Editing History of England (section)

===14th century===
{{main| Edward I of England| Edward II of England | Edward III of England| Richard II of England }}
[[File:Mob Quad from Chapel Tower.jpg|thumb|The [[Mob Quad]] of [[Merton College, Oxford|Merton College]], [[University of Oxford]], 13th–14th century]]
The reign of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] (reigned 1272–1307) was rather more successful. Edward enacted numerous laws strengthening the powers of his government, and he summoned the first officially sanctioned [[Parliaments of England]] (such as his [[Model Parliament]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/birthofparliament/overview/edward/#:~:text=Model%20Parliament&text=The%20next%20time%20the%20burgesses,(almost)%20all%20future%20Parliaments.|title=Changes under Edward I
|website=parliament.uk|accessdate=27 March 2024}}</ref> He [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|conquered Wales]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Morris |first=John E. |title= The Welsh Wars of Edward I. a Contribution to Mediaeval Military History, Based on Original Documents |publisher=Clarendon Press
 |location=Oxford, UK |year=1901 |oclc= 562375464 }}</ref> and attempted to use a succession dispute to gain control of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], though this developed into a costly and drawn-out military campaign.

Edward I is also known for his policies first persecuting Jews, particularly the 1275 [[Statute of the Jewry]]. This banned Jews from their previous role in making loans, and demanded that they work as merchants, farmers, craftsmen or soldiers. This was unrealistic, and failed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huscroft |first=Richard |title=Expulsion: England's Jewish solution |date=2006 |publisher=Tempus |isbn=978-0-752-43729-3 |location=Stroud |pages=112–139}}</ref> Edward's solution was to [[History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)#Edward I and the Expulsion|expel Jews from England]].<ref name="Hillaby 2013 104–107">{{harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|pp=104–107}}</ref><ref name="Jacobs 1903">{{cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=England |first=Joseph |last=Jacobs |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5764-england |volume=5 |page=161-174}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Huscroft|2006|pp=140–160}}</ref> This was the first statewide, permanent expulsion in Europe.{{sfn|Roth|1964|p=90}}{{sfn|Richmond|1992|pp=44-45}}{{sfn|Skinner|2003|p=1}}{{sfn|Huscroft|2006|p=12}}

His son, [[Edward II of England|Edward II]], was considered a disaster by other nobles. A man who preferred to engage in activities like thatching and ditch-digging<ref>{{cite book|title=Edward II: The Unconventional King|author=Kathryn Warner|date=19 February 2015|publisher=Amnberley Publishing|isbn=9781445641201}}</ref> and associating with the lower class rather than the activities considered appropriate for the upper class such as jousting, hunting, or the usual entertainments of kings, he spent most of his reign trying in vain to control the nobility, who in return showed continual hostility to him. Meanwhile, the Scottish leader [[Robert the Bruce|Robert Bruce]] began retaking all the territory conquered by Edward I. In 1314, the English army was disastrously defeated by the Scots at the [[Battle of Bannockburn]]. Edward also showered favours on his companion [[Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall|Piers Gaveston]], a knight of humble birth. While it has been widely believed that Edward was homosexual because of his closeness to Gaveston, there is no concrete evidence of this. The king's enemies, including his cousin [[Thomas of Lancaster]], captured and murdered Gaveston in 1312.

The [[Great Famine of 1315–1317]] may have resulted in half a million deaths in England due to hunger and disease, more than 10 per cent of the population.<ref name="famine">"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=eGsCGAdH4YQC&pg=PA66 The savage wars of peace: England, Japan and the Malthusian trap]''". Alan Macfarlane (1997). p.66. {{ISBN|0-631-18117-2}}</ref>
[[File:Ellesmere Chaucer, mssEL 26 C 9, folio 153v, warmer image.jpg|left|thumb|180x180px|[[Geoffrey Chaucer]], {{circa|1340s}}–1400, author of [[The Canterbury Tales]]]]
[[File:Canterbury Cathedral Nave 1, Kent, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|[[Canterbury Cathedral]] nave, 1377]]

Edward's downfall came in 1326 when his wife, [[Isabella of France|Queen Isabella]], travelled to her native France and, with her lover [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March|Roger Mortimer]], [[Edward II of England#Invasion|invaded England]]. Despite their tiny force, they quickly rallied support for their cause. The king fled London, and his companion since Piers Gaveston's death, [[Hugh Despenser the younger|Hugh Despenser]], was publicly tried and executed. Edward was captured, charged with breaking his coronation oath, [[Edward II of England#Abdication|deposed]] and imprisoned in Gloucestershire until he was murdered some time in the autumn of 1327, presumably by agents of Isabella and Mortimer.

[[Edward III of England|Edward III]], son of Edward II, was crowned at age 14 after his father was [[deposition (politics)|deposed]] by his mother and [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March|Roger Mortimer]]. At age 17, he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the ''de facto'' ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] reigned 1327–1377, restored royal authority and went on to transform England into the most efficient military power in Europe. His reign saw vital developments in legislature and government—in particular the evolution of the English parliament—as well as the ravages of the [[Black Death]]. After defeating, but not subjugating, the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1338, but his claim was denied due to the [[Salic law]]. This started what would become known as the [[Hundred Years' War]].<ref>Edward first styled himself "King of France" in 1337, though he did not officially assume the title until 1340; Prestwich (2005), pp. 307–8.</ref> Following some initial setbacks, the war went exceptionally well for England; victories at [[Battle of Crécy|Crécy]] and [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]] led to the highly favourable [[Treaty of Brétigny]]. Edward's later years were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health.

For many years, trouble had been brewing with [[Crown of Castile|Castile]]—a Spanish kingdom whose navy had taken to raiding English merchant ships in the [[English Channel|Channel]]. Edward won a [[Battle of Winchelsea|major naval victory]] against a Castilian fleet off [[Winchelsea]] in 1350.<ref name="FletcherGenet2015">"...major victories such as Sluis (1340) and Winchelesea (1350)..." {{cite book|editor1=Christopher Fletcher|editor2=Jean-Philippe Genet|editor3=John Watts|title=Government and Political Life in England and France, c.1300–c.1500|author1=Steven Gunn|author2=Armand Jamme|chapter=Kings, Nobles and Military Networks|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jlm3BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|date=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-08990-7|page=48}}</ref> Although the Castilian crossbowmen killed many of the enemy,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=R. G. |title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History |date=2017 |page=195}}</ref> the English gradually got the better of the encounter. In spite of Edward's success, however, Winchelsea was only a flash in a conflict that raged between the English and the Spanish for over 200 years,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lavery |first1=Brian |title=The Conquest of the Ocean |date=2013 |page=61}}</ref> coming to a head with the defeats of the [[Spanish Armada]] and the [[English Armada]] in 1588 and 1589.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=English History |volume=9 |page=535 |first=Samuel Rawson |last=Gardiner |author-link=Samuel Rawson Gardiner}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=J H |title=Europe Divided (1559–1598) |page=351 |date=1982 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9788484326694}}</ref>

In 1373, England signed an [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance|alliance with the Kingdom of Portugal]], which is claimed to be the oldest alliance in the world still in force.

Edward III died of a stroke on 21 June 1377, and was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson, [[Richard II of England|Richard II]]. He married [[Anne of Bohemia]], daughter of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] in 1382, and ruled until he was deposed by his first cousin [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] in 1399.
In 1381, a [[Peasants' Revolt]] led by [[Wat Tyler]] spread across large parts of England. It was suppressed by Richard II, with the death of 1500 rebels.