South Britain

Despite opinions regarding the term Anglo-Saxon (feature Jan/Feb 2020/170), it is a bit of a red herring. Ancient dnatests of excavated human remains show that most people in southern Britain were born, and descended from people born, in these Islands. Migration from the continent measured in thousands, not enough to overwhelm the native population. Initially incomers set up villages on hills and in out of the way places. There are signs that migrants could have been subjected to violence, ie racism, and there was a slow adoption of their customs, dress and religion, and a mixing of languages. This is on a par with the modern migration of Caribbean people, which has impacted on British culture with many young people adopting incomers’ speech patterns etc. They see the culture as more vibrant and interesting than theirs. Anglo-Saxon culture was more attractive to the indigenous people, so they assimilated it. It is perhaps more accurate to describe people, their ancestors and the diaspora from southern Britain as just that. Not “Anglo-Saxons,” but “South Britons”. David South