Kingdom of Kent

The Kingdom of Kent (Old English: Cantaware Rīce; Latin: Regnum Cantuariorum), was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans. It was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, but it lost its independence in the 8th century, when it became a sub-kingdom of Mercia. In the 9th century, it became a sub-kingdom of Wessex, and in the 10th century, it became part of the unified Kingdom of England which was created under the leadership of Wessex. Its name has been carried forward ever since as the county of Kent.