Claim: England was initially settled by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest . England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain -LRB- which lies in the North Atlantic -RRB- in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight .   The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period , but takes its name from the Angles , one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries . England became a unified state in the 10th century , and since the Age of Discovery , which began during the 15th century , has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world . The English language , the Anglican Church , and English law -- the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world -- developed in England , and the country 's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations . The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England , transforming its society into the world 's first industrialised nation .   England 's terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains , especially in central and southern England . However , there are uplands in the north -LRB- for example , the mountainous Lake District , and the Pennines -RRB- and in the southwest -LRB- for example , Dartmoor and the Cotswolds -RRB- . The capital is London , which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union.According to the European Statistical Agency , London is the largest Larger Urban Zone in the EU , a measure of metropolitan area which comprises a city 's urban core as well as its surrounding commuting zone . London 's municipal population is also the largest in the EU . England 's population of over 53 million comprises 84 % of the population of the United Kingdom , largely concentrated around London , the South East , and conurbations in the Midlands , the North West , the North East , and Yorkshire , which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century .   The Kingdom of England -- which after 1535 included Wales -- ceased being a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707 , when the Acts of Union put into effect the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year , resulting in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain . In 1801 , Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom , leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .