasion of England (1326) | .svg){kind=small} Royal governmentEdward II (POW) |
Contrariants Supported by: |
Civil War, Contrariants' victory
Continuation of the Despenser War. Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimers invasion led to:
|
| 1381 | 1381 | Peasants' Revolt | Royal government
|
Rebel forces | Internal Conflict, Royal government victorious
|
| 1400 | 1415 | Glyndŵr RisingPart of the Hundred Years' War | England
|
 Welsh rebels .svg){kind=small} Kingdom of France
|
Internal Conflict, Total English victory |
| 1455 | 1485 | Wars of the Roses |  House of YorkSupported by: |
 House of Lancaster House of TudorSupported by: |
Civil War, Victory for the House of Lancaster and their allies
|
| 1497 | 1497 | Cornish Rebellion of 1497 | England |
Cornish rebels |
Internal Conflict, English victory |
| 1549 | 1549 | Prayer Book Rebellion | England
|
Southwestern Catholic Rebels
|
Internal Conflict, Edwardian victory
|
| 1639 | 1651 | Wars of the Three Kingdoms |  Royalists |
Parliamentarians
|
Civil War, Parliamentarian victory Bishops' Wars (1639)
Second Bishops' War (1640)
First English Civil War (1642–46)
Irish Confederate Wars (1642–48)
Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1644–47)
Second English Civil War (1648)
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649)
Third English Civil War (1650–1652)
|
| 1685 | 1685 | Monmouth Rebellion | Royal army of James II
|
 Rebel army of Duke of Monmouth
|
Internal Conflict, Victory for James II |
| 1688 | 1689 | Glorious Revolution | James II
|
William of Orange Dutch military forces British military forces |
Internal Conflict
|
| 1689 | 1746 | Jacobite Rebellions | England (until 1707)
|
Jacobites | Civil War, Royalist victory in England, Scotland and Ireland
|
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See also
- List of English civil wars
- List of wars in Great Britain
- Military history of England
- List of wars involving England and France
- List of wars involving the United Kingdom
References
- ^ Edmund II (king of England) @ Britannica.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195334036.001.0001/acref-9780195334036-e-0424
- ^ Geoffrey Parker p. 73
- ^ Hereward and the Isle of Ely, BBC History, accessed 6 January 2008
- ^ The taking of Ely, BBC History, accessed 6 January 2008
- ^ Weir (2006), p 223
- ^ Wagner & Schmid 2011.
- ^ Guy 1988.
- ^ McCaffrey 1984.
- ^ After Francis II became ill, his treasurer, Pierre Landais, ruling the Duchy in his stead, aided Richard III in attempting to capture Henry Tudor.
- ^ Francis II sheltered Henry Tudor, supplying him with money, troops, and ships. It was only after Francis fell ill that Henry was forced to flee Brittany to France.
Sources
- Guy, J. (1988). Tudor England. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285213-7. OCLC 17677564.
- McCaffrey, Wallace (1984). "Recent Writings on Tutor History". In Schlatter, Richard (ed.). Recent Views on British History: Essays on Historical Writing since 1966. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-0959-4.
- Wagner, John A.; Schmid, Susan Walters, eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of Tudor England. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-298-2.
Further reading
- Barnett, Correlli. Britain and her army, 1509-1970: a military, political and social survey (1970).
- Carlton, Charles. This Seat of Mars: War and the British Isles, 1485-1746 (Yale UP; 2011) 332 pages; studies the impact of near unceasing war from the individual to the national levels.
- Chandler, David G., and Ian Frederick William Beckett, eds. The Oxford history of the British army (Oxford UP, 2003).
- Cole, D. H and E. C Priestley. An outline of British military history, 1660-1936 (1936). online
- Higham, John, ed. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History (1971) 654 pages excerpt; Highly detailed bibliography and discussion up to 1970.
- Sheppard, Eric William. A short history of the British army (1950). online
Historiography
- Messenger, Charles, ed. Reader's Guide to Military History (2001) pp 55–74; annotated guide to most important books.