The English on BBC Two is fascinating fans with its Western tale about love, revenge and murder in the 1890s Wild West – but is it based on a true story?
Lots of viewers have been wondering if the series is based on a true story, and if it’s historically accurate.
We loved the series, and it looks like a lot of TV fans have too!
Here’s everything we know about the real history that inspired The English…
Is The English based on a true story?
The main plot of The English is NOT based on a true story, but a lot of elements of the series were inspired by real history!
The English tells the story of Lady Cornelia Blake (Emily Blunt), who seeks revenge for her son’s tragic death.
With the help of Native American man Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), they head to Wyoming to find the man responsible.
While the story isn’t real, creator Hugo Blick shares that a lot of real research went into creating the historical backdrop for the series.
He shares: “I sent the scripts to Crystal Echo-Hawk, CEO of IllumiNative, the Native-led racial and social justice organisation.
“She then introduced me to representatives of the Pawnee and Cheyenne Nations.
“Each of whom are specialists in the cultural and military history of their respective Nations.
“The journey taken with IllumiNative and the Pawnee and Cheyenne advisors has been long, detailed and hugely rewarding.”
The English true story: Were Pawnee soldiers real?
Eli Whipp is an ex-Calvary scout from the Pawnee tribe.
Pawnee scouts were real, and employed by the United States Army to aid in the conflicts between new foreign settlers and the Native American people.
They were issued scout uniforms and received rifles and revolvers from the Army.
Major Frank North led the Pawnees, who were prepared to fight against their enemies in the Sioux tribe.
Pawnee scouts mainly served between 1864 and 1871 – 13 years before the story of The English takes place.
Chaske Spencer, who plays Eli, shares this: “What surprised me about what I found in the scripts is the Pawnee scouts, and how proud they were.
“That’s a subject that I wasn’t too aware of, and never read about in the history of Native Americans.
“I was exploring that aspect of the character and trying to find a correlation where I can relate to that.
“They had a long history of being very proud of their country.
“I wanted to make sure that I honoured that in the character and for the Pawnee tribe.”
What inspired The English?
Hugo Blick created the story of The English after being inspired by a trip he took to the US when he was just 18.
He shares with the BBC that he was sent to live with a family friend in Montana as a “stabilising influence”.
The family friend taught him to hunt, shoot and spin a horse, which led him to “make a hunting buddy I called Chief”.
He adds: “He wasn’t a chief. He called me English.
“Back then the reservation seemed hard and isolated, particularly in winter. I had never seen such difficulties.
“Then one day he took off, leaving a couple of bags with us for when he came back. He didn’t. Nothing to come back for.
“I never knew his real name, nor he mine. I regretted that. This was a kernel for The English.”
Was Black Eyed Mog real?
Black Eyed Mog is the European settler who kidnaps Native American children with her sons.
She has two damaged eyes always covered by black glasses.
Black Eyed Mog (Nicola McAuliffe) has a rather terrifying set of wall decor – Native American scalps hanging on her wall.
She tells Cornelia that Native Americans attacked her, damaging her scalp and eyes. And now, she works against them as revenge.
So is Black Eyed Mog based on a real person?
Although Black Eyed Mog is not a real person, this part of the plot is indeed based on real history, as bitter fights would break out between Native Americans and European settlers.
Historian Bernard Bailyn told The Smithsonian Magazine: “They (Native Americans) were always involved in warfare, partly because life would become imbalanced in a way that needed justification and response and reprisal.
“And reprisals, within their lives, are very important.”
Read more: The English ending explained: What happened in THAT explosive final episode!?
The English true story: Is David Melmont real?
The English villain David Melmont was not real, but again his character has kernels of truth behind it.
Rafe Spall says of the horrible David Melmont: “My character commits an atrocity as part of a massacre, where 100 Native American women and children and defenceless people are murdered.
“He is truly bad to the bone.”
Several massacres against the Native American people by European settlers took place during the centuries that Europeans settled in America.
One of the most famous examples is the Wounded Knee Massacre.
In 1890 (when The English is set), near the Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, US troops fired at the Indians.
They killed and injured more than 350 people, according to the U.S. Congressional Record.
Does Cornelia have syphilis? How common was it in the Wild West?
Disease plays a big part in The English and it’s clear that Cornelia has some sort of illness from the start, but we don’t learn quite what it is until the end of the series.
While there are cases of cowpox mentioned in the first episode, which can also cause skin liaisons, Cornelia in fact has syphilis.
She got it after David Melmont raped her in her home.
We also learn that there’s a local prostitute named The Black Widow, who the cowboys blame for spreading syphilis amongst the men in the Old West.
The doctor in the final episode confirms that Cornelia is suffering from syphilis – something she already knew because her son was born with it, and died of it.
At the end of the series, Cornelia dresses all in black as her skin has been badly damaged by the lesions caused by syphilis.
In the Wild West, syphilis really was rampant although, back then, the disease was called the calamity.
Historian Christopher Knowlton wrote in his book, Cattle Kingdom, about the poor treatment of prostitutes in the Wild West.
He said: “Subject to the whims and potential violence of the men, they faced the constant threat of disease.
“Sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, popularly known as ‘the calamity’ in light of the poor prospects for a cure, or gonorrhoea, which was equally prevalent.”
Is the Melmont real?
At the very end of the series, viewers saw an image of a big building with ‘Melmonts – Home of the Homemakers’ on it.
A caption read Est. 1890. But is this real?
We can’t find any real Melmont’s building!
It’s likely based on the wooden Melmont’s shop that appears in the show, and perhaps a cheeky jab on America’s founding.
So, while The English isn’t a true story as such, it IS based on some real history.
The English episode 2 airs on Thursday November 17 2022 on BBC Two. All episodes are also available to binge on BBC iPlayer now.
So, what do you think of The English? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.