Great Commanders

[Steel God]

So much went on in the next 500 years following the conquest that I don't think anybody could argue this event laid any foundation stones for greatness... that honour is lain firmly at the feet of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I - who transformed England from a minor european country, into a feared and respected "player" in european power struggles... and even then, it wasn't until William of Orange took over that we could truly count ourselves as a major power... his taxation and banking reforms allowed England to compete and outstrip her opponents by financing the Army and Navy to levels which could not be matched by our main enemy - France.. a lesson well learnt from the whippings handed out to the English by the Dutch previously.

More food for discussion no doubt! all this is from memory, feel free to check it out and counter.... touche! :P

Hmmmm, I don't know about that. Certainly England was a player after Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, but to argue they were not a player before then, or were a minor power, I just don't swallow.

Crecy. Agincourt. The Crusades. The wool trade between Flanders and England that influenced the Middle Ages more than any battle or war. England was "the" model of a well run feudal state, which was the ideal of the era, and that argues against the notion that she was not a significant player before Henry VIII.