Names.
Extent.
Boundaries.
Original
Population.
gloated from the A n g ^ ff a d a tio n 'o f the Cimbric CkerforteTe, or
modern Jutland, who conquered a confiderable portion- of the
t o u n t r y . *
The Ifland of Great Britain extends from fifty to fifty-eight .and a
half degrees of north latitude; being of courfe ;.about yoo geographical
miles in length. Its gfeateft, breadth from the Land’s End tpn^edNorth
Foreland in Kent 320 geographical nple£, <In Britiffi -milhf ^the .ledgth
may be demjjmted at* jf8o, and the breadth at
"f^Efiglaiid is boundechon the*eaft'by_the“German O c eap; on tliGt.fouth
by the Engliffi C h a n n e lo n thpweft byJS&,'G< m g c \ C-hanrfcl'-;? on th e
north by th e Cheviot ;by the. paft oral river Tweed, and af^ideal
’line fallingJfou$rweft down to -theT irth o£ Splway. The ^ e n to f .T .n g r
land and ^ a l e s in fquare milestis''computed at>49,4?1fc5 J a n d tim,Rqjju->
lation beingeftimated at,5 8^46d;6<3o',ith w « a ih e r ''W ‘inhabitants to .a
fquare mile will o f .courfe be 169*.
Ttip parlipft ysp&arfflty o f this fertile; country;,'W'bic^‘?cah^d*fMrced;
is that o f th e Gael o r Southern*CeHSy.calle’dJGaj^&^hy t b e JW * w | i p
regard them as their FredecedfOrs ; and who havc-juftly remarf.e(d, "tliat'
the molTancient names, even in Wales, a r e ^ G u y d e l l g m 'r j a i g ' for
Welfh .Thofe .Gael appe^t to have^jpqepded ftpapjjthe neareft-fhdres
o f France and. F,lande^s.,x, .
As in ,later times^the Belgic fettlers in^this ^country were fubdpedjby
the Northern Saxons, fo the Celtignqlonyrjdrom thejrfqQth-pvfasTvan-
qpiihed by the Gimbri of the North, the WceftoEs.pf^q.^D^erji^f'elfh,
whp'jftyle themfelves Cymriy.and^ theirjanguage;Cytnraig, to this, day*
"fhe original Qaelie inhabitants appear to-have almofeentirelv evacuated
the country, and to have retired to Ireland, alfo^prjglna'lly peopled front
G aul. T h e re , tod, in the H ig h la n ^ '^ .S p ^ a q d ,'Y o .which a: Gaelic
colony pafled from Ireland, the Gaelic dialed! of th e Celtic; language
ftill exifts. ( . v
T o the Celtic population o f England fucceedpd.the Gothic.! The
Scythians or Goths, advancing from Afia, drove the Cimbri or
northern Celts before th em ; and, at a period long preceding the Chrif-
*- Boettieher’ s Tables'.— Knox computes Scotland with the Ifies at 27,754, and Ireland at.
27,4 57; Prance at 141,357 fquare. miles*
• 1 Llu yd A rch ,, prefi.
tian
tian iEra,* had feized<\on%that .ptot ofi-Gaul .which is neareft to Great
Britain;*,wHefe they/acquired' the provincial denomination of Belgse*.
Thsirpafla'gettqtEhgland foil® wedtoffcoqlrfej. .and when Cseiar firft explored
thisiiiflan'd', hetinfdrmSi us; th a t thaf,^Tmitive inhabitants were driven
|fa|o'the irfterlqr^parts,' while;,the region^ o,p, thedbuth eaft .were peopled
with Belgic colonies5; Thofe Belgss may be juftly regarded as the
chi^Sanceft9i'c£of theiEiiglilli nation jljfor th e (Saxons, Angles, and other
Northern ’.frCv^^^j; though.of idiRinighifhed courage; '.were inconftder-
able inj; numbers® .'Tpl^f a r e c e h ^ e r ro d ; antiquaries; h a h imagined that
the Belgol(tu|Mfe^&|{C^ltici language* ant|papd execrated the cruelties ,of
-the "Saxons for ai^&$fc|ta!rf®ii w.hi^hlneyeE hhpfppned. But as it appears
that ,tw,o>thirds;®f-*Englatid w^%‘.piqRefldd ^»^bhe Belgtk’Gbtbs',-' for fix
orifeyeg cenftHriegfbefe^e' th h ^ aE .ri^ l^ S th e ^ S ^ q ^ f e ..hs8lnp wo’n d e r that
i^G ^ ltjc ;.^ 'u ls jase'.tojhe fou-dd.Eb tfhe*’Bpg}ifb la^hage,pvjiiobfjhears
morefaffinity t(.f,th<>I#ilic and Dufimthaif to the Jtttf%ij|fic-,o^^)airilh.
^^^t^%j§d^%^f©*%m1©nstpcifiS,(,qfiRionran!;d©!mihaitiojiyjeyen the Belgic
'Oi^ aiii!Ssitm.d^ rgoItejg their prijl 1 uo valpph'-*and were,unable td!,Contend
with, theif,;feBeysjbus'!invade^;sifram:.Sei^P|and land Ireland,, when chance,
oil ?ii^it^t^a;,^K5ida£tedI to*f their •affiftan0p;to&wtat^ie'&rfr6m> tljc* op
Jirtenh,*- Thc^utes.atri'v.ed in the year qqp^.andjlfqfflndedi thfei kingdom:
spl” K ent'about the j car 460 ; tffiw ^ l'p vp}f)kp©fteffioi\ of the- file' o f
,\V 4-77,y rfye JJjtxpns->fjrffi/hppear,.and; 1 th e kingclonr ,p f ] the
South Saxons commences ,at that epoch. ThS ^VeftfSa-K^nsvjarrfv.ed in
the year- 49*5. The fixth eenitury ^^"Mdrah^* advanced, when
thofe barbaric colonies were increafed by the Eaft Saxons in the year
5 2 7 : but the firft appearance o f the great branch of the Angles, w'ho
were to perpetuate th e ir name the Country at large, did not occur
till the yeaf.547; when the valiant Ida led his troops to Beruicia. rh e
Eaft Angles takiug pofleffion- of N orfolk in the. year ,575, the Soutliern
andx.aftern ipoafts were almoft wholly in the power of the invaders,
who foqn ■extending theirSlcBnquefts into the7 interior pf tlite .country,
founded in t lie* .year 585, the kingdom p f Mercia, the laft of the Heptarchy
*. Bede pronounces Mei'cia to have, been an Anglic; kingdom ;
and if fo, their population may, perhaps, have equalled that o f the
S i Saxons
D:ffert. on Goths. 5 Lib vyfcw"0.
’ b * 2 51