Idle Musing: English Continental Empire

I had couple disjointed thoughts floating in my head:
- The commonly accepted notion that, if England were to win the HYW, they'd just become an apendage of France, due to demographics. The 'tail wagging the dog' scenario.
- The idea of a Baltic/North Sea Mare Nostrum had always intrigued me.
- Just as a base year, the population of England and Wales in 1400 was 3 mil, and all of Scandinavia was 1.4 mil. Add in Scotland (0.4 mil), Ireland (0.7 mil) and you're still majority English. Adding in the Netherlands (0.9 mil) finally tips the balance to just plurality English (unless you cheat and move the Scots over to the English column).

As a screwy idea: Kalmar Union holds together, inherits the English throne, which produces a similar 'wag the dog' effect. Scotland and Ireland are absorbed. The Netherlands would be nice for this theory, but without them this scenario still provides a very defensisble continental border.
 
My tuppence:
A nonAngevin England-Normandy expands across the Netherlands. Union with Denmark prompts war with France and pulls the North Sea coast away from France and HRE. Then expansion northward.
 

Deleted member 97083

In the Middle Ages a plurality or majority isn't really necessary for an empire, nationalism in its modern form didn't really exist. Just have local administrators collaborate with the king/emperor.

If it has to be explicitly English, then make England the main recruiting ground of its standing army and settle English veterans as lords in conquered territories.
 
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