Great Commanders

[Kingmaker]

HiHi

Can I suggest Paul that you may be looking at it from a wee bit too much of an Anglocentric viewpoint.

I'm English and proud of my nations history, but in fairness, England post conquest until say the defeat of the Armada was playing in a very small geographical area and those were either our lands in France, or the ongoing wars with our Celtic enemies, + some involvement in Portugal by John of Gaunt, that really is the extent of Englands involvement in world affairs.

To address some of your points, yes the Wool trade with Europe was economically important for the developement of both for England and the Low Countries, but Paul the Hansiatic league carried far more economic & political clout than England, until Cabot discovered the Cod wealth off Newfoundland, and the league overfished the Baltic herring thus destroying the base of their wealth.

The Crusades were largely a European affair, fine Richard I negotiated entry into Jerusalem and had some success on the Battlefield against Saladin but it was of no lasting significance, English troops involvement in the crusades was rarely under the command of English lords, we were too busy fighting at home/france.

Post 1453 most of Europe was dealing with the very real menace of the Turks & other Muslim nations that was to impact on European history for nearly 500 years, England had little or no involvement in that area.

You mention Crecy; well the Blind king John of Bohemia who died there wielded more power than any English king of the time.

To try and put it in perspective England was rent by Civil wars for control of the Crown until the Tudor victory at Bosworth (1485), the continual wars against the Celts & in France while filled with glory were not considered world shattering events even allowing for a smidgen of national prejudice, if we had held our lands in france post Agincourt then it would be different, we didn't so up until the defeat of the Armada it is argueable that we were in no position to be ” big” players.

All the Best
Peter