# Is there a British equivalent to the American Independence Day?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-equivalent-to-the-american-independence-day/558756>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 29, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-equivalent-to-the-american-independence-day/558756 "2010-10-29T12:56:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-equivalent-to-the-american-independence-day/558756/81 "2010-11-04T18:42:58Z")

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> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> As an admitted outsider, I’ve always felt that 1066 was over-rated. England was really the same country before and after - it was more like a change in the ruling dynasty. William, after all, felt that he was just pressing his claim as the legitimate succesor to Edward (although admittedly the details of his claim look questionable). But 1066 was really no more epoch making than 1485 or 1688.

I’d agree with this. I think it holds more importance in the minds of english people than the other dates you mention because it’s a handy marker for the emergence from the ‘Dark Ages’ into the ‘Middle Ages’, and it certainly had a long-term dramatic effect on the governance of the country, its language and cultural make-up, but England was certainly England beforehand.

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