American Reacts to The British Crusade Against Slavery
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- Опубликовано: 2 ноя 2022
- In this video I react to the British crusade against slavery. I thought I was fairly well educated on the topic of slavery compared to most Americans, but I learned so much more in this video. I had no idea how early and how powerfully the British moved forward to abolish slavery.
As early as 1102 England was already trying to stop slavery in their country. Then some centuries later Britain actually started using it's own Navy to find and free slaves. At the time no other country was actively trying to stop slavery. It cost both lives and wealth to do so.
We should all celebrate the fact that Britain took a stand over 2 centuries ago and led the way in ultimately stopping this horrible stain on humanity's past.
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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As a Brit of 73 years of age, I went to a state secondary school where I was taught that slavery in England was banned by William the conquerer following the creation of The Doomsday book which listed every property and asset around England and placed a valuation on them for taxes. King William 1st banned slavery throughout England around 1070. In the early 19th century, William Wilberforce MP enabled an Act of Parliament banning slavery not only in the British Isles, but also throughout the Empire. Any slave who set foot on British territory from any slave state such as US escaping to Canada was immediately a free man. Compensation was paid to British slave owners in the colonies to the equivalent of 75% of the entire annual gross domestic product. This part of our National Debt was only repaid in 2015! The Royal Navy blockaded African ports to intercept slave traders. It is utterly correct that we should not be apologising for something that happened generations ago. It is what it is.
I think you were very lucky with your educational experience. I am 68 and was never taught anything specific about slavery at school, though it was perfectly obvious from passing references in other contexts, that slavery was the norm in history and the present and most recent generations are in reality living in abnormal times.
I well recall being taught about St Augustine of Canterbury's mission in the 6th century AD to convert the English: this was at the instigation of Pope Gregory the Great who had encountered small, fair-skinned children in a slave market in Rome and asked their nationality: on being told they were Angles from Britain, he is famously reported a century later by the great English historian, the Venerable Bede, a local hero in our area, as having replied "non Angli sed angeli" - "not Angles but angels" and set about converting them to christianity. So slavery was alive and well in Italy in 590 AD and people of these islands were victims along with everyone else. Also Pope Gregory never made any pronouncements about freeing them and many biblical passages mention slavery, none condemn it specifically and some appear to condone it by specifying how it should be regulated.
I'm afraid I went to a Catholic Convent Grammar school, where all the nuns hoped we'd become nuns ourselves. I hated it, but managed my 5 years there without committing murder until my release in 1969 😂 . We were never taught anything about slavery, at all.
It cost only 5% of GDP to pay off the slave owners and it was considered a quicker way of freeing the slaves. This idea was touted to the Americans who turned it down as too costly and went to war costing the lives of over 600.000 and ending up paying far more in GDP. It was the cost of stopping the slave trade i.e The Royal Navy ships, the personnel and the many many years to do it. That was what was paid off in 2015. This is all research that you can find and much much more.
Which curriculum taught you that?? Sounds more like a movie from the 50s.
We also learnt in the early 60s
"no one should be ashamed of somthing they didn't do"
That is soo true, this guy always has the right things to say, thank you
Granville Sharp, mentioned in this video, spent his own money to buy a tract of land in Senegal, W Africa. He bought it so the Royal Navy could return the slaves rescued from slave ships to Africa. They took 150,000 people back to Senegal, to a new town. They called it Freetown. A plaque commemorating this is still displayed in Freetown today.
I am so tired of Britain be called the bad guy in slavery. It's time that the rest of the world was called out for their guilt in the slave trade. The collective ignorance is astounding. In the video he fails to meantion the Barbary slave which were taken from the British south coast by the west Africans in their droves. Yes we are guilty of making money off the back of slavery. Bristol was built on slavery. It was wrong and thank god we saw that it was wrong and did something about it.
And what is not discussed is the way in which many workers in the textile, mining and railway industries in the Industrial Revolution in the UK, , were not classed as slaves, but were actually treated worse than slaves. Slaves were worth money, because they were bought and sold. People in the industrial workplaces were indented labour for a period of years, costing noghing. If they died because of the shocking working conditions, they were easily replaced - no money lost. Children as young as 4 - 7 yrs were working in terrible conditions! They too were "slaves" but that was never addressed, when slavery was.
@@josephinedewar4469 : But then there will always be activists, campaigners and philanthropists who become aware of the skullduggery, cruelty and injustices and use their skills and resourcefulness to make a difference. There are such a diverse spectrum of laws and regulations in this country now that see to it that abominations like slavery and poor and unfair working conditions are met with stiff penalties for any breaches.
@@josephinedewar4469 industrialization is the reason Britain abolished slavery. It's material conditions made wage slavery a lot more desirable since industrial workers had a low life expectancy. It was much more profitable to rent a man than buy him. Of course this was replicated trough the colonies to an even greater and more deplorable extent. Again, why are we cerebrating the empire, it's actions were self serving and the material conditions of the worker didn't change much. And let's not forget that it lead directly to the colonization of Africa and it's economic exploitation that goes on to this day.
Britain was banned from taking part in the slave trade by the Catholic church for many years as only Catholic countries were allowed to profit from the trade slaves for the first few hundred years of slaving.
@RESTITVTOR_TOTIVS_HISPANIAE Actually, no. The abolitionist movement came from the 'Clapham sect' who organised activism to do away with slavery and put the government under pressure. It wasn't because slavery was suddenly unprofitable, that's bullshit, otherwise the American South wouldn't have fought a bloody civil war to try and maintain it.
we had an incident here in the UK not so long ago, where BLM protesters pulled down a statue claiming the man it was honouring, was a slave trader.... when in fact he wasn't, but his father or grandfather was... the man they claimed was actually a guy who fought against the slave trade, so not only did they commit a crime of criminal damage and vandalism, but also dishonouring the struggle that man endured to ensure more people were free humans and that slavery was abolished...
I'm not surprised. I went to a BLM protest in 2020 and I really wasn't impressed. What was his name?
@@invisibleman4827 I believe it was a statue of Edward Colston who fought for the abolition of slavery correction it wasn't Edwards Colston I forget who the statue was for but I recall it was someone who was the son of a slave trader who fought against the trade
You can’t fix stupid
Genuine question- where is this info from? All I can find online from many sources is that Edward Colston the same man the statue is of, was a prolific slave trader. If this isn’t true, where can I read about it?
@@ph0bert hes prob a right winger lying
If you haven’t already, you should checkout The Battle at Bamber Bridge.
I suggest that single episode debunks pretty well ALL the garbage you read in the NYT and CNN about "British racism".
Was absolutely going to say this!! The battle of bamburgh bridge. Legends.
The British tax payer didn't finish paying this debt off until 2015.
If the rich American North, who made all their textile wealth off of the back of southern cotton, had bought and freed the slaves in the south like Britain did there might not have been a civil war over it.
One of my Great Great Grandfathers served for 20 years in the Royal Navy, 5 of those were on the West Africa Squadron so Frankie Boyle can get stuffed.
I feel that way too. Then again, if he hadn't spouted this rubbish, this video wouldn't have been made. A sort of Karma for us, I think! 🙂
How can you take credit for ending slavery, when Britain as a nation profited massively from the slave trade. You can't claim credit for something you got rich from..
@@markkavanagh4457 No, you cannot grow as a people, learn and be persuaded by debate. That would be ridiculous!
@@markkavanagh4457 are you retarded
@@markkavanagh4457 quite easily, as all other nations also benefitted from slavery. Britain forced half the world to stop slaving. If you believe slavery was wrong then the nation that did the most to stop slavery surely must be commended?
Between the 1600s and the 1800s around 2 million Europeans were captured by Barbary Pirates and sold through the slave markets of North Africa. Cornwall in the South West of England was particularly vulnerable with all its small fishing villages. Whole communities would disappear overnight.
Hence why we built the Royal Navy [in part] and put a stop to it immediately.
But only African Slaves ever get mentioned! All are wrong, but also is concentrating on one Race!
@@anglosaxon5874 the Royal navy is actually an evolution of the very pirates and merchants you've named and shamed here.
Yes. The men and boys were castrated in the same way. Sixty percent died of their wounds. Women and girls were sold off, if they survived the journey by foot to the Ottoman Empire. Many were left to die in the desert. The elderly in the villages/towns were often slaughtered. The North African pirates were a vicious bunch. Many fishermen would not put to sea and leave their families vulnerable. No fish, no money, starvation.
@@crosseyedone7960 Irish slave traders St Patrick was a slave in Ireland not North Africa 😂🤣
If you listen to the word’s of one of the most British celebratory songs, “Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britons never ever shall be slaves “. I think that that one line summonses the entire British attitude to the global slavery trade.
Excellent.
Thank you
Please refer to a great u tube video of How the British Ended Slavery for everyone.
It was only in 2015 that the bill was paid for the cost of the Royal Navy stopping the slave trade on the high seas. Britain almost bankrupted itself.✌🏻✌🏻
I don't think that was the cost of the Navy's task of stopping slave ships - it was I think the cost of paying the slave owners for losing the right to use slaves.
Not true, The british taxpayer has been paying slave Owners for "loss of property" until 2015, none of this money went to the royal navy, and definitely none of went to the freed slaves, as a gut punch descendants of slaves in this country contributed to this tax too, paying their familys past slavers in their wage bills each month
The capital of Sierra Leone is called Freetown where a plaque to the West Africa Squadron can be seen on the wall of the town hall. Many Africans freed from the slave ships were taken to Sierra Leone, hence Freetown. If they had been taken back to their place of origin they would have probably been caught and re-sold.
Sierra Leone. One of the countries with lowest life expectancy.
in 1833 the british government borrowed money to compensate the slave owners it was so much we didnt pay the loan off untill 2014
That was by choice. It could of been settled in 1957. Additionally the money was a guilt bond so we paid 4% interest twice a year, for 187 years.
Hi from the UK 👋 🇬🇧 we only finished paying off the debt of fighting the slave trade in 2015
Incorrect, we only finished off paying the Slave Traders in 2015.
@@BlueSunRUclips why do you think we had to pay them? If you didn't know it was because we took their slaves away from them and freed those slaves, this was counted as taking away their property but it's a price we paid in the fight for liberty.
So no, they are not "Incorrect" as you claim.
@@friskblackrose You're literally making the same point as I am, yet saying im wrong. My original comment was to try and educate some people who assumed we only finished off paying the debt to the royal navy or the people who helped us be a better country, whereas in fact the money went to slave trade owners so they could continue being rich.
@@BlueSunRUclips Yeah, we both agree on that. However, the OP (original poster) that you replied to only stated "we only finished paying off the debt of fighting the slave trade in 2015". As the dept was accrued as a consequence of freeing the people that were regarded as property. It is reasonable to state that this dept was for "fighting the slave trade". Which you stated was incorrect, where I see it as a reasonable statement and not incorrect.
That was all that was meant by my comment. I really didn't mean to offend you in any way, and I can see why my comment came across as antagonistic towards you. I should have worded it better. I am much better at speech then text.
I hope I have clarified my meaning, and I hope that you have a great day 😇
Yes Steve, Britain was the first country in the world to ban slavery in 1833. Not only in Britain, but also in its huge empire which (at one stage) extended over 25% of the earth's surface. It was the end of a massive fight by anti-slavery Brits over several decades for it to be done. It was William Wilberforce, MP for Hull, who was the leading light, bless him.
His huge 102 feet monument built in 1835 stands in Hull city centre to this day, i walk past it regularly. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, with monarchs & other greats. Such was the pride Britain had for this great man Sir William Wilberforce, MP for Hull East Yorkshire. A man that changed the World for the better. 🇬🇧
@@Paul-hl8yg Excellent - thank you for this great info. One of the greatest Brits ever. He did as you say change the world for ever.
@@antoineduchamp4931 👍🇬🇧
Hurrah for Wilberforce and all the abolishonists But let's not forget it was Britain that turbocharged the existing african slave trade and profited immensely from it in the 200 years up until abolition, establishing the wealth of cities like Glasgow (Frankie Boyle's home town) and Liverpool. Those who held investments in slavery would be compensated for their loss of property, but sadly not those who died in transport, and suffered for generations in the plantations.
@@martinraeside Did you watch the video? Despite Britain selling slaves, it was Britain that ended it for everyone. No more slavery because of Britain. Slavery was also very common in Africa, black leaders selling black slaves. Then of course for over a thousand years, arabs raided Africa for black slaves. Perhaps finger pointing at the British who ended slavery globally, is the wrong nation to point at.
I'm from Hull ,UK and live literally 5 mins from the home of William wilberforce ,the guy who was instrumental in slavery been abolished and we have a museum that as a kid really left you with a very clear grim picture of whet slavery ment complete with a recreation of below deck in a slave ship where you could literally lay down in semi darkness among life size bodies of slaves with smell and audio of them groaning and moaning in misery ...When you are 10 this blows your mind and I think nobody who grew up in Hull who went to this place with school ever forgot that experience or that image and feeling of terror when we hear the word 'slavery'..Been able to 'try on' the horrific neck shackles hold actual whips read the ledgers of sales of kids our age ect ect...So I was kinda lucky to have had some perspective from a very early age and on top of that I was raised by hippy's so I have always been taught to be open minded and ppl are ppl the world over...America is 125th in global education standards and has by far the worst education system in the developed world and when I travel and mix with Americans ,done it for years and years met thousands of Americans it is astounding the most basic basic things you guys just don't seem to know when your chatting away casually the most basic geography ,science ,history...Stuff kids in Europe learn in primary school as the basics .At first it's kinda amusing but as I got older it's actually really sad watching an adult from the richest country on earth not been able to join in with friendly convo with Brits ,French,Spanish and Moroccon ppl after a meal about whats going on in the world outside American sport or TV...So I wouldn't be too hard on yourself Americans have been totally failed by all your goverments going back 80yrs whe it comes to education....
Sadly, history is not being considered an important subject in many UK schools today.
When Dom Lemmon took a punch to say our New King should pay reparations, I almost screamed at my computer. The UK only finished paying reparations in 2015.
To white slave owners, not to former slaves. They got nothing, while the bastards who claimed to own them got paid off.
To the slave owners. Not to the slaves. Maybe do less screaming and more reading.
@@Dreyno Yes we paid the slave owners to release their slaves, both black & white owners got paid, there was two ways too stop the trade one was to fight a civil war where 600.000 Americans died or pay out remembering the trade wasn’t illegal anywhere in the world. Then we took on the world to end the slave trade blocking nations losing thousands of sailors in the process. Name one country that had balls to take everyone on if we hadn’t
@@Dreyno The slaves were freed. Plus any reparations due must be from the African tribes who sold their fellow countrymen and women into slavery!
@@Dreyno The slaves still went free because of it. The slave owners BOUGHT the slaves, not capture them. They were given the money they spent for the slave and the slave was set free. After that, they went after the people actually capturing the slaves (the African Kings).
Yeah ok, we pilfered quite a bit and our dominance with the empire is somewhat tainted, but at the end of the day, we created much of what the modern world is today. This fact about abolishing slavery is not the only good we've done.
There were slaves in Britain but nearly all had been brought into the country by foreign slave owners and those British who lived abroad and returned with slaves. But one day it was questioned whether such "ownership" was legal. When Lord Mansfield gave his famous judgement he commented that there was no law which allowed one man to own another and it would take an act of Parliament to change this. What people fail to acknowledge is that after 1833 whenever Britain acquired a new colony they immediately abolished that country's slave trade.
Were? Theres still slaves to this day.
Sorry to correct you, it wasn't one day. There were about half a dozen cases from the 16th to 18th century that all concluded slavery was not an acknowledged institution in Britain. Somerset v Stewart was only the last.
@@josm1481 It wasn't the last. Mansfield's decision only applied to England and Wales. There was Knight v. Wedderburn (1778) in Scotland. There was also Forbes v Cochrane in 1824 which went with the widely believed understanding of Mansfield's decision (which Mansfield himself denied was correct in R v Inhabitants of Thames Ditton 1785).
Compared to what other people say about their education in the UK, I must have been very lucky. I'm 43 and was taught about slavery and the feudal system etc. at primary school (ages 4-11). Then we covered it again at secondary school in History and Modern Politics, and American Studies. I'm English, (I grew up on a council estate), but I speak Welsh, French, German and a little bit of Spanish. I went to average state schools, nothing fancy.
I'm 46 I live in Scotland we covered all this in secondary school history class. Glad other people are learning the history's of the world. Thanks to the Internet.
There are some great state schools in the UK, it’s just that there are also some really atrocious ones too.
@@MackerelCat Education, and History, is not valued by the political classes. They want you ignorant in order to manipulate you.
Agreed.well said sir.. pardon me if lottery refers to a lady
A couple of decades earlier (I'm 63) I was taught a similar curriculum in primary school: the feudal system, the growth of Empire, the triangular trade, William Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement. That's despite a rather Dickensian school environment with open coal fires in the classrooms, 45 or more pupils per class (doubling up to 90 if a teacher was absent), outdoor toilets, half the playground still occupied by air raid shelters and an ancient coke-fired boiler system under the stairs fed by our perpetually blackened caretaker.
No sign of Teaching Assistants or Learning Support Assistants, no 'learning styles' assessment or individual education plans but a liberal application of the cane, plenty of outdoor exercise (come rain or shine) and no 'snow days'--if there was snow on the ground the older boys were put to work with shovels to help the caretaker while the girls got to spread rock salt.
The 'Senior Management Team' consisted of the Headmistress and her Deputy (who never got to see much action as I don't recall the Head missing a single day in my 7 years) while 'support staff' totalled three people, the school secretary, the caretaker and a nursery maid who mainly seemed to help with 'accidents' in Class 1 (what would now be Reception).
What the school had, however, supported by parents, was an expectation that children were there to learn. That all would strive to be the best they could and make appropriate efforts to fulfil their potential. I don't recall anyone ever being punished for failure--only for not trying their hardest. In retrospect, and as a former (secondary) teacher I am amazed at what was achieved with such limited resources.
So glad you watched this. It's a brilliant piece. So pleased Boyle was called out on this. He is such an offensive comedian, then has the nerve to rip in to his fellow countrymen. Such a hypocrite.
Boyle will say anything against the British, royal family etc trying to put us down. Because hes a Scottish nationalist & snp supporter 🇬🇧
He's not even funny. If he dislikes the UK so much why doesn't he leave, we'll close the door behind him.
@@sheila5913 I can't stand him personally! 🇬🇧
He seems to get his 'laughs' by being deliberately contentious. I have never found him funny!
'Asshole' more like!
£250k in 1750 is around £43m today.
This video should be taught in American schools
British schools too.
I have to say it's very welcoming to see an American recognise this & not only that to be totally honest in saying you will feel no guilt from the past, something you had no part in.. we can all agree in hindsight it was a disgrace & sickening to think ppl where treated like this.. We must learn from history so we are not condemned to repeat it.
I went through the British education system in the 1960s. When I was about 8 years old, we were taught about slavery, focussing on the trade in African slaves. We spent a couple of weeks on the topic, and learned how British anti-slave activists brought it to an end. I don't know what children are taught now, but I learned about it in the late 1960s. If Frankie Boyle didn't know about it, then maybe they don't teach it nowadays
Mr Boyle was most likely taught about it but it doesn't fit with the narrative he and others want to portray.
@@Westcountrynordic Nail on head moment! Indeed!
I was in schooling in the 1990s-2000s, this aspect of the story was never covered. But neither was much about the British empire in general
@@Westcountrynordic I'm not sure if he did. I never learned about the end of slavery. I learned from my school and the people around me that the British were totally at fault. Many other people have also learned this as when I post about liking Britain, they comment back with things along the lines of "but the British are awful, they're slavers" as if we were the center of slavery and with the animosity that suggested they still thought that we were trading in slaves to this day. Frankie is at fault for not doing his research but I think that he probably wasn't taught all this because even though I went to school a lot later, I wasn't taught about it and it seems like something that the education system should deem important.
@@eleanorcooke7136 I did Modern History (1900-1977) so I didn't cover slavery at all in my history lessons. However my mate did older history and he did learn all about the West African squadron and how the slave trade was ended.
I still stand by my first comment Frankie knew all about it but because it didn't fit into to his anti British/anti English agenda he didn't want to talk about it. Every country in the world has a dark past some are have dark moments now.
3:59 Thank you! That is so true. I'm sick of people trying to blame others for something their great great great grandfather's friend did.
I am in the UK and was in school from 1997-2002 and we were taught all of this and more, and it included a visit to The Slavery Museum which is in Liverpool. This was part of the module on The Founding of The American's. We were around 14-15 years old due to the sensitivity of the topic. In the museum there is also an interactive display where you are a slave, and you sit in a "ship" and go through that process. They also have documents on the prices of slaves etc. Nothing was hidden on how people were dehumanized and the conditions of the ships, when they arrived in America and on the cotton plantations etc. We were also taught how Slavery was stopped and the treatment of Black people in America and up modern day. We were also shown product packaging which shown what was made by slaves and not, so British people would not buy the product out of support to stop the practice aka consumer support. Our teacher had been teaching this topic for many years prior as my older sibling had the same experience, however my younger sibling had the Holocaust, where she travelled from Germany to Poland via train to Auschwitz. It teaches you about the past so we don't repeat, but it also teaches compassionate, unity and respect to others regardless.
I am very proud of our country's involvement in the Abolition of Slavery and also the part our family played. My 5th great uncle James spent his entire adult life campaigning for the Abolition of Slavery, he was born in 1778 and was a contemporary of Wilberforce. In his Will he left most of his considerable fortune to his Charities including the cause of the fight for the Abolition of Slavery. He sat on the committee of the Church Missionary Society until his death in 1828.
I would be very proud of that too. I AM proud that people like your 5th great uncle James was born in this nation and stood for something so magnificent. Britain's stance on this left us out on a limb and much disliked/hated in the world for a very, very long time. I think the people of the UK should be very proud of our ancestors. The British people from the very rich to the very poor supported this Crusade - including women on the factory floor, already poor, who refused to process cotton from America because it was produced by slaves. The disaster they courted for themselves' and their families was horrendous. Yet, people of principle and honour, like your 5x great uncle and these wonderful women did it anyway. They put the 'Great' in Great Britain!
I also want to add heartfelt gratitude and admiration to our Royal Navy too who fought and died for the Cause and for the families left behind suffering enormous hardship, struggling to survive a 'hand to mouth' existence.
@@JJ-of1ir Thank you JJ, your words brought a lump to my throat; thank you.
Yes I agree Wilberforce was great human in his fight to end slavery !!! But sadly slavery was still ongoing in the colonies at the time of his death it only stopped around 1833 when the Industrial Revolution took off and sugar plantations were not so profitable anymore. And then the slave owners were compensated by the British tax payer and not the slaves who did all the hard work and suffered so much. ruclips.net/video/KWterDbJKjY/видео.html
This should be taught in schools Worldwide, and this video shown to them, ..but Instead our Royal Family are forced to apologise to some Countries they visit.
What the royal family should say ok sorry for freeing you maybe that would shut them up and make them think a bit. of course they won't they are much too well mannered and polite to do that.
The british were always ahead of the game in terms of racial acceptance. You should do a video on the Battle of Bamber Bridge. A great showing of British spirit where we gave the yanks a good thrashing in WW2 for being racist.
Could not agree more.
Well, you only have to look at a typical print featuring the crewmen of Nelson's navy: you'll almost always see a black face.
Yes they were so good spirited that they ran concentration camps in Cypress and Kenia long after WW2 - Great British spirit - kind hearted people who embrace every race. Brexit is a clear testimony ;-)
@@jutswheezie
"Brexit is a clear testimony"
Well, 'testimony' to the fact that the British - being as eccentric as they are - prefer to govern themselves, rather than BE governed by a corrupt, anti-democratic, nation-destroying organisation created by the Americans just after WW2, in order to advance _their_ imperialistic ambitions ! Although what that decision has to do with 'race' - the _cri de coeur_ of every butt-hurt Leftist and undergraduate cry-baby - I fail to comprehend.
"Cypress and Kenia ( _sic_ )"
Nothing unusual about DETENTION centres for terrorists, even when they're as lovely as EOKA and Mau Mau. Not _quite_ in the same league as Auschwitz, Belsen, and Treblinka, though - are they ?
How would YOU have contained them - in nice hotels, perhaps ? Bless........................
And - just for the removal of doubt - WHICH benighted nation do YOU hail from, Mr Wiseacre ?
(Please do NOT reply if you're too embarrassed to say!)
@@marvinc9994 As an Irish citizen from county Kildare - the first English colony I was not expecting anything else 🤮The Dunning-Kruger effect refers to the cognitive distortion in the self-image of incompetent people overestimating their own knowledge and skills
Yet many call us Brits Racist ... When we are the LEAST Racist country on the planet ..... Great video, now you have the truth re the Ending of Slavery .... Great Channel .... Paula UK x
I think I remember Donald Trump saying he was the least racist person that anyone had ever met
@@syttt7925 compared to America Britain is a saint. Racism exists in England but not anywhere near the extent of the US
@@YOGI-kb9tg Racism is an international phenomenon. Black people have groups to find out how racist different countries are - for fear of danger - before they visit them. That is the legacy of racism
This makes me proud to be British.
For wanting a cut of he trade? lol
@@BergenDev Nope, for being a part of the culture who outlawd slavery........ Britain literally stuck up the finger to the rest of the known world and said "slavery ain't happening." And even in this current centruy, Brits were paying taxes to pay for that stand.
@@BergenDev no, for forcing half the world to not sell each other including most of Africa. If you accept slavery as an evil then the people most responsible for eradicating that evil have to be acknowledged.
@@BergenDev No. For not making comments like that.
@@bgg4865
we only paid the debt of 12 years ago
Just think about that for a second
As an "older" person I leaned this history - and growing up in East Africa have always been aware of the effect of slavery, and even the language, of that part of the world. The dept Britain incurred freeing the colonial slaves was vast - and was only finally, paid off in 2015. The levels of death, injury and in particular disease - were equally enormous for the African Squadron. There is more worth listening to - Thomas Sowell in particular, or even The Institute of World Politics presentation "The British Royal Navy and the Collapse of the Atlantic Slave Trade". It is history that seems no longer to be taught or even really acknowledged - which is a shame. Does not really fit the current political/ideological narrative, I guess.
hi Ian, I saw that one as well and its well researched and professional as you'd expect given by a naval officer. His audience weren't too enthused, the reporters looked like they'd been woken awfully early for a tale of British villainy on the high seas! Which they didn't get but the guy was ten moves ahead at all times. Another shorter one called 'The West Africa Squadron', by a naval historian called Drachinifel.
This certainly turns what I understood about the slave trade on its head. It’s the sort of information that you could see a lot of anti-slavery groups, who still see us as the main perpetrators, want suppressed as it could put them out of a job!
Now pay for what you stole from India.
You can feel good about yourself later
@@RESTITVTOR_TOTIVS_HISPANIAE Same way we are going to ask the Italians or Vikings to pay? Maybe you want to ask the Mongol/Mughals for something. It is how all of history has worked - and there is no way a tiny population like Britain's "controlled" the sub continent of India without the very willing and very active support of countless Indians. Going to ask them for anything?
@@HankD13 no hahahah only those engaged in neo colonialism should pay and be regarded as a pest.
The UK Department of Education specifically tell schools they must teach slavery in school. It is one of the few historical topics they insist every student is taught, although I can't imagine any school not teaching it. I've been teaching history in UK secondary schools for more years than I care to remember and we cover the world history of slavery first, before the Atlantic slave trade and then focus on plantation life in the Americas.We finish with the abolitionists. The students work and engage with a vast range of sources.As I tell the students, 'history matters' we should understand the past to make sense of the present and ensure we don't make the same mistakes in the future. Yes we did finish paying off the debt in 2015,although most of the original money was to pay reparations to the plantation owners within the British Empire, but it was the only way, at that time, that would allow use to outlaw slavery across the Empire. Perhaps, if we as a country at that time were fully politically emancipated we would not have had to placate the owners in this way but we were not at that point in our own history. However, public pressure was significant enough to find some way to end slavery across the empire and that in its self is something we should be proud of.
Yes, Britain bought slaves to free them, as well as paying the Royal Navy and its men to intercept slavers and free slaves (and hang the captains as pirates, in case you missed that part) and the debt incurred by the Bank of England was so vast in doing so that it was not until 2015 that it was finally paid off.
That means my taxes and many of those of other Britons (anyone old enough to have been paying taxes before 2015, in fact, so given that VAT is a large part of UK Treasury income, that even includes children, were partially spent in paying off that debt. I am proud of that. Through two world wars and the whole of the cold war, Britain was paying off that debt.
Maybe the situation in the US could have been handled better, by maybe contributing to the cost after the abolition of slavery there (but I guess paying taxes to the British may have been a touchy subject around then), but it is a debt we took on ourselves, and I, for one, am proud of having done so, throughout my working life, my father's, grandfather's, great grandfather's and even my great, great grandfather's working lives that cost was being paid. Even my children are old enough to have paid VAT (a sales tax) on their purchases before 2015 even if they were too young to be paying income tax. I would go so far as to say that almost any Briton old enough to be viewing this at the time of its publication will have paid towards the settling of that debt. Only now are we rearing a new generation free of that cost - although who knows what our national position would have been now without it? One can only speculate.
Wow!! This reaction, actually brought tears to my eyes with pride watching it. I'm from Manchester, England 🇬🇧. I learn so much from most of your uploads. Keep up the great work. Best wishes from a proud Brit.
As a Brit, I don't recall getting taught that we ended slavery that early in our own country either. Great vid
Languages: I’m now retired, but spent most of my life working life overseas. Whilst I made an effort to learn, it was almost impossible, because everyone wanted to speak to me in English. I would join a meeting and instantly everyone would switch to English. I would wish colleagues a good morning in their language and be answered back in English. The idea that Brits are arrogant by not learning other languages is nonsense, it’s just that the rest of the world speaks English. Perhaps the only places that don’t like to speak English are in the rest of Britain!
heh, just posted somthing similar myself - having travelled and lived abroad I am firmly of the opinion that my linguistic skills have been severely hampered by the prevalence of English elsewhere - it's everywhere! And so frequently spoken by non-English as a language of medium that at this point it might as well be universally adopted.
I had the same problem when I moved from the UK to the Netherlands. As you know, just about everyone in the Netherlands is fluent in English. Learning Dutch was difficult because in the beginning once I started to speak, people would often get impatient (in a nice way) and just speak English. Even today, there are days and weeks I speak no Dutch at all and I live slap bang in the middle of the Netherlands.
@@haatpraat2993 I've heard tales from native dutch that they speak English among themselves in some circumstances even when everyone present speaks dutch as their first language. They think that English sounds cooler than Dutch when playing roleplaying games, for example. And don't even get me started about the people who claim that "more people speak Chinese than English". Sure they do, but they all live in China. English speakers live in _every_ country on earth. When a Frenchman is speaking to a German, it ain't gonna be in Chinese!
@@WJS774 Yes, that is correct! More often, they use English phrases like 'So s*it' . The wackiest thing thing I ever saw on this subject was while working down in Brussels, I saw a group of native Belgians speaking THREE different languages in the SAME conversation, going between French, Dutch and English!
@4mins you literally had me shouting Amen 👏 Well said man 👍
I was taught pretty much all of the contents of this video at school in the UK (BTW I seem to remember William the conquer's fine was massive and would have been very effective)
the fine was deliberately huge because so few could risk not being able to pay it. Debtors gaul - prison - was basically an extended death sentance for most.
Having it be a finable crime and not a capital crime with immediate execution allowed bypassing of local laws and saw that it could be enforced regardless of how much one bribed the local bishop.
We also have a pretty good idea why he outlawed slavery. At the time, the biggest slave market in the known world, was Dublin.
It's likely he didn't want the inventory in his Doomsday Book sold off.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Ireland
@@billlansdell7225 The Domesday book only covered most of England and parts of Wales. Ireland was never included in it.
@@circus1701 Exactly, because William the Conquered didn't own Ireland. So if people are sold into slavery in England, shipped off to Ireland, and from there shipped off around Europe, he is losing his population.
From Wikipedia:
____
Slavery became more prevalent throughout Ireland the 11th century as port cities built up by Vikings flourished, with Dublin becoming the biggest slave market in Western Europe.[9][5] Its main sources of supply were the Irish hinterland, Wales and Scotland.[9] The Irish slave trade began to decline after William the Conqueror consolidated control of the English and Welsh coasts around 1080, and was dealt a severe blow when the Normans abolished slavery in 1102.[10][6][9][11] The 1171 Council of Armagh freed all Englishmen and women who were enslaved in Ireland.[12] It was clear from the Decree of the Council of Armagh that English were selling their children as slaves. "For the English people hitherto throughout the whole of their kingdom to the common injury of their people, had become accustomed to selling their sons and relatives in Ireland, to expose their children for sale as slaves, rather than suffer any need or want."
____
First one here I cant believe it! The Hymn " Amazing Grace" was written by a reformed English slave owner, who renounced owning slaves.
Hi Steve this is great content 👌 take a look at Frederick Douglas and the Somerset case from this video as it'll show how those American slaves came from America in a hurry and were immediately freed as they set foot on English soil. That is the famous Black American Frederick Douglas who was a big star here and would get all his fees paid by English society including lawyers fees chasing off the US and his former owners. I bet most Americans wouldn't know that because I know most us Brits don't 😅. Great mate 👍 loving the work.
Wow, more people need to see and listen to all of this. It's very informative and eye-opening, I did not know this, and I'm astonished.
It cost so much money ( qpprox 40% of the uks Gdp, it took 200 years to repay, the debt was finally paid off in 2015.
I'm glad someone mentioned William Wilberforce at last he never gets mentioned and had a lot to do with ending the slave trade,if anyone comes The city of Hull (Kingstan upon Hull) they should visit Willberforce House and find out about what he did,at one time he had a replica in his house which took up a whole room of a slave ship with real life like Negros (waxworks) shakeled unbelievably close together with different painful expressions on their face's it was horrible to see but last time I went around his house it was gone,don't know why,but it's a shame because it really brought it home to you
@Angela Bushby. If you visit Westminster Abbey, you will find thete is a life size statue of William Wilberforce, which always had a group of visitors reading the plaque. His friend, William Pitt the Younger, the youngest PM in our history, worked with Wilberforce to get his Bill through Parliament.
"British people don't learn languages" is a very common misconception that other none British people have of the British. Whilst it is true that many only know our local languages, many more speak multiple languages. And this is true about most countries - there are always going to be ignorant people who not only don't learn any language other than their own but are PROUD of that and think others need to accommodate them. This isn't to say that if you ONLY know one language then you're "ignorant" in the bad sense of the word. There are those who are incapable of learning languages: I'm one of them. I try, but it doesn't stick. I know a few words, enough to get by, in Welsh, French, German and Hebrew. I've a smattering if Koine Greek (New Testament langauge) but I'm really stuck with only speaking English.
My father can speak eight languages. My grandfather spoke three. My mother only speaks English.
The misconception is due to the extent of our Empire and that most of the world now speaks English as at least a second language - English is a larger language now than French and is the true international trade language. This fosters the idea that English people are lazy and we don't bother learning another's language, where in reality the same percentage of British people speak at least two languages, or more... we just shared our own language over a wider distance than any other language has ever gone - with the possible exceptions of Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Just found your channel. You're great man and I am always happy to see people find their roots no matter where they are from we all have a deep set history. Salute to you sir
In Great Britain, we were the first to pass the 'Abolition of Slavery Act'. in 1833. This was some 30 years before the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery in the USA.
We weren't, and are still not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I ❤️ my 🇬🇧
I love watching how you react to the videos that you review
Absolutely agree " No one should be ashamed for things they didn't do".
I'm Scottish and in high school, tomorrow I'll be taking a test on the slave trade and civil rights movement.
I'm so glad we're taught about things like this, people need to know our history, although we aren't really taught the extent of Britain's role.
we were taught all about Glasgow's role in slavery though which I think was insanely important for us to learn since I (a massive history buff) didn't know we were even involved like that at all
You should read about the case in you should read the case of Joseph Knight who won his freedom in the Scottish Law Courts in 1778, it’s a little known story
Great video Steve, very informative 👏
Thomas Sowell has a couple of videos about this that goes into some different detail. Well worth a listen as a complement to Carl Benjamin's work here
This is a great video! I thought I knew a bit about it, but I learnt a great deal more. Indeed we should be proud of what we achieved.😊
I left school in 2015 and knew nothing about the British role in ending slavery until the first time I watched this video.
thats because this video whitewashes the fact we sold over 3 million slaves to america...
@@michael_177 Just like the american education system lies about white people going to Africa to catch humans to sell into slavery when the only thing white men caught in Africa was malaria, in actual fact it was the Africans themselves selling their own people into slavery in return for gold weapons and spices from the europeans?
It's clear you haven't paid much attention to the video. "Slavery is the ruling principle of *MY* people. It is the source and glory of their wealth. The mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery" - King Ghezo of Benin. The last thing he wanted was the British forcing the slave trade to end in his land, but they forced it to happen, just like they forced it to happen in East Africa where the Arab East African slave trade began in the 10th century, formed the Swahili speaking language and culture and didn't end until the Royal Navy forced it to in the 1880's.
@@michael_177 And in actual fact, just to clear over how obvious your ignorance is to me, you can skip to around 13:10 in this video in particular to see the part which lists the number of slaves transported by each European country. It clearly states the number was 2.6 million. Stop being so ignorant and close minded, it will help you in the future
@@samsativa245 That is a complete lie, 3.1 million were traded, and 2.6 - 2.7million arrived. I'm going to assume you've studied this in a professional and academic environment, too, right? You also literally study this as part of your current education, yes? If not, please don't even try.
@@michael_177 Traded by who? By the africans to the europeans, yes, and this video makes it clear. 5,000 years of slavery since the cradle of humanity, Sumerian and Akkadian empires, the first written language records slavery existed and it didn't end throughout the world until Britain made it happen. Fact.
BOOM! There you have it🇬🇧🇺🇸
In 1748 the Prince who would become George III wrote essays condemning slavery. There were various groups, including Quakers who were leading a fight against it. There were Court cases and Judge, Lord Mansfield ruled against it. Slavery was not a "thing" in England since the 1066 invasion. Some historian have raised this as being a contributor factor to the War of the American independence. It has also to be noted that the subsequent legislation in England was drawn up during the height of the Napoleonic wars. Further legislation was drawn up post war.
I’m British and did not know this. It’s definitely wasn’t taught in school when I went but that was quite a while ago now. Over the years, after school, I found out how big the British Empire was and it’s amazing for such a small island but did not know how much was through conquest and how much was via trade. Thankfully it seems most was through trade.
I met this one black guy who liked to try and guilt white people for the horrors his slave ancestors went through, through a genealogy record it was found that at no point in his own family history was there ever any slaves, his family was basically always the equivalent of middle class, not rich or poor, just doing decently overall. He seemed rather disappointed at the reveal, which really just says everything about him.
As a British person who went to school here, yes we got taught about slavery but it wasn't a big subject as we didn't have African slaves in England the main slavery we learnt was the English peasants so our cultures are completely different. We don't really pay much attention to slavery
As a child at school i was taught about slavery and the role that William Wilberforce the abolitionist played... most of us are well aware that although the slave trade existed.. there were no slaves in Britain and for nearly 1000 years there havnt been... Children in our schools do though get taught unpalatable facts... the holocaust, the cold war (which seems to be back in another form sadly).. i remember at 6 years old being told about the fact that if a nuclear bomb was on its way we would only have 4 minutes warning... this was duri g the cuban missile crisis when it was Britain (effectively USA aircraft carrier with a lot of a bombs aimed at soviet union) which was by far the prime target should Kruschov not backed down... To much attempts at censuring teaching books in american schools..
John Blanke was a 16th Century black trumpeter employed in the Royal Courts of Henry VII & Henry VIII. He was not a slave, his pay is listed on the 1511 Westminster Tournament Rolls.
I knew you would react to this even though somebody said your channel isn't for this kind of history
I want to react to all things British and Irish as I want the full picture. I know some of these topics may be sensitive, but you can't really understand today without understanding the past in full. Thanks
@@reactingtomyroots Take a look into St Patrick and how he became a slave in Ireland
The British ended slavery in Jamaica in 1836 after an interim apprentiship period . The British paid through the nose to the plantation owners in compensation but this avoided bloodshed unlike the Civil war in the States later in the century
And the slaves got eff all.
@@Jenjen-qc5eq Don't we know it. The rolling in money Plantation owners slanderously called the small holdings the negros were working on themselves as "pumpkin patches " if the enslaved Africans wanted to grow pumpkins why shouldn't they? It was THEIR land. The supercilious landlords were the ones who had worked both the men and the soil to death in their greed for profit
They did all that then swanned off back to England with their pockets stuffed with money all at the British taxpauers expense Surely these Jamaican ex pats whites were some of the most obnoxious of all people in history
@@Jenjen-qc5eq Meanwhile back in Britain housewives boycotted Jamaican sugar calling it "blood sugar" They refused to buy it when it dawned about the suffering that went into producing it for them.
@@Jenjen-qc5eq The slaves got their freedom. I imagine you are the kind of person that doesn't value freedom though.
This was so informative.So much I hadn't heard of
The best presentation I have ever heard.
When Britain abolished it's slave trade about half a dozen African kingdoms complained! King Gezo of the Dahomey was on record saying he'd do anything the British asked but give up slavery.
Britain signed about 50 anti slaving treatise with West African kingdoms and any that refused to stop got bombarded into stopping. The slave port of Lagos, Nigeria was one such location. Lagos renamed it's independence square after a local slave trader. You can see a statue of her there today.
When the transatlantic slave trade had largely stopped, they diverted ships to East Africa to stop the Arab slave trade. They stopped patrolling East Africa in the 1970's.
Look up the photos from the HMS Sphinx that captured Arab slavers in Oman and the sailors breaking off the chains of the African slaves in 1907?
Fantastic lesson in our history. We are a proud nation found long ago. The Union Jack flag is such an ikon and one I am extremely proud to be represented by.
Don't you mean the "Butcher's apron?"
The British had a naval base in Serria Leonne. Naked nd starving people were taken there from slave ships and fed and clothed . They were given homes and jobs. Some of them saved enough money to get a boat up together and sailed l back home to Nigeria etc
This is a great channel. I've watched a few of your videos and I think you embody a great American characteristic which is being open and interested to learn true history without preconceptions. Good luck to you, all the best from England.
This young man will go far I am learning from him because of his questing nature
Nobody is responsible for what happened centuries ago, I agree.
Really glad you watched this 😁
People of Lancashire where the cotton mills were refused to work with the cotton from America which caused great hardship for them lots of people and children died because they were against slavery
Steve,I think your father must be very proud of you,Truly. Great video as usual. Thanks.
I am immensely proud, my 5th great grandfather Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton was an MP and was great friends with William Wilberforce. He took over as leader of the abolition movement in 1825 after Wilberforce retired due to failing health. The slave trade had been mostly been abolished in 1807, but existing slavery still remained. He fought for those remaining in slavery and helped to improve their treatment. In May 1823, Sir Thomas Buxton introduced in the House of Commons a resolution condemning the state of slavery as "repugnant to the principles of the British constitution and of the Christian religion", and called for its gradual abolition "throughout the British colonies". My 5th great grandfather achieved his goal when slavery was officially abolished in the British Empire, Buxton held his seat in Parliament until 1837. We still have many journals and diaries of his in our family and have always been fascinated reading them.
It's good that despite the political agendas this is still being passed around by the algorithm. It shatters the victim complex that many people have and their animosity towards another group. But some are not so open to giving up their victimhood status.
I was taught this at school back in the 1960 s and 70 s
I think your point about slavery being taught in schools is accurate,world wide.
No mention here of the man that did get the abolition of slavery law through Parliament & end the transatlantic slave trade for Britain/empire in 1807. He really got the bill through to end the black slave trade, which eventually ended it globally. As member of Parliament for Hull East Yorkshire, he campaigned against slavery for many years & his statue in Hull city centre today stands with much pride. A huge stone column with his statue on top standing at 110 feet tall was built in 1835. He was considered so important & Britain had that much pride in him, he was buried in Westminster Abbey London along with monarchs & other greats. Sir William Wilberforce. 🇬🇧🇺🇸
One thing that wasn't mentioned is that British people were enslaved by the vikings in our early history. It was common. Every time i watch this video it brings me to tears that any human being can treat another in that way. Every time i hear Woke people saying we should pay for slavery and make amends, i think that i ,as a British tax payer, have paid for it, even though we had no slaves.
Hello Steve, You should be applauded sir for educating people like myself and others 👏🏻👏🏻 very good video and points you put across, you looked like you were close to tearing up watching along with us subs. Even i learned something. i can’t remember what we were taught at school it’s too long ago and maybe i just didn’t pay that much attention so watching this stuff with you is educational. Thankyou. Take care 😘🏴
Slavery was mind bogglingly awful, but its worth comparing the lives of the ordinary white working classes in the 19 th century. Girls walked home from cotton mills with their wet clothes freezing on them. Seamstresses slowly starved to death doing piece work for 16 hours a day. Small children worked down mines. Life was pretty dreadful for most people.
@@rosemarielee7775 👍👍👍👍👍👍
we only finished paying for the cost of the freedom campaign in 2015 in the uk....a tiny little ceremony...wasnt even covered in the media....this positive moments in history need to be shouted about.
Top reaction my friend, new sub here
There's still roughly 30-60 million slaves in the world today.
No ones worrying about them, everyone's worrying about what happened to ancestors for some reason
@@thatsthat2612 true unfortunately
. Biggest slave market is. In Lybia
Like almost everything in life context is everything.
This makes me very proud to be British! 🇬🇧 RULE BRITANNIA! 🇬🇧
I'm happy for you, thankfully I am Scottish (not British), have a nice day.
100% proud of being a Brit and we own nothing to anyone and people are now owed anything for this.
Very informative, that book he was reading from should be in schools across the world, for everybody to understand the history of how slavery ended
You are a gentleman!
You should check out the battle of Bamber Bridge.
Love that story!
I AM British and I didn't even know we had played such a huge role in fighting against world slavery
I really enjoy your channel. I am learnings things about my own country that I never knew. Its heartwarming to see somebody, not from my country, appreciating what a great nation we are. I think when people who know nothing, belittle the UK and the people of the UK constatantly, I think we start to retreat into our shells. Almost forgetting who we are, and have been the greatest nation on the planet for the last 2,000 years.
I think you can see how many from our side of the pond, puff their chests out in pride, when you read the comments.
Excellent channel, my friend. As i said, I am learning about my own history at the same time. We banned slavery from the 1100's !! I never knew that ! (the reasons, i think irrelevent, because it set the trend, and we never had slaves since. ) That is something to proud of ! And we, WE, a put stop to the world wide slave trade.
On a side note, you must visit the UK. You have a curious intelligent, mind, you will love the place ! I dont live anywhere near London, but you must go there first. ( I get down there a couple of times a year though) its my favourite city. It really is great. You really must go with your family. You wont see a single gun here either (Except for the Royal Guardsmen at various palaces !) You will be more safe here than any where else on the planet.
Hi Steve - Check out the village of Eyam in Derbyshire. The Black Death arrived there and many deaths ensued. But there is a twist. Look for a decent length video to get the best of the story. You’ll be amazed.
Wow, not thought of Eyam and Hathersage for a while. I remember going there in the 80's, my first school trip and a week away from home.
We were there to learn the history of course but I was more concerned at the time with sketching what I saw.
Fantastic looking places with amazing scenery. (At least back then, not sure about now.)
Slavery may be officially outlawed everywhere but there are still upwards of 40 million slaves worldwide.
great video
thank you
Rule Britainnia,Britainnia rules the waves,Britons never,never shall be slaves..learning another language is mind broadening,good manners in my understanding.
There should be a video on a channel called Drachinifel that discusses the West Africa Patrol and its actions against the slave trade
In England we have a saying 'Warts and all' which means we want to be told our whole history, non sugar coated. That way we can learn and grow from what has come before us.
Perhaps the best known anti-slavery campaigner in England was William Wilberforce, who gave the best years of his life to the campaign. Many of the great houses in England were built on the profits of slavery, not necessarily through holding slaves themselves but through the plantations developed overseas. If slavery was officially abolished in England, Wilberforce knew that wealthy merchants were still making fortunes from their overseas plantations. This, too, had to be stopped, and Wilberforce was bitterly opposed. His house in Hull is now a museum to testify to his ultimate success.
In the UK we're not taught about people from Africa raiding the coastal towns and villages of England and Ireland and even Iceland. They also captured the crews of fishing and trading vessels at sea. The slavers are usually referred to as Barbary Pirates and used Lundy Island off the Devon coast as an operating base while in UK waters.
What is interesting is when an British born black person traces their family history back to the Caribbean and discovers that one of their forebears was a slave owner.
ruclips.net/video/9siWJdzIvd4/видео.html
About learning languages: the majority of Europeans speak more than one language. It's considered a normal part of being educated. You see, although Western Europe is comparable in size to the US, the individual countries are comparable to US states in geographical size. Can you imagine never going outside the border of your state? I think it's pretty normal. Doing that in Europe means usually means being in a place where another language is spoken. So 56% of Europeans speak two or more languages. However, that drops to 36% for British people, even though France is only a 20-mile train trip away.
It's easier for the British to move around the world without learning a language, because English is such an international language and is often learned as a second language. But, yes, you are right it does make us a little lazy. However, I love France and learned French. I do try to learn 'enough' of the language of any country I visit. As soon as I speak though, even when I think my accent cannot be detected, I am instantly, greeted with, 'Oh, you are English! As crestfallen as I am, everyone then speaks English so these lovely people can practise their skills, and I quietly tuck my phrase book away rueing all those hours! 😊