The British Empire: The Good, Bad, and Ugly Details of The World's Largest Empire
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2021
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Rule Britannia…
Yo
🙄 British Empire 👉 was a world 🌍 biggest looters and thief 💥 💯 🙄 British Empire was a world 🌍 killer evil Empire 💥
🙄 British Empire 👉 was looting the Hindustan 😡😡😡😡😡😡 👉 Trillion's of dollars 💥💥💥💯
Not watching this! Shame on you. Brextits.
An empire so big, a country celebrates its independence from Great Britain on average every seven days.
And now look at the state of the UK. Lmao, a fate well deserved.
@@moseyburns1614 It's better than 99% of countries today? Nothings happened. The UK today is much better than in the 19th and 18th centuries
@@moseyburns1614
yes the pariah of europe
@@ursodermatt8809 thats literally how the UK has rolled for about 700 years, hardly a change to the status quo
@@moseyburns1614 Jealous, eh?
Unfortunately, I think Simon wasn't being clear when he stated that the "British Empire created the slave trade." I'm sure he meant that the British Empire started the Atlantic Slave Trade that led to slavery in the USA. No one who knows history could ever legitimately claim that slavery didn't exist before the British Empire as every major civilization (and some minor ones) engaged in slavery since antiquity.
Portugal and Spain were in on the Atlantic slave trade for there south American colonies before the northern parts of Europe got in on the business. Byt we just stepped ot up in scale and put are managerial know how into the trade to make more profit.
@@krtcampbell9007 Yeah, I read that after I posted, but I didn't have time to come back and edit my post.
They also don't like talking about how we started the "slave trade". It involved purchasing the slaves from Africans. The reason why no-one really gives a fuck about most of the negatives described in this video, like human suffering, is because it is part and parcel of history and the concept of a human civilisation. Yet people act like it's this demonic evil force that came out of nowhere and subjugated a fair a free society. It's hard to not roll my eyes at it.
Slavery is as old as written history. Unfortunately, it still exists today.
to be honest this video's was just simon shitting on the british empire in my opinion, half of what said in the video isn't even true he's a bloody lying revisionist.
"The bad and the ugly, oh and something about infrastructure".
All the points are basically true, but this is such an amazing oversimplification. Empires are always complex. They generally combine extreme brutality with huge advances in technology and society. The British Empire effectively kick-started the modern world, for better and worse, and its cultural influence alone is a huge part of modern "western" thought.
Also some key points I would have included: the effect of the Napoleonic wars on basically clearing out the seas for Britain to ramp up colonialism, the immense shift that the end of slavery created in Europe and America, and the overwhelming importance of the industrial revolution.
What gets to me about the British Empire (Im British by the way) is that every major city from Glasgow to London were riddled with poverty. The biggest Empire huge and wealthy while it's people suffered
Ever been to the US? The wealthiest country ever and the levels of poverty across the US is shocking. You might not see it in Times Square, but you wouldn't have to go far.
All empires were like that. Look at the two remaining true empires , russias failing brutal one and the chinese ( tibet enslaved) one that is right now exterminating yughers.
That's because you're focusing only on urban centres, and in urban centres there's ALWAYS more people than jobs. It has nothing to do with how big the empire was. If you look instead at the people who had jobs, or better yet had businesses, or even those who worked the fields in the countryside, life in Britain was infinitely superior to life outside it, even though conditions and pay to us in the 21st century would still seem horrific. People around the world wanted British goods so factories which produced them had endless demand, therefore endless shifts for workers, workers who needed feeding by farmers who could provide food, who needed it transporting by people who ran transport businesses and so on and so on. The poor sods competing for work in the cities were the only ones out of luck, everybody else lived in far superior conditions compared to other countries
First of all poverty is everywhere. The level of poverty is different. Poverty in USA is wealthy compare to poverty I india
@@lewisbae1326 So is the cost of living in USA compared to India
Modern British: "Terribly sorry about the whole Empire business, awful stuff, terribly sorry"
Mongolians: *30 metre statue of Genghis Khan*
@@lu544 With God complex and probably biggest rapist and killer in history.
@@Anonymous-cm8jy im sure he was spinning in his grave when when you wrote that.
Never met a British person thats been sorry about anything the British have done. Quite the opposite actually
Apologies are cheap
@@mccombe25 people like you forget that the ruling British exploited and abused their own people long before and during the empire. our ancestors pain and suffering was the motivation for the empire
Slight correction: we did not abolish slavery in 1807, we abolished the Atlantic Slave Trade - you were still allowed to keep slaves, just not ship them over the Atlantic. Slavery itself was abolished in 1833 in the British Empire as a whole.
EDIT: also, slavery within England and Wales was banned since the C12th.
Actually slavery was abolished in the 12th Century in England and Wales, which led to rullings regarding a need for postive law freeing slaves that had been brought to britain.
Another correction. Slavery was abolished in England and Wales by William the Conqueror.
😮
They ended all slave trading across oceans, not just the Atlantic, because that was all that was possible. Slavery was ended by the British, French and Americans around 1919. The only slave trades that continued after the British and French navies were the slave trade in China and north Africa/the middle East. With the fall of the Ottoman empire, and the collapse of Imperial China, slavery could be ended in the places the British and French could not previously get to as they were not capable of invading deep into the heartlands of continents (although they started to be able to do so in the 1890s with the scramble for Africa). The credit for ending the Chinese slave trade could go the Chinese Communist Party although in effect they just nationalised slave labour by giving themselves the monopoly on slave labour, such as with the slavery of the Uighers in Xinjiang concentration camps today.
Later they enslave indians
"And yes, everyone in the past was the worst" that was hilarious😂🤣
Simon, it's ridiculous that your writers claim that the British started slavery.... more than once.
Magaprojects: Britain started the slave trade.
Portugal: Am I a joke to you?
A quick Wikipedia search says that Portugal started buying African slaves in 1444, and started sending them to Brazil in 1526. This doesn't excuse the British, just stating facts.
Let's not forget the Romans, Barbary Pirates or pretty much any large empire that needed cheap labour from it conquered enemies. Not an excuse for it yet not 100% the only slavers ever.
Careful hate facts will get you sent to the naughty bin.
Egyptians built their own tombs dont ya know.
Who did they buy those slaves from?
@@DarkZodiacZZ Mostly from the Mali empire, which Portugal already had trade relations with. Mali was the hub of west African slavery, and had been for centuries.
But the Transatlantic slave trade was particularly brutal, even by the standards of ancient times. The conditions for the crossing, combined with the treatment of the slaves (especially in sugar plantations) is on a level never seen before.
I think his point was that the empire was the largest single contributor to the slave trade, I think
Sorry to be that guy, but the lost colony of Roanoke was in North Carolina, not South Carolina. Trust me, North Carolinians are way too proud of that fact (it is taught in 4th and 8th grade).
Youre correct Ive had the pleasure of visiting that exact island and site definitely North Carolina
Maybe it was really in South Carolina and that's why they've had so much trouble finding it? /s
@@INMATEofARKHAM nope, definitely in NC. The Croatoan tree was in Dare County, and the actual tribe lived near modern-day Cape Hatteras.
South Carolinian here. Yes, Roanoke was in NC, not SC.
Set foot in Downtown Charleston and you'd realize there's no need to live anywhere else.
Don't worry.
No one cares.
Simon's point about the French not supporting the second Iraq war is well met. I was one of the people who went along with the propaganda and fervor that lead us into that war, and derided the French for their opposition. Now I realize they were right, and I was wrong. Another reason to reject the idea of America as the World Police.
There wasn't WMDs the Iraq war was propaganda!
Better the USA than China. I won't even mention Russia,pretenders to top spot as they are, a nation with the 5th largest economy in Europe and even a smaller economy than Texas.
However someone has to maintain the peace...
@@angloirishcad well if anything it shouldn't be the nation who is the biggest exporter of weapons and has the most nuclear powered arms than any other nation in the world
good on you for admitting that. However I was deeply skeptical at the time though. Despite repeated claims of WMD nothing was actually shown on TV or anywhere else for that matter. I still believe that the US had to be seen to do something after 9/11 and we were obliged to go along with them, it's as simple as that. Saddam Hussein was no real threat to us and weapons inspector Dr David Kelly was silenced before he could talk.
An extremely important point left out is the British method of "Divide and Conquer"
That's hardly uniquely British. It's the oldest play in the Empire Playbook.
Still prevalent to this day. Used by politicians and others with power.
Divide and Rule by the British is a myth.
I dont think you can say England started slavery, it was used well before that
I don't think they can take credit for ending slavery in their own territory either. It's not an accident that both Acts of Parliament limiting or abolishing slavery (1807 & 1833) almost immediately followed large influxes of anti-slavery Irish MPs in the elections immediately following the 1800 act of union forced on Ireland and the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act. The change in voting between earlier failed efforts to abolish slavery in the late 1700s almost exactly aligns with the addition of Irish MPs.
@@cros13 The addition of Irish MPs... and where were they added? That's right, to Britain. Thus, Britain abolished slavery. Let's not forget the huge role played by the RN!
Keep in mind that he doesn't say slavery, slavery had already been prominent in Europe if you go back to antiquity and it was still widespread throughout the world.
He specifically says the slave trade, referring to the Atlantic Slave Trade. He would also be wrong on this account since the Portuguese and Spanish had already been trading in slaves previously. However, neither country would be able to match Great Britian in absolute numbers, it wouldn't have gotten as far as it did without British (or French) participation and it is largely responsible for creating the racial divide in the US (Not continuing it).
As a small aside, I'm not trying to say that what other european countries wasn't bad, you're either in the slave trade and colonialism or you're not and what others did is just as morally wrong even if they weren't as good at doing it. You can even go farther and look at other european countries who would have done it if they could. The Danes, Sweedes, Austrians and Poles also tried to have colonies of their own at one point or another.
@@CamoHunt8 The Portuguese still actually transported more slaves.
I don't think he did, did he?
19:23 "... it (British Empire) essentially started the slave trade." Within the British Empire, yes. However, to the shame of humanity across the globe, capture and trade in slaves LONG preceded the British Empire: eg δοῦλοι
, δοῦλαι in Ancient Greece, servī in Roman Empire, þrælar of the Vikings ... and let's not forget the Bible: Exodus 21:20-21 Leviticus 25:44-46 Ephesians 6:5-8 Colossians 3:22-24, 1 Timothy 6:1-2, Titus 2:9-10
@@TG-tl4uj Or a prisoner of the Barbary Pirates.
@@nedkelly4825 Islamic slave trade continues to this day but we aren't allowed to say anything bad about Muslims and my comment will probably be shadow banned by RUclips for saying it.
@@OriginalBongoliath Well said,
Was going to correct this twat also thanks for doing it for me.
@Present Tense "The slave trade" (also referred to as the "Atlantic slave trade", or "transatlantic slave trade", or the "Euro-American slave trade") in the context of European Colonialism, refers to the transatlantic trading patterns which were established as early as the mid-17th century. The British triangular trade in slaves, in which trading ships would
sail from Europe with manufactured goods to the west coast of Africa to be traded for slaves, the ship would then transport the slaves to the Americas or the Caribbean, before returning home with cargoes of sugar, rum, tobacco and other 'luxury' items, is the "The slave trade" in question here.
It is this Slave Trade that the British Empire controlled and "essentially started", which is being discussed; It is not about the slaves in Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire or the Bible (which were made up of predominately captured enemies) but the activity of exchanging goods for human beings and then buying, selling these people as chattels in a triangular trade route.
Surely the most poignant aspect of the British Empire’s involvement in the slave trade was the abolishment of slavery and then the enforcement of this ban around the globe at the cost of much blood and treasure.
Thank you for this excellent swift survey of the British Empire. I noticed you did not mention New Zealand (Aotearoa) which was last to be colonized by the British. It was conceived as the Britain of the South Pacific. Here, there was a treaty between the local Maori tribes (iwi) and no wholesale slaughter or famine, but there were the Land Wars of the 1860s. Reparations are still being made by the government to iwi to this day.
Well NZ was first colonised by New South Wales, as a sub-colony of it, then later NZ was transferred to Britain as a colony after NSW had sorted out the treaty, or most of it to be fair.
There was no wholesale slaughter and famine in any places of the empire. They would only go to war if provoked or to destroy evil like the enslaving ashanti etc.
@@dominicomucci3014people just like to blame us brits because it's easier than accountability.
The reasons we did things are never brought up, neither is the fact the entire world as it stands now was shaped by us.
@@seanlander9321 legally transferred to those who ran the who shebang. Sounds like an Australian mad they got bit on the ass by a spider today while taking a shit.
"History is history, good, bad, ugly and the shameful its still history." - Daryl Davis
Take your "logic" and get outta here. :P
@@Archangelm127 agreed
@@Archangelm127 elaborate
Daryl Davis is an amazing person.
@@Crimelord43 It's a joke expression, commenting on how the most logical arguments often seem to be dismissed the most quickly in the public discourse.
*british grenadiers starts playing in the background*
You are being civilized, please do not resist
Resistence is futile
the trees start singing yankee doodle
Where the British Empire planted flags, great civilizations followed. America, India, Australia, and Canada eh!
@@madrabbit9007 iraque,iran,Palestine, Egypt, Syria and so on..
@@luislealsantos yeah, there are many hell holes as well where civilization didn’t stick due to the locals wanting to live in the dark ages. Look at the mess we Americans have left in Afghanistan. I cry watching the hoards of people trying to flee the cavemen.
Very infromtive videos , keep up the good work
Spectacular objectivity. Nicely done.
I love how the chaos of Business Blaze is gradually migrating to the other channels haha
Also, the red stripe at the bottom of the thumbnail almost made me think I'd already seen the video. Food for thought
*Brain Blaze
Gotta keep up with the updates
Same problem here with the red stripe I thought I already watched it almost skipped over
I HATE red bordered thumbnails for the exact same reason.
Same here with the red stripe lol
Seems Simon's sponsors are becoming more comfortable with him being himself instead of just a buttery smooth voice.
Slavery is wrong and no one could defend its practice, but the British did not start it. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, etc all used slaves. Slavery has been practised by humans since the dawn of civilisation and perhaps before that. I will say that no nation can claim to be paragons of justice when it comes to history. We must research, debate, and learn from history so we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Not forgetting the Inca, Aztec & Mayans until the 16th century.
Also, the Japanese in the 19th & 20th Century.
And it's not as if we started the American slave trade either, that was the Dutch, iirc.
We were just more efficient at it, when we joined in.
There are countries in Africa who in recent years have formally apologized for the substantial role they played in the slave trade. Somehow, this is always forgotten when people talk about slavery.
Chattle Slavery, as practiced by the European empires in the age of exploration was substantially different than most historical forms of slavery, vastly wide spread, and still has measurable and direct impacts on people and communities still living today in multiple countries.
"the cool kids are doing it too" doesn't excuse the act of slavery. Just fucking own it. Let it marinade into acceptance, and do better for the future.
Always got the remember to first judge history through the lense of what was normal back then and then judge history by the values of today.
As horrible as it was, the British didn't start slavery as the video says, those are the facts
Probably not a great idea to ever put a red border around a video as it looks like the indicator that shows it has already been watched.
😎the “already watched” line never stops me…Simon’s Channels are the first I ever enjoyed reruns of!!!
I don't have that. Nothing in my feed tells me I've seen a video. For what its worth, I've never needed anything to tell me I've seen one. Thumb nails are great for recollection.
@@ryateo1 I watch thousands of videos and could never remember all of the thumbnails. RUclips will only put a red line under the last 2000..a lot of times I’ve started watching a video only to realize 5 mins in I’ve seen it before
@@stdesy I wonder if its because I only use cheap phones without Google apps?
@@ryateo1 It’s probably that. I’m only ever on the opposite side with an iPhone but I do also see the red line on my PS5 and Roku RUclips apps
Why do you keep saying the British started the slave trade? You need to do a little more research on that subject sir. I know you are very well versed in a lot of things, but you are completely wrong on that topic. The British did nothing more but step in and take advantage of a preexisting slave trade. They did not start it. I'm not British so I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone, I'm just pointing out the facts.
if you look at the comments below you will notice that 300 others have pointed that out already.
@@andip7480 That means that 301 people that have commented know the truth.
Is he that well versed?...really? Seems like over simplified click-bait to me.
This is true, slavery predates Britain existance, romans did it, carthagenians did it, babylonians did it, hell on the oldest law code the Hamurabi code there is punishments for killing another person slave
The slave trade and slavery are not the same thing. The British started modern slavery to the US as we know it
"Throwing hand grenades into the comment section" must be one of the best lines I've heard on RUclips 😄
Great summary at the end
My biggest issue with this video is the phrasing of “British created slavery.” Or basically blaming “slavery” on the British. Shouldn’t be this sloppy with your wording. Saying “British Empire along with the Spanish Empire helped create the African transatlantic slave trade” would be better. Slavery existed long before the British Empire and still persists today. Hell it was also beneficial to those Africans who sold other Africans into slavery. This issue is much more complicated than most people pretend it is.
Sums up my argument perfectly, we were involved in the Slave Trade, but WE also stopped it ... on the 'balance sheet' of History, i think that it will show that finally abolishing Slavery is/was more important than being involved in it ... WE even provided reparations to Slave Owners to emancipate slaves, setting them free ... in 1832's money, it was £20 MILLION - in todays money, conservative estimates equate that £20 MILLION to anywhere between £10-20 BILLION - WE only FINISHED paying off that loan in 2014
Simon seems like the sort of smug bastard that is quite happy to live the life he does, where he does, with all the benefits of education, security, etc that come with that, whilst decrying the efforts that got us here. If he wants to feel sorry about anyone, it should be for the forgotten millions at home in Britain who toiled for centuries in poverty, to create the wherewithal that enabled the Empire to be established in the first place, but that never seems to worry such smug lefty gits. Question ?? Why do this kind of person always have beards ?? Seems to be a common trait amongst oppressors.
@@harrypotter4309 ...brilliant 👍
@@harrypotter4309 ... if it wasn't for Empire generating wealth, there would be no 'Services' to speak of, as on the whole 'Libtards' work in the Service Industries, so not generating wealth themselves, this is after they get their Media Studies degrees at Uni ... 🤣🤣🤣
@@brianhodgson9547 Absolutely spot on. I usually have a go at the universities (ever more left leaning since the 1920's) but I ran out of steam. Totally agree regarding their taking up of non jobs as I like to call them, and the media studies bit is so true. I was a witness to this nonsense grabbing hold in the education system in the early seventies, that and "liberal studies" which usually had in charge someone who was half our age, and knew nothing of the world except the information they had been indoctrinated with . We had much fun pulling them and their assertions apart. But it was difficult not to get angry with their smugness sometimes !! Happy Days !!
We Portuguese have a heavy guilt in slavery, that is for certain. But slavery is way older than the country. Before Portugal being a naval power, the peoples from north Africa raided the Portuguese coasts, mainly Algarve (in the south) and took the villagers to slavery. I would say that slavery was a common concept at the time, just as was war. Slavery was a profitable trade, it was not an act of evil at the time. Awful and a crime to our modern eyes, for sure.
Slavery was awful and evil in the Bible circa 1000 BC.
@@sentientflower7891 Sure, but that was irrelevant for many, such as the Moors that enslaved the Portuguese or later some greedy Portuguese nobles and merchants. At the time there were champions against slavery, such as a humanist Jesuit that is one of our 'national heroes'. This greedy mentality that drove empires is not so different nowadays. People accept that climate changes is a consequence of our behaviour. Do most of the big companies really care? I don't see that. They just pay (or make us pay) a 'climate tax' and clean their hands. Immediate profit cannot be stopped, even if it seriously damages future generations. That is not properly a Christian idea, in my opinion. Not to disagree with you, it is just to say that this is the way humanity has been.
@@a.ferreira9787 the ultimate climate change tax is the extinction of the human species. That bill is coming due. Soon. Jesus Christ isn't returning. Ever.
we still have slaves you know, we just don't call them slaves. we call them, NBA players.
Yup
Did you just claim that the British started slavery? That’s patiently ridiculous. Even just transportation of slaves across oceans is not a British invention. You fail to mention the civilian deaths in the Indian uprising that really crossed lines with the British. Frankly, this was not a good episode.
Britain lost its geographical Empire but gained its financial Empire in the City of London.
Is it still the real deal or did 2008 end it?
@@mrsentencename73342008 end it
Britain hasn't been the same since.
The square mile isn't a part of Britain. It is a separate sovereign state run by the Bank of England. Similar to the State of Colombia, Washington DC and the Vatican in Rome.
Enjoy these presentations immensely. FYI- The Roanoke Colony was in present day North Carolina, not South Carolina. Back then, then the whole area was known as Virginia. It was not until much later when Charles I partitioned the Virginia territory and named the new divisions after himself that the Carolinas came into existence. Earlier in 1624, King James revoked Virginia’s private charter and declared it a Royal Colony, the first official such designation in what was to become the British Empire. Also, Virginia remained loyal to the crown after the Regicide of Charles I,. When Charles II took the throne after the Cromwell’s Protectorate collapsed, Charles II declared Virginia the “Old Dominion,” a nickname which survives today.
To be fair, when you have an empire that large its only natural to forget where you placed a colony here and there.
Spaniards first pass by Virigina, not the genocidal Brits.
See also the video "Spanish Discovery of Hawaii 1555."
Jamey Cooked is overrated. Brits are overrated.
The British Empire wasn't the biggest. Stay tuned for my video proving it.
@BB49 YOu can ask the brown people in Perú who exist because the Spanish weren't genocidal, and those people are indoctrinated to be anti-Spanish, so you'll get the wrong answer from their mouths, but the right answer from their existence.
@@scintillam_dei Ask the so-called indigenous “Brown People” in Mexico or Peru today of their opinions on how Cortez, Pizzaro or the other Spanish Conquistadores really treated their conquered & subjugated peoples (Their ancestors) in most, if not all their Latin-American colonies?!! It might totally be an eyes, ears, & wholly mind-opening experience for you!!
@@trevorfuller1078 You're talking to a Central Amercian. Most people are taught to hate Spain from youth. They're ingorant and gullible, just like you. Most Native Americans in América don't even know their identity. Their ignorant opinions don't change a thing except to show the injustice of anti-Spanish lies.
The British didn't start the slave trade, it had been going for a long time before the British Empire.
I agree black African tribesmen were selling rival tribesmen taken battle and raids to Dutch merchants long before Britain got involved but that gets ignored cos we apologize and the Dutch don't.
The British STOPPED it, but unfortunately many people of colour still indulge in it. Anyway the British were victims of slavery for many hundreds of years before Africans.
@@chalky7285 what? The Egyptians were doing it 5000 years ago. They didn't invent it either.
@@randomuser6306 I totally agree my friend it is a humanity problem and it will probably never end but can hope
Up until the British abolition of slavery, slavery has been practiced on every continent, by virtually all people. In no way, shape or form is it a "British" thing.
Always enjoyable Simon.
You mentioned the pandyan empire, good stuff
The British weren’t the first to start the slave trade, slavery has existed since the beginning of man kind. Many civilisations such as the Greeks, Egyptians and Persians exploited slavery. I suggest you look into the Arab slave trade as it often gets overlooked compared to the Atlantic slave trade which gets far more attention.
I think the Portuguese were the first to be shipping from Africa. Maybe we was the first to do it on an industrial scale, as we'd just invented industry.
@@funster73mcr2 There was more shipped to Brazil. It's just America is the world's most powerful country and emphasising carefully chosen narratives works in favour of competing interests.
wasn't even that bad, the alternative was starving in many cases, or just being wiped out as was the case with ancient tribal warfare.
The British Empire put an end to slavery in the west though.
@@vinaynk erm, no.
I think at least a shout out to IP law could be one discreetly major thing that the British Empire spread across the globe. It was a huge component in tying together the last major incentives and protections in law that made the industrial revolution possible.
Ah, IP law. That was worth millions of deaths and decades of exploitation, wasn't it?
@@davidpalk5010 They never said it was.
@@rogersmith9535 . They suggested it was a positive, but we didn't spread it to China, the world's biggest manufacturing country, did we? No international IP laws in China today, which is why Taiwan does much of the top tech, as they've signed up to all major treaties. Did our empire take IP treaties to Taiwan? Nope.
@@davidpalk5010 Nom they traded with the British and other western Nations. And so had to comply.
@@davidpalk5010 You say "decades of exploitation". India's GDP grew while the British were there. You underestimate the benefits from British trade and investment and from industrialisation of India's economy. Under the British an increase in Indian population also occurred with an increase of GDP per capita. And "between 1860 and 1940 employment in factories increased from less than 100,000 to two million. The share of factories in industrial employment of British India increased from almost zero in 1850 to 11% in 1938, and in industrial income from 15% in 1900 to 45% in 1947...The growth is impressive by any standard". Source: Tirthankar Roy.
We need a much longer video on this...
Very good Simon
A point to remember when talking about claiming lands like Australia is: The policy of Terra Nullus was established by the Pope when the Spanish and Portuguese were busy claiming lands in the Americas back in the 16th century and was a major part of claiming the lands in North America. This policy was also very strongly supported by the US and Canadian governments with their expansion across North America as well as being a core aspect of the US Government policies behind the settling of the the lands west of the original colonies.
Also those already there in Australia had no concept of land ownership, so couldn't sell the land for beans.
@@grahamross6397 Not to mention that the first European who "Discovered" Australia was the Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon which makes Britain's claim to Australia even thinner (if that is possible when the aboriginals had lived there for 60 000 years).
But might makes right and the nation with the worlds largest Navy kinda did like they wanted back then, just like Spain did in the early 1500s.
Australia was a managed land , the natives had practiced burning the land since they arrived and they had structures just not in the Eurocentric view of civilisation
Makes me wonder if id be an American or even if id be alive as the same person if, after the USA divorced GB, the US govt hadnt expanded west and just stayed the original 13 colonies
@@angryatheist managed the land is an interesting way of putting it. There was an extinction event when they settled Australia, like everytime humanity found a new place to call home.
Humans are the most ridiculously over and powered animal this planet has ever produced and this shows in the fossil record.
The amount of power the ussr was able to exert over its people to enact the 13 different 5 year plans was astonishing, we would love to hear the other 12
I am hoping they will do it. Simon said that they were thinking about doing the rest but the first video didn’t do that well.
@@matthewdopler8997 yeah I know thats why I keep commenting here and the side projects channel hoping he'll see it a realize many of us want them
Yes, we've had first Five Year Plan, but what about second Five Year Plan?
@@SkuLLetjaH there's 12 others
It's actually pretty simple: Every Soviet Citizen was given a stipend of vodka. Even when bread lines extended for miles and toilet paper was as rare as gold-pressed latinum, the USSR managed to keep the vodka flowing as if the supply was inexhaustible. THAT is a megaproject if evvrr thhrr wwss 1! 🥃🥴👌
i know you're committed to this youtube 20 minute format but i think this warrants more depth.
15:44
German Empire: "Am i a Joke to you?!"
"British started the slave trade" utter bollocks.
We definitley ended it though
the transatlantic...
@@mcmarkmarkson7115 he didn't say transatlantic
Surely the Spanish began the Transatlantic slave trade moving slaves from Ceuta to the Caribbean replacing the poor Taino across the Atlantic Ocean. In a crossing motion. In a Transatlantic kind of way?
Not condoning Slavery, slavery is 'orrible but Britain was relative late comers to the party. We just did it an absolute shit load over a relatively short period. We were also the first major player to stop it and then started enforcing everyone else to submit to ship searches to make sure everyone else stopped it also.
An over simplification, the British empire was one of the primary and initiating proponents of the Atlantic slave trade though, that specific one. People do tend to think of this specific one when they hear the phrase ‘slave trade’, because it was probably the worst slaves were treated in history if only because there were so many people being treated like utter shit. In the ancient world there would of course have been slaves treated worse I imagine, but not on such a massive scale.
Minor correction: the remains of Roanoke Colony is in modern North Carolina. Not South Carolina.
I go to Duck 3 or 4x's a year.
Was just there two weeks ago, it’s definitely in the OBX, not South Carolina
Grew up near there. It is NC.
It's also not Great Britain's first overseas colony. That would be St John's Newfoundland, granted Royal Charter in 1583 after being a fishing outpost since 1497
@@Uncommoner However it was only seasonal and not permanent until 1610, 3 years after Jamestown was settled as the first PERMANENT English settlement in the new world.
@0:40 whenever you use that SFX, it always feels like I got a notification from another app
The British Empire, a chapter in history's scroll,
With stories of glory, and tales dark as coal.
A colossal dominion, it once held sway,
But was it a force for good, or led hearts astray?
The good, they say, brought progress and law,
Institutions and culture, without a flaw.
A global reach, a legacy grand,
But did this empire's reach truly expand?
The bad, though, lingers in memory's grip,
Exploitation and conquest, with power's whip.
Colonial oppression, the cost so high,
In the name of the empire, did justice truly lie?
The ugly, it's clear, was a stain profound,
Injustices committed, in many a land.
With exploitation rampant, and suffering untold,
The darker chapters of history unfold.
But let's not forget, it's a complex tale,
With heroes and villains, and ships' tattered sail.
The British Empire, a mixed legacy,
In its rise and its fall, what's the true decree?
In questioning history, we seek to unveil,
The lessons it holds, the truths that prevail.
The good, the bad, the ugly, they intertwine,
In the story of empire, a narrative's design.
one thing I would quite like to point out is there were those in the empire who both supported its existance, while at the same time being horrified by atrocities commited by it. there was a political group which heavily praised the existance of the dominions and their self governance while critiquing British policy in Africa and Asia for not extending the same self government.
Most definitely want to see a video of Simon trying to awkwardly smile his way through Mongol atrocities or weird Mongol related horse facts.
Yep. An Empire that made such an impact through murder and rape that they changed the actual carbon foot print of the the human race as it was then (millions killed in such a short period, as in a few years that the amount of wood/fuels at the time burned reduced drammaticly, and 1 in 200 men in the human race share DNA direct to the Khans!).
What, you think that the Mongols were unique in their atrocities. Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands were all able to shovel their problems under the rug. Winners write the history books, especially when most of those books were written after World War 1, mostly by the aforementioned powers. The most recent example of great atrocities is the infamous Mao Zedong, who from 1949 to 1979 (30 years) may have had 50-75 million killed through his actions. Even Genghis Khan did not do that, we do not know how many people Genghis killed, all is heresy written by others.
Whataboutery
What the Mongol Empire did doesn't change what the British Empire did.
@@roisinmalone3015 Not whataboutery as this thread is asking about a videon about the Mongols...
@@roisinmalone3015 he’s not saying the British didn’t commit similar atrocities. He’s just saying he would like to see a video of Simon trying to smile through talking about it. Bring up another video idea isn’t shoving this under the rug
The British Empire abolished Slavery and ended the slave trade. Worth praise in my humble opinion.
They did nothing during the famine in Ireland at the same time , but they did force ireland to export enough food to feed the population to Britain
@@daithideburca98 True.
@@daithideburca98 ye, one of the empires greatest mistakes. Sending more food aid could have saved many lives
I remember telling my late grandpa I was going to study engineering... His response. With a straight face "but where will you find a white person to work in their *company* " i was permanently impacted by that statement.
It's just a "norm" to him and society, even after independence. that you "can't exist or live" without working for the BSAP(British South Africa Company's private police force of ober 10 000, which he worked for) or another white owned company. Hearing about BEIC i realised colonialism wasn't even a military undertaking primarily but a corporate one. With growing (and eventually big) companies just like today's Amazon paying locals to fight each other. Eventually the government would "assume control" from the multinational.
45 trillion 🥺
Bro you are absolutely right it was indian who beated indian it was indian who killed indians when they were protesting just for money and power it was never about white black brown it was all about power they just spread the propaganda of white black so people will keep fighting each other they make fortunes and rule them we are still slave this is modern day slavery people won’t notice it because they are to busy fighting each other or watching Netflix or doing some other shit like war in ukraine dividing people etc it is all just same shit you have to pay money to government can’t say a thing against them or they will block you off social media they control news, social media everything just making us feel we are free but we aren’t.
I acknowledge that its hard to fit in everything in a 20 minute video but I think that Ireland and Britains relationship was somewhat glossed over. It was only as recent as 1972 that that British soldiers committed Bloody Sunday in Derry. The atrocities of the empire can not be written off as a thing of the ancient past
Sad UK has found another way to mess with the irish.send immgrant. And put money in the pockets of Irish leaders to close there eye's. Ireland don't want those immgarts😢
So when are we going to see a mega projects about Simon and his youtube empire??
Underrated comment
There allegedly is a saying "if you see two fish fighting in a river an Englishman must have just passed by"
The stupidest quote ever.
Hahaha so damn true
@@theinformationbomber7102 explain
The British Empire evil, oh, compared to what, compared to which other empires. Ridding the Indian sub continent of it’s actually evil empire? Ffs get real.
@@drstrangelove4998 yes the British empire was evil.
Pronounces Grenada like it’s a 70’s car! 😂😂😂
"Essentially started the slave trade." Wait, what?!
Bit disappointing this video! No context of Arab trade or African slavery, or warning about judging history from the present, no mention that while Indian rulers and peasants resented British presence, the traders and merchants preferred the increased security and maritime /interior reach. (T. Roy)
@alexgibson2871 ::
Yeah❕️
The old ::
_Get Out of Jail Free Card._
_Everyone else was doing it._
_They sold their own people._
That and much-more pretty-much sums up the British horrific and nefarious nature. They can't even accept their responsibility for their global crimes.
Arab trans Saharan trade.
Can we all please agree that slavery predates history and wasn't a creation of the British Empire?
Of course Brits didn’t invented it but they just used it to build their empire for centuries
They didn’t invent it they just excelled it
Defo. Portugal was a lot more prolific at it too.
@@anoopkl4u Yes! The same as the the Mogul empire in India (and those before it), Egyptians, Chin Dynasty, Islamic states (espescially in Afirca where it was bigger and lasted longer than the Atlantic slave trade) etc... Infact every civilisation ever........ they also excelled at it.
@@anoopkl4u the Portuguese and Dutch were the experts on that that's leftist distortion of history
Agreed
The english definitely didnt "start" the slave trade... Slavery has been around as long as people have been around to do it. They didnt end it either slavery is still going on today.
'The slave trade' is not the same as 'trading in slaves'. The slave trade, in this context, is the term used to decribe the atlantic slave triangle. I think he is aware slavery existed before an after the british empire.
we are talking about chattel slavery
@@terrancehall9762 yes... and?
@@allytg1 It really suits the narrative of certain countries to label the Atlantic slave trade as "the slave trade". The reality is that the slave network developed by Muslims that developed into the Barbary Pirates was the largest network of slaves ever seen. Americans just love attention too much.
@@SharpeBalth I mean if its amaericans talking about slavery then its not that weird for them to call it 'the slave trade'. Simularly to how they call it the civil war. There were other civil wars but when talking about their own they don't need to specify.
It is incorrect to say the British invented slavery when it was universal in all cultures and time periods until Britain abolished it in its empire and others followed suit (Portugal got there ahead of us though)
Thank you for including the Irish plantations in your summary.
“History can be a dark place to delve into, but not looking back and examining closely is usually even worse.” Well put megaprojects, well put.
The worst thing you can do with history is to take the wrong lessons from it. Today many liberals are seeking revenge against the British empire by being...racist to Whites...
Not one mention of Canada, taken by conquest from France and the largest colony by far in its day. Having lost what was then called British North America, perhaps Louis XIV said it best: "It was just a few acres of snow." 🙂
So...?
Dof.not France +.England both invade
indigenous 1st Nations?
Louis XIV died in 1715, well before the Treaty of Paris. New France was not the largest colony in 1759, it was the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
..
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
It was Voltaire said of Canada " it was just a few acres of snow" and Louis XIV died long before the Treaty of Paris gave New France to Britain. You really need to get your history straight. Although not mentioning Canada is a true oversight.
Interesting that all colonial empires used the internal conflicts to rule
Love to see more
Dare I say the British Empire was the largest Megaproject in human history.
AND GREATEST
Make the British empire great again!
#MTBEGA
@@noworriesnoproblems6382 American Empire beat your British Empire, heck, the US doesn't even call it an empire. Get rekt mate, the metropole of the previous empire is now their bish. Britannia rules the its part of the waves for the US.
@@BallyBoy95 Can you write that again do its readable? I'll take it you said Britain is the best. TA LA!
@@noworriesnoproblems6382 Can I write it again do its readable? I'll take it you said Britain is the best at taking in immigrants as is your responsible.
Too many people today don't understand that anyone can be, and every country has at one time or another been both remarkably good, and unimaginably bad. Everything has to be absolute nowadays, there's no room for disagreement and discussion, and that is insanity, and it's dangerous.
Yeah, but slavery was far worse to their own people in each country that had factories. Those conditions now have been civilized, so no one really suffers any of this.
You’re right. Nothing is completely black or white and thinking in extremes can lead to dangerous path
Huh saying this because they are talking about Britain which is pride for most of you westners😂😂
It's also however a whataboutism... Everyone else did it so that's OK yeah?
The thing is, that if you actually have a conscience, and try to better yourself, which western societies in general do, unlike less developed societies, you will be called out, for exposing yourself. Even though other countries and cultures have done the exact same thing, sometimes much worse, they are not called out for it, and they are sure as hell not going to admit to ANYTHING. And that is essentially, why they are not able to better themselves and create better societies for their people.
if their inferior minds, you are exposing yourself. In a western context it's sometimes good to sometimes admit mistakes, so that there is a chance for you to better yourself.
The *major* most ancient slave trades of the world ended with the British Empire. This includes the Trans-Saharan Slave trade, East African slave trade/Indian Ocean slave trade, Barbary slave trade, and yes slavery in the kingdoms of West Africa like Ashanti, Dahomey, Songhai. Of course slavery still exists in some form but it is NOTHING like it used to be. The worlds slave economies were replaced with industrial economies, which has its own problems but the point is that we are privileged in some sense because the world’s largest economies are no longer powered by massive global slave markets.
William the Conqueror was a Norman who wrote a set of laws for the nation of England in the 11th century in a book called the Doomsday Book. The 9th law that he wrote: “I forbid any one to sell a man beyond the limits of the country, under penalty of a fine in full to me.” So England had restrictions on slavery since 1086. Then in 1102, the ecclesiastical Council of London banned slavery within England, decreeing “Let no one dare hereafter to engage in the infamous business … of selling men like animals.” Within a generation there was no more slavery within England. Instead there was an institution of serfdom. Then the London born jurist Sir William Blackstone said in the 1700s “The spirit of liberty is so deeply ingrained in our constitution that a slave, the moment he lands in England, is free.” In the Somerset case, Lord Mansfield ruled that slavery was not recognized by English law.
Britain only significantly participated in the slave trade for 200 years, but those 200 years were very damaging because at the same time of their involvement they were some of the best ship builders in the world and were in the process of the Industrial Revolution, so their efficiency for transporting people by sea was like no other at the time (maybe this is remnants of their Viking past). So the height of Britains involvement was in the 17th century, and by the 18th century an abolitionist movement was emerging, a movement entirely based on morals. Due to the early restrictions to slavery in England, chattel slavery never existed on British soil, it was in the Caribbean, so many British people didn’t actually understand in detail what chattel slavery even was. When they found out the details, they were horrified. So many British people participated in the Free Produce Movement, refusing to make or purchase any products with materials harvested with slave labour. Others were public speakers, petitioners etc. Politicians worked day and night to find a solution to end slavery. It was the morality of the British which pushed them for decades working tirelessly to find a legal standing to end slavery, which they finally did. Britain spent 40% of its annual budget to stop slavery, they engaged in what is known as the “Blockade of Africa.” Their navy would bear down on ships with slaves in them. The British flag stood for liberty. But because slavery was a huge economy for soooo many nations, many nations at first refused to give up slavery. This includes African kingdoms too. Instead of going to war to end slavery (as had happened in the states), Britain said they can end it by paying for slaves freedom. Britain paid enslavers the price of their slaves and then would let the slaves go free. Read that again. Britain bought slaves and freed them. In 2015 Britain finally paid off the debt that the nation took on to end slavery.
Here is another history lesson, no sass intended. The modern colonial era doesn’t actually start with the rebranded “Age of Discovery.” It starts with the Moors conquest, the Reconquista, and the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance signed in 1373 still in effect to this day (oldest alliance in the world). During the Reconquista, Spain’s military became the largest it had ever been and they began conquering other nations. They even tried to invade England, this is called the Spanish Armada. So Portugal eventually went around looking for resources to gain power against their powerful neighbour Spain, this is the “Age of Discovery.” They eventually ended up on the coast of West Africa to buy into the already ongoing you know what trade. But, important to note here is that these Portuguese and Spanish that began bringing slaves across the Atlantic Ocean were not solely indigenous Portuguese and Spanish by that time. They were PortuguesexMoor and SpanishxMoor. All while this is going on, there are Barbary corsairs from the coast of North Africa kidnapping Europeans to be sold into slavery in the Barbary slave trade. Over 1 million Europeans were kidnapped and sold into slavery, primarily the English out at sea. This happened from the late 1500s to the mid 1800s. So English were enslaved in Africa before they every got involved and read that *kidnapped* part again. There was no market for these Barbary corsairs to buy into. This is just to show you how complex the past is and I think many people are biased, which just fuels the fire.
well said , we brits are no saints but these countries of the world who slag us of, should take a closer look at the folk of there country
Britain certainly did not start the slave trade by any account. It was an industry already ongoing within africa, with customers in the middle East already who castrated slaves on the way. The first europeans to enter the market was the Portuguese. Britain came a lot later. So no britain did not start it. They definitely ended it for themselves and everyone else, but were not the pioneers.
Perfectly synchronised with Overly sarcastic production's channel
As all things should be...
I was wondering about that, is it a British holiday or something?
@@lejibus not that I know of; school year starts 4th September, then nothing else till Explodey Day on 5th November.
@@williamchamberlain2263 I love that. Explodey Day. Fabulous.
I too came to see this video because of Blue's recent one hehe
One thing you can hand to the Brits is their willingness to openly discuss the evils committed in the name of empire. Would that other countries could do the same... looking at you, Japan.
I'm not sure if that's entirely true. There are some examples of the British starting to face up to their past but it's slow and patchy. There is no formal mention in school curriculums and the current government is trying to ban the national trusts from mentioning links to slavery attached to historic buildings. The conversations are just starting but not in full swing.
They were visited by the fat man and his little boy. Arguably more than enough payment long term
@@twofortyrida It's not a matter of payment. It's a matter of recognizing that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers committed some unspeakable crimes. Japan does not recognize historical events such as the rape of Nanking, medical and chemical experimentation conducted on Chinese citizens, the plight of Korean and Dutch comfort women. Young Japanese grow up believing that their country was an innocent victim of World War II which culminated in unprovoked atomic attacks.
@@wtorules4743 Do you have any evidence of that?
@@wtorules4743 slavery gets taught in secondary schools lol
Well done.
Might have been a good idea to mention the industrial revolution
Britain did not "start the slave trade" and it had been going for centuries if not millennia prior to Britain getting involved.
Oh, ok. It's fine 'cus some other nations did it first. Thanks for your input.
@@CannaCJ "Oh, ok. It's fine 'cus some other nations did it first."
If you can't win the argument, just accuse your opponent of supporting slavery!
nobody ever really complaines about the early empire's slave practices
But they had a lot to do with the Transatlantic slave trade, which is what he was referring to.
@@stephenj4937 And they *still* weren’t the first to do that; Spain and Portugal had been buying and exporting slaves from Africa for a century before English merchants got involved.
The Portuguese started the trans-Atlantic triangle slave trade, then the Spanish, then the Dutch, then the English and the French later. As for all the slaughter, bondage and slavery (initially) in the British Empire (and it wasn't British until 1707), it's like what John Cleese's character said in the Life of Brian; "what did the Romans do for us?"
The slave trade itself was started by the muslim arabs in the 7th century after they *Invaded* *Occupied* *Colonized* North Africa , they converted the berbers and then the Othoman Turks came , all these 3 muslim groups established History's *Largest* and *Longest* slavetrade (7th to 20th century) , they enslaved millions of Black africans and millions of Europeans (they raided european coasts and ships) .... when Europe finaly broke out of the islamic siege in the 16th century they became Clients of the islamic SlaveTrade ,they bought slaves from the muslims , even many Pagan African tribes became SlaveTraders and raided neighboring tribes to sell them to both muslims and europeans
When the Roman empire left Britain, it turned into the dark ages
Australia was also the target destination for unionists and other reformists, not just convicts.
The British role in the slave trade pales in comparison to the Islamic role in the slave trade.
I love seeing the older videos and seeing how much Simon's beard has grown.
I’ve seen a lot of videos in recent years, a lot of books, and heard a lot of talk, making this tentative sort of “hey guys, the British empire did bad things, you know?” arguments.
What I’ve noticed many people seem to not take away from this is that the message isn’t, or shouldn’t, be that living British people, or the country itself, should be made to feel accountable for things done by people who are long dead.
What we need to take away from this history, and indeed the history of every other empire, is that empire is a dangerous and brutal phenomenon which should be avoided. That’s the lesson for the future, not pointing blame at people for their past.
For at the end of the day, which country on Earth can claim to have a blameless past?
iceland and greeenland
@@0fficialdregs Okay, with the exception of the moral paragons of Iceland and Greenland, which OTHER country can lay claim to being blameless?
@@0fficialdregs geeenland, founded by a Viking colonialist fleeing a murder conviction. Iceland, partially responsible for the 2007 financial collapse 🤣
Well said, we should recognise the bad things in our past and seek to avoid repeating them but we should not feel guilt for actions performed before we were born. I doubt that the Italians feel remorse for the actions of the Roman Empire, the same can be said of the Scandinavians, Persians and mongols
@@Mike-jz3oo it's Greenland. don't try to come at me with that bullshit if you cannot spell. smh 🤡🤡🤡🤡
Qualityful video ,
Thanks!
"and yes everyone, the past was the worst"
Possibly the future: Hey hold my beer!
Hello from a worse future.
I am from India. Various perspectives exist in our country regarding Britain mostly along the lines of Victimhood. Here is what I think. The world stage is and always has been a jungle. People were attacking others all the time. Just because someone came from far doesn't mean they were more dislikable. It is time to admit it was our people's fault and we have to ensure that it doesn't happen again and hold no ill will against the successors.
I'm really impressed. I know that probably doesn't mean much coming from someone you've never met but I sincerely find that amazing. We need more people like you in the world how aren't as concerned about the tragedies of the past as they are about the all that can be done in the future
Hear hear, sir.
A refreshing point point of view. Greetings from the USA.
Some of it was, like you'd expect a reaction to the Black Hole of Calcutta incident, and some of it seems to have stemmed from corporate greed of the local managers of the EIC. Best to put it behind us an work together when we can?
@@tommyrotton9468 Sure. What's done is done. Claims of 45 trillion loot or brutality are more about stroking sentiments. Rather than presenting it as look how much we can achieve or how much struggle capacity we have its all on victimhood. Look what they did, how much better we could have been. The biggest nonsense is reparation. Never should any self respecting Indian ask or even touch the money of reparation. We owe our destiny to ourselves. Do honourable thing like trade maybe debt but reparation never.
A channel called Megaprojects spending only 20 minutes talking about the British Empire is peak irony.
19:23 Started the slave trade?
I don't think so.
As a Brit I don’t find it hard to see the past of my ancestors because it’s the past and it was very different times. All we can do is use the past as a lesson and not make the same mistakes ago
Yep. The Bible is very clear, that we are not held accountable, responsible, or guilty for the sins of our ancestors. Anyone who believes in god believes in this.
@@robfer5370 Isn't one of the central ideas of Christianity that EVERYONE is held accountable/ responsible for a fruit-related transgression of an ancestor in the Garden of Eden?
@@NJards-zt4fp * Deity class beings may apply exceptions unilaterally. Deal with it, mortals
Actually u can't make those mistakes again
“not make the same mistakes” then get tf out of Ireland
That last line about looking back at history for all the things we have done is gold.
there is no "we" however unless you're attributing generational, blood based collective responsibility. If people are collectively responsible for slavery, they are also collectively responsible for the modern world and all its luxuries.
So, are you sure "we" want to go down this road?
The British empire still exists
@@iseeundeadpeople9 In your head
@@Mute040404 It's called the Commonwealth.
"Apparently here at Mega Projects, we like throwing hand grenades into the comments section." BEST LINE ON THE VIDEO. Had me laughing for a good minute. Thanks for making me spray my table with coffee.
And France should be happy they don't speak German after they dropped so many rifles in 2 world wars.
“The bow and arrow was once the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Ghengis Khan to rule from the Pacific, to Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great’s. And four times the size of the Roman Empire.”
- Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar
The great Genghis Khan.? The man was a murderer and rapist on an unimaginable scale. He should be spoken in the same breath as Hitler in my book. But that's just my view.
People talk about how the British Empire doesn't exist anymore, but there are still some small islands and part of Antartica that is still owned by the UK, and Charles III also still is head of state in 14 countries other than the UK, like Australia and Canada.
Well to be fair it’s an empire in name only. If Australia or Canada decided they no longer wanted to be part of the British Empire there’s very little the Brits could actually do to stop it.
Oh it’s weirder than that. Australians can vote in British elections, stand as MPs, sit in the House of Lords, and the real King is Australian. The British have no reciprocal rights in Australia, so who really is the colonial master now?
@@colingreen5553silly comment two lndependent countries members of the commonwealth, meaningless head of state sensibly don't trust politicians.
Between 1981 and 1983 I spent around 18 months in Zimbabwe - formerly Southern Rhodesia- I witnessed the terrible poverty of most of the black population and the very high standard of living of those whites still remaining. Their indifference and obvious loathing towards black Zimbabweans was really shocking.
You say that you tried to be balanced but there were far more negative aspects you went into detail with and simply glossed over anything positive. Also the British Empire did not start slavery, that is just false and you are a fool if you believe that.
Toke to the 19th minute to say anything positive, and that lasted 30 seconds
I think he said the slave trade. Slavery has been around for eons up to today, and will be here tomorrow but he means the British started the business of the slave trade across the Atlantic to the Americas and Caribbean.
@@Catkilledmeowbob Actually it was the Portuguese in 1526 who started the Atlantic Slave Trade. The British were not even the largest, that was also the Portuguese. It was also the British who eventually stopped the trade all together and forced the other nations to comply. Always do your own research.
@@Denazon you’re right, it was the Portuguese. Not sure what source he was drawing his info from. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I thought your argument was based on the “act of enslaving people” which has been around since human civilization, not the slave trade which was also an incorrect assertion that it was started by the British Empire.
@@Denazon Yeah, it was the Portugese and Spanish who started the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, with the Portugese having the largest numbers overall - and both those countries did it for the longest period around 1500-1875. Britain was particularly bad in the 1700's, but before 1650 there was very little by comparison, and between 1807 and 1833 it was hugely reduced and then banned by Britain.
Thank you so much for covering the true history of your home country with honesty. There is a good and bad to all things. History is always teaching.
I'm not entirely sure that this is entirely honest. Parts of this feel as though he's just saying what will get the approval of RUclips.
I'm gonna spend the next hour or two reading.
Of the 20 minute video 15 minutes is slavery, colonialism, and war. 2 minutes discussing health care and infrastructure. 3 minutes of ads. There I just saved you 10 minutes!
The UK was one of the last parts of the world to have an empire and the first to ban slavery. Slavery and colonialism existed for longer than the UK existed. No empire is "good". All empire's are bad in my view, but Europe achieved the most in advancing mankind.
19:23 "...essentially started the slave trade." That's horseshit, Simon. The slave trade - or at least slavery - in Africa has been going on for *thousands* of years, and it was the Portuguese who first landed on African shores to *buy* slave from local slave traders.
Additionally, slavery only became associated with ethnicity during the slave trade to America; slave traders in Africa (particularly the Barbary pirates) would capture people of any ethnicity, including whites - but no one likes to talk about that. For more on White Slavery, start here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_slavery
arabs had been trading slaves long before the europeans
Its because Simon is your typical British left wing millennial, only giving you the information that fits there narrative about how evil their country was.
@@MrWansty First off, slavery was something that has been accepted in many different cultures, so long as it wasn't applied to the in-group
Second- ok... So the Arabs were doing it. Does that make it OK? Whom would you like enslaved today to make up for it?
Third, white slavery was and is terrible- the numbers simply skew heavily toward African chattel slavery. And that's kinda the point. Nobody is saying it didn't happen, but you SEEM to be saying that the short period of Barbary pirates taking slaves from Spain, England and france should be taught entirely instead of the millions of Africans over hundreds of years who were brutally abducted and made into property.
Growing up in America, we did learn that one of the early years of our navy was slapping some sense into the Barbary pirates and securing treaties with the north africans to stop it. So-
4a- we stopped that pretty early
4b- people actually do get taught about it
4c- you're welcome
4d- funny how even then, we got pissed over white people being enslaved but not black people
4e- maybe thats why people like you are laughed and heckled in public.
Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Leslie Wexner, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Charles, Johnny Savile, British Foreign Office Of The Crown, Mossad, CIA, Stephen Hawking also abusing children on one of Jeffrey Epstein's child abuse islands I believe per unsealed records in pre trail hearings of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein would fly out of Royal Airforce Bases, native residential schools in Canada, Lord Mountbatten...and it goes on and on and on.
@@unclejoeoakland the Barbary piracy wasn’t just a short period thing. It went on for longer than the transatlantic slave trade.
I find it an interesting comment on nature of bureaucracy is that, as the empire disintegrated post WWII, the Colonial Office was expanding at a ridiculous rate.
The birth of the Overseas Development industry
They were busy with operation Legacy, destroying any materials showing atrocities committed by the British in occupied nations.
The video could have run significantly longer if we delved into the specifics like Cromwells genocide in Eire, the famine, the coffin ships to america, prison ships to the penal colonys, partitioning, pain and trauma that will take decades to reconcile..but the video is in the right direction and I appreciate how difficult it is to cover this topic
Haughey finished slavery in ireland in 1990 .. i know my mother was classified as one and couldnt own a say in our farm ... AND HER BIRTH FAMILY AND DADS THE OLDEST NATIVE ONES IN CONNOCHT .. THE black and tans were the first swatzika wearing lorries in the world ! the tax gathered always went to london and fitzgerald was worse than maggie and thats saying something but true .
Irish historians have brought into doubt the shrill claims of genocide.
I visited Pakistan last year and spent a day with a local tour guide in Lahore, the old capital of the Punjab. The Punjab is beautiful, lush and green. This is because the British built canals and irrigation channels. Our guide said he considered the region was lucky to have been part of the British Empire rather than the French or Dutch, as the British influence was much more positive.
Get ready…
@@scotturquhart8966 🤣🤣
French would have been better
Unfortunately that wealth was inconsequential. With 95% of the population being dirt poor there was not enough wealth to go around even if the government had forcibly confiscated all the wealth and distributed it all for a sustainable society to arise.
South Korea even if North Korea pleaded to be united under South Korean rule would never unify. It would destroy South Korea even though the South Korean population is over twice as large as North Korea.
@Joseph Francois Duplex dumb
You should have contextualised the slave trade segment. Britain did play a role, but it neither created the slave trade, neither was it the first to take slaves across the atlantic. All major powers of the time were invested in the slave trade, and the trade was done with the full participation of the African states that benefitted greatly from it.
I have no issue with confronting dark points of our past. The issue I have is when it is not put in a wider context of the time. Slave trading British were no better or worse than the states and cultures that existed at the time or came before.
In comparison to other empires the British slave trade was short lived
The biggest problem for the history of the British Empire, are the self flagelating Britons who for some reason get a big kick from blaming themselves and the rest of the British (English) people of this century!
It was one of the last European powers to take slaves across the Atlantic. Whilst it wasn't unique in being involved it was unique in the resources and efforts it expended to abolish slavery, globally. Half the world stopped slaving because of the British empire.
They didn't stop anti slaving patrols off East Africa till the 1970's.
He doesn't claim Britain created it. He says they were involved in it.
@@spiritualanarchist8162 wasn’t nearly every country in their turn.