The Southeast (usa)

This Southeast region is changing more rapidly than any other part of the US-not b ecause the land is new, but because the area’s old, exhausted land is being given new life.The region is blessed wit h plentiful rainfall and a mild climate .On most of its farmlands ,crops can be grown without frost at last six month of the year .A transportation artery , the Mississippi River and its southern branches, runs through the heart of the area ,and other rivers are found near its coast. Crops grew easily in its soil, which is brown on the coastal plain, red on the low hillsides, and black in east Texas .The mountains contribute coal ,water ,and rich valleys . Before the US declared its freedom from Great Britain in 1776,the economy of the colonies (both north and south)was predominantly agricultural.

The geography of the northeast did not fit well into this pattern and, with independence ,the northern states broke away from it. But the South, with its rich soil and ideal climate found its wealth in agriculture with such crops as tobacco, rice and indigo.

Industrial power, the energy that turns machines is being developed, at last ,for human use. For example ,natural gas is a great resource for industrial power, but it must be transported after it is taken from the ground .Today South has built new pipeline underground which carry this resource from the gas and oil fields to mines and mill sites.

Norman Invasion in Britain

Four different peoples invaded England. First came the Celts in the 6 century B.C.; then the Romans in the 1 A.D.; they were followed by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5 century; after them came the Danes at the end of 8 century.

In the 11 century England was invaded by the Normans. This was the fifth and the last invasions of England. In the 9 century while the Danes were plundering England another branch of North men who were related to the Danes were doing the same sailing to the Northern coasts of France. They came to be called the Normans, a variation of the word “North men”.settled down as subject of the English kings. As time went on they gradually mixed with the Anglo-Saxon among whom they lived. The Normans lived under the rule of their own duke. In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, began to gather an army to invade Britain. The pretext for the invasions was the king who died in 1066.The king who died in 1066 had no children and Duke William cherished the hope that he would succeed to the English throne. (According to the English law it was the Witenagemot that chose the next king). William landed in South of England and the battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place in a little village in the neighborhood of the town now called Hastings.

The victory at Hastings was only the beginning of the Conquest. From that time the Norman duke became king of England –William I or as he was generally known William the Conqueror. He ruled England for 21 years (1066-1087).

The Norman Conquest brought about very important changes in the life of the Anglo-Saxons. King Harold had little power after the great lords. The Anglo-Saxon earls didn’t even join their king at Hastings. After the Conquest the royal power in England strengthened greatly. The Conqueror turned into slaves many Anglo-Saxon peasants who had been free before. They brought with them their language, laws and customs. Under their rule the English language changed greatly.