Fighting the French
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- Now find words in the text that mean the folowing:
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The wonderfully British Jane Austen once said, ‘For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn’ This pretty much sums up our relation with our closest neighbours, the French. We also like to think that we always beat them - be it at sport, war or anything really. But is that the case? For a start, let's not forget that France and Scotland were best mates for much of their history, joined by their Auld Alliance designed to keep the grasping English at bay. Although since the Acts of Union, Scots and English have always fought the French side by side, as at Waterloo.
But to go back at the beginning, Anglo-French relations start with the resounding French military victory on the battlefield of Hastings in 1066. And remember Agincourt? of course you do, Henry the Fifth's band of brothers and all that. But have you heard of the battle of Castillon in 1453? Probably not. That was another French victory over the English and ensured that they won the Hundred Years War. And then there's Yorktown. In September 1781, Britain was in all sorts of trouble with the American War of Independence. The French navy had blockaded the British army under General Cornwallis, denying access to supplies and reinforcement. The British had to surrender. Washington took the laurels but it was really all down to French support. We've had a rocky relation with our Gaelic neighbours, meaning we should all the more value today’s “entente cordial”
But to go back at the beginning, Anglo-French relations start with the resounding French military victory on the battlefield of Hastings in 1066. And remember Agincourt? of course you do, Henry the Fifth's band of brothers and all that. But have you heard of the battle of Castillon in 1453? Probably not. That was another French victory over the English and ensured that they won the Hundred Years War. And then there's Yorktown. In September 1781, Britain was in all sorts of trouble with the American War of Independence. The French navy had blockaded the British army under General Cornwallis, denying access to supplies and reinforcement. The British had to surrender. Washington took the laurels but it was really all down to French support. We've had a rocky relation with our Gaelic neighbours, meaning we should all the more value today’s “entente cordial”
From the History Channel podcast 'Things that make us British?'
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