The Territorial Disputes Between Britain And France In The Middle Ages Of Britain As A Nation-state

Britain took the lead in completing the industrial revolution in modern times,and it also made great achievements in political,economic,cultural,military and other aspects.This is largely due to the fact that Britain was the first country in Western Europe to complete national independence and establish a nation-state.From 1066 to 1603,Britain experienced several generations of dynasties,during this period,the territorial disputes with France continued,and the change of territory and the increasing clarity of the territory greatly contributed to the establishment of the British nation-state.Therefore,the territory is one of the important factors in the formation of the British nation-state.The territory of Britain and France has been in flux.Since Norman conquest,Britain has been closely linked with France,among which the prominent performance is that the British and French territories dispute constantly,Britain has been in the European continent land,which is not conducive to the French rule,but also to the unification of Britain.The Hundred Year War was a turning point,after the war,the British territory was rapidly reduced and there was only one Calais in the European continent,although the British King was determined to compete for French territory again,with the awakening of the national consciousness of the British and French people,the large-scale invasion of the territory was impossible,From the vast territory of Henry ii until the loss of Calais in 1588,when Britain withdrew from the European continent and retreated to the British island,the boundaries of Britain became increasingly clear.The scope of the territory ranges from small to large and then large to small.In the process of change,the royal power has been continuously strengthened,the public’s national consciousness has been increasingly strengthened,the government institutions have been continuously improved,and a unified national market has been formed.These factors are the basic characteristics of a nation-state.This paper takes the changes in the territories of Britain and France from 1066 to 1603 as the main clue,and aims to explain how the important factor of territory promoted the establishment of the British nation-state.Due to the complexity of the church factors,we will discuss it separately.this paper only deals with the secular lords,the church lords when necessary.