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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
@@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
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
@@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.
@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.
That's because the fellow, entertaining as he is, is one of our modern Liberal Quislings, who loathes his own history, extolling only the bad, observed, of course, only through the lens of C21st morality.
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.
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.
@@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.
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
@@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.
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.
@@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.
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.
@@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 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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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
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'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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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 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.
When we talk about the industrial and scientific revolutions, we should remember where the monies came from to back these advances, and the answer is more or less from the plundering of India by the EIC and also from the slave trade. In the early 18th century before the British company began gaining political power India was one of the two largest economies in the world, rivalled only by China. If I remember right, India's economy was larger than that of all European nations put together. In 1765, Britain gained the right to collect taxes in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, replacing the Mughal authorities. Before that date, 85% of the EIC's exports to India was bullion to pay for the goods imported back to Britain. After 1765, part of the tax revenues were used to pay for those goods (effectively making Indians pay for their own manufactures to make profits for Britons in Europe). Over the course of the empire until 1947 Britain impoverished India.
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." 🙂
.. 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.
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.
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.
@@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
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.
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...
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
Hi Simon!! You must take to task the writer of this program! I live in the American colonies, North Carolina! The Roanoke colony was located on an island among the NC Outer Banks and NOT South Carolina!! Roanoke was not too far from Virginia but too far for the ship's captain with a storm coming. So he dumped the colonists on this uninhabited island off North Carolina . Love your videos! And you are a cutie!
"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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
@@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.
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 ... 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 !!
A few things you did not mention, and perhaps should have done: The actual enslavement in Africa was mostly by one African tribe enslaving another and selling the slaves to traders from other countries; The slave trade in Britain was private enterprise and not state enterprise; After we changed our mind about slavery, we actively set about ending the global slave trade. The Royal Navy was ordered to intercept slave ships of other nations and turn them back to Africa. In this, the Navy returned about 150,000 Africans to Africa. Wikipedia has a good article on the topic.
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.
The most enlightening covno's I've ever had on Brit colonialism has been with friends from India and Pakistan. Convo's of good, bad, and a whole lot of grey. Definitely advise others to have chats with those on the other side of colonialism (my father is English), as its both humbling and inspiring.
bad? How? Higher GDP growth than Mughals and 🍆 worshipping kings. Much benevolent than the Portuguese and Spanish. Higher literacy than Lindhoo reign. Today India is a more horrid state than ever under the British.
Please please please do a video (showing my age lol) on the Mongolian Empire. I am a disabled man who when not creating art likes to spends his time educating himself and you are the most educational channel on youtube (i watch your other channels too) Keep up the great work :D
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.
We here in Ireland would like to thank the British empire for their input into civilising us. Only for them we probably wouldn't speak English as our first language, millions would not have died in a famine or spread to all parts of the world to escape it, they partitioned our country that lead to civil War and years of troubles.. I could go on.. Thanks again.
Hey, you skipped the horrendous border drawing in the middle east (which is still haunting us until this very day). Kind of a big deal. Also, eating baked beans for breakfast. The Horror.
Yeah, but it's really difficult to blame that one on the British when the natives were pushed out of their home over 1000 years ago, and have been repeatedly persecuted in Europe since migrating there, from being massacred in the 14th century due to being blamed for the black death, all the way up to what happened in WW2. None of this was the fault of the British, nor was it their fault when huge numbers of Jews started turning up in the middle east immediately post WW2. That should have been on the collective shoulders of the international community to deal with. We could have all chipped in to buy some land somewhere in the world to resettle them in a new country of their own.
so i remember my dad telling me when i was young about how the British and their advancements developed our country and cursed it at the same time,he told me about how the empire handed power/backed a certain tribe and till this day that tribe continues to rule our country one way or another.
Love the channels and long time fan but I noticed a mistake in this video, the first colony wasn't in south carolina, it was in north carolina. I grew up on roanoke island and worked backstage with my father running the concessions for the actors and actresses of the Lost Colony outdoor reenactments. Honest mistake but yea, roanoke island north carolina is where sir walter raleigh set down the first colony where the first baby colonist to be born into the new world virginia dare. Love your shows though brotherman, keep up the good work and take care
@@Purgar316 Yeah, slaves were captured and relocated since ancient times. Even if you were talking about the specific trade of slaves from africa to north america, Portugal was the first.
Whenever think of how an empire could possibly control the entire world, I look at the British Empire as an example. The amount of people, supplies, and Navy size to be everywhere at once. I watched your video on the U.S. Military’s logistics and even when we have territories and states, we are no where near the size of the British Empire at its height even if we have military bases pretty much every where.
El imperio británico nunca pudo con una potencia de su nivel, solo sometió pueblos débiles y territorios invitados, además de ser el imperio más genocida de la historia
I’m pretty certain that just Britain today is richer than the whole British empire, everyone is richer. The USA is way more powerful than the British empire ever was, and I’m proud of our brothers across the pond taking the helm.
@@tercomada You criticise the British empire using the standards the legacy of the British empire set and the values it left behind. Think about what you're saying
Podría darte una lista de todos los tratados que rompió, traición de aliados, genocidio contra su propio pueblo, genocidio a pueblos externos, persecución religiosa, narcotráfico (opio en china, asta hicieron dos guerras porque no les dejaban hacer contrabando), y sin mencionar tratas aztuales que por ejemplo reino unido debía devolver el peñón de Gibraltar hace más de 100 años @@mrsentencename7334
2:30 ok hold that thought, now I have to go look up the Pandyan Empire. Any Simon videos that focus on it? In all fairness, the British Empire is undeniably an important history topic, but sometimes I actually learn more from Simon's videos indirectly- when he briefly mentions something I've never heard of, and then I go on an internet deep dive on the subject for several hours. One recent thing I did learn from a Simon video that *does* relate back to the British Empire, is that the British Army in Uganda was Idi Amin's point of entry into the military, and so in a way, the British officer(s) who approved his entry could be seen as having played a part in his eventual dictatorship, even though I don't know if anyone but Amin himself could have foreseen everything he was planning or how many people would die under his regime. Some sources state that the British initially thought he was unintelligent and were just using him for his physical strength, but I've also heard that there was substantial British interest in having him overthrow Obote once he'd gained more influence, because Obote was seen as a threat to their colonial interests in Uganda.
Interesting comment ... Cold war times and Obote was swinging towards the left ..so Amin was basically a counter measure....unfortunately a really bad choice ...
This is all the British,Amin is their man. Have you every wondered how there has been a coup in every former British colony,where acting covertly England has put a puppet in power, ousting an elected Government.
“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.
Speaking of megaprojects, could you perhaps do a video on the eventual abolishment of slavery throughout the world? It would be interesting to see the inception of the abolitionism movement, the slow implementation of laws prohibiting the African slave trade, and how different countries reacted to these laws at the time. Love the videos, keep it up?
You understand slavery STILL exists, right? Slavery is very popular in the Far East, the Middle East, and wait for it………. Africa. The idea that slavery was abolished is true if you are referring to the western world.
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?
indeed it was but there was more to it than just Norman kings putting down non Catholic Bishops because the Pope wanted authority. Seems the Pope won after all?
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😢
Touchy subject, much like the British Empire, but you should cover the tobacco lords that made Glasgow so rich. As you say, as touchy as it might be, not talking about history doesn't get us very far. Also, more 5 year plans fact boi!
Not talking about history is better then talking about it inaccurately like Simon. Roanoke, in north Carolina? Simons an idiot, it doesn't take a history expert to know it's in Virginia....his stuff is always wrong in several places...it's embarrassing how often he's wrong
@@froggystyle642 fair point, my thought was like the man records 10 videos a week, that's like getting 1/10 facts on your homework wrong, right? Though I guess I should be calling on Danny or the editor, I'm guessing I'm the one pedantic person who fact checks everything I can. ^_^
@@jamesmeppler6375 nothing wrong with fact checking at all, I see these videos as a way to get a rough idea on things, and often I'll go look up the subject!
In spite of the black effects you mentioned, you did not speak to one of the most recognizable effects of the British Empire: the establishment of the English language as the dominant language in the world today. And many of the former areas of the empire still rely on the precepts of English Common Law to guide their judicial systems.
I believe thats a quite literal thing too. Apparently if a crime or some random arse scenario ends up in a court, if the courts have no precident or clue on how to manage it, they'll look to see if Britain has dealt with the issue. If British courts have ruled on that paticular strange scenario then the courts overseeing the case will follow that set precident. Its pretty interesting how the court systems are so interlinked and how a court can literally change the law by ruling differently, law set by precident is a quirk not many acknowledge or appreciate.
Gary .i very much do agree on this point. And here's I think is a simple example .....When you look at the Nuremberg trials .Im sure it followed english common law .Even those vile creatures had the right to face their accusers and give their side of the story .If starlin had his way he would have simply taken them out and have them shot NO trial .
Love the channel, this was another fantastic video. Just one small thing, the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke was in present day Dare County North Carolina, not South Carolina.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
Strangely it seems that only people from the carolinas actually care whether it was in north or south carolina. the rest of the states could care less.
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.
@@gk4539 that's a very huge overestimation. And no, the US is not so great that it counterweights it's past and current misdeeds. It's very good at redirecting people's blame tho.
Great Britain be all like, “Hello, we like this place and want to do business with you. Oh, you lot don’t have guns?? Well then, we shall just be taking whatever we want then, Cheerio…”
HA. Actually it was more like. "Hello, we like this place and want to do business with you. Oh, you lot don’t have guns?? Well let us sell you guns so you can take whatever you want, from your neighbours without guns, which we will then trade for more guns, Cheerio"
@@Mike-jz3oo Hello we want to sell you something. O look some moghuls warlord is demanding tribute perhaps we should pay? Actually no. Gun beats spear. What is that he is back for more well will have to imprison him put his deputy in charge and control the country for him
Any nation on the planet "be all like"... taking what they wanted... IF they had the capacity to do so. This singling out of Britain and the other European nations as singularly 'evil' is fucking preposterous. And check out the way the conquered nations were living before they were colonised. In the majority of cases, you'll find a much more accurate definition of evil.
its not a matter of "having guns" it's a matter of having a recognizable state structure. when you meet a new people and ask to see the "leader" or whatever sort of "king" they have, and you're presented a guy with slightly nicer clothes, on a slightly bigger chair, in a slightly bigger hut, and the guy "rules" more by tradition and common agreement rather than actual political power, you know that there is in effect little to no leadership with whom to deal with. you can't make treaties with that because the second people start to dislike it it will be torn apart, the "leader" deposed and you're back to square one. that's essentially why Asia had it much better than Africa. You arrive in japan, china and others, and you are met with an actual emperor who can send an army at your ass, or at the ass of whoever challenges the treaty you signed with the emperor.
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.
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.
As a Brit being born in England having a Sierra Leonian mother gives me a very good perspective. Both on the empire and on slavery. Considering my mothers people decend from freed slaves. British colonists exploited something that was already there however in Sierra Leone the slave trade had been started by Portuguese and Spanish slavers which resulted in the slave fortress of Lomboko and bunce island, which took slaves to the Caribbean and from there to the United States and South America. It is with good authority that a lot of black peoples residing in these areas come from and decend from those belonging to the tribes of Sierra leonne. A film known as la amistad based on real events talks about the journey of a select group of liberated slaves of the Temne and Mende being tricked into sailing to the United States which sparks off a legal case and then is the spark that sets off the American civil war. Slavery had been abolished in England at least since 1066 but not in the empire, and was abolished eventually in 1806. All in all a lot of criticism of the Atlantic slave trade goes to the British but honestly not enough attention is given to the Spanish or Portuguese slavers. It is my belief that although we should be taking responsibility and acknowledging the evils the British empire brought on the world, the blame should not solely rest at its feet simply because it was the largest.
@@opola1432 In anglosphere discourse we gloss over it because we are English speakers sharing some stock with the English the focus is generally on Atlantic and indigenous slavery our states engaged in. I've seen it among educated people, they think there's something uniquely savage about white people and the colonial era, the states of south America are just 'poor browns' in their mental space. Kind of ignoring the larger scale of African slavery in places like Brazil or the 1400 year old sub-saharan slave routes to Arab markets from west Africa. Ultimately a lot of anglos who go woke still take pride in white people being special, even if its being exceptional in inhumanity so they can act enlightened on the topic. Christian cultures still take great pleasure in self-flagellation.
@@chinogambino9375 exactly couldn’t agree more, there isn’t so much of a debate in the Latin realms of the impact of slavery in the southern americas. Martin Luther king jr often said to beware of white liberals “when the issues were joined concerning local conditions, only the language was polite; the rejection was firm and unequivocal.” Malcom X had the same view as that they both believed that the liberal or woke liberals in the north would simply use the cause of black community to further their own gains for white liberals, but when it comes to issues concerning both groups of even just black people they would simply but politely say no and disagree. A lot of people will forget the first suffragettes did not allow black women to protest with them. Most woke liberals forget that the latins are white Europeans, but you often here just simply how bad the English or even the British are.
I knew about the south indian dynasty of pandyas because, well I am Indian and it is hard to avoid them. But I didn't realise they were the longest lasting empire. Learning new things about things I thought I knew!
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 .
11:08: the army of 250,000 men was a very late development in the East India Company's history. Until the wars with the French in the mid-18th century, they usually made do with small security forces at their fortified trading posts, but then they gradually expanded, exceeding 70,000 by the end of the century
@@Ravi9A Ultimately, yes. Robert Clive originally worked for the East India Company as a junior administrator/clerk. Then in 1746 the French captured the trading post of Fort St. George where he worked. After a few weeks he managed to lead an escape and soon turned out to have a fine military mind. However, even after he sneakily defeated the Nawab of Bengal over a decade later, the policy was to instal a more "sympathetic" Nawab rather than rule Bengal directly. That took years more.
@@Ravi9A Some do, but I don't think Robert Clive would have at the time. They were simply solving a business problem, with the help of some of the Bengalis with whom they traded and who were also affected by the same problem. Apart from the name of the Nawab, and the very generous awards to Clive personally and the Company in general, not much changed until 1764 (and even that was still just in Bengal).
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.
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.
The Roanoke Colony ("The Lost Colony") was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh (the namesake of Raleigh, NC) in Dare County, North Carolina (county named after Virginia Dare -- allegedly the first English child born in North America) rather than South Carolina.
I feel that you neglected to say that Britain started its empire because of a number of things like a good supply of Oak trees and the knowledge for fine shipbuilding ship building, also the smelting of Iron plus accurate time keeping for navigation being an Island race high quality having quality seamanship. The standardization of the gunpowder formula by Francis Bacon produced an curate constant for firearms. and most importantly the Industrial revolution started in Britain thus supplying quality Steel. In a nut shell hi quality ships and sailors, Iron canon and gunpowder, the ability to sail any were on the planet with no comparable power to stop you taking what you want, for better or worse it was all inevitable human nature being what it is.
The British Empire (not empire in name as it needed an emperor or empress which didn't happen till Victoria) started 200 years before the industrial revolution. The Industrial revolution happened because of the Empire, it wasn't the cause of it.
@@jas20per The strict term Empire was formalised after the failure of such companies as the East India being 'nationalised' which had been pillaging since the 1600's. This formalisation of British Overseas territories and subdigation of indigenous peoples into the label Empire did happen after the industrial revolution. However whilst not homogenised under Governmental rule, Empire style tendencies and actions had been happening long before the Industrial revolution with governmental blessing and sometimes support. The increased material and financial resources from this Owner occupier expansion enabled the revolution, northern mills would not need steam engines without a massive supply of cheap cotton to process, as the rivers had all been tapped out for water wheel potential. My point is, that whilst the industrial revolution formalised the ability of Britain to advance the position and defend that position known as Empire, it didn't create what was to become the Empire. If you are an historical scholar, correct me where I am wrong, but to me seeing the statement including high quality steel and the industrial revolution as said to create the empire, that whilst coming before the 'formal' label Empire, did not to me create the Empire. In fact, reading the Wikipedia article about the British Empire, shows what I am talking about, as a majority of the history of the First Empire happened before the Industrial Revolution, and it finishing as a concept with the 1776 kerfuffle ;)
@@jas20per In fact I would go so far as to say the industrial revolution did not have as much of an impact as per your original comment, it was the cementation of the empires structures before the industrial revolution that allowed the empire to take advantage of the industrial revolution. You did note our good oak supply (now mostly gone), island status and sea faring abilities, but I think this has much more of an impact than your comment would have readers believe. The British colonisation outside of the national borders was not the first example of a country to do so, however I feel there are a couple of factors not in your comment, or given due deference in your comment which lead to Britain's leading global position. 1 - Deference to the monarchy but in alternate to other countries, an expectation of privateering, and profit making for personal gain (not shared with the crown, but the lay backers), which I feel came from a difference in religious views (Protestant vs Catholic) and common law from the Magna Carta. Since the Magna Carta there seems to have been a much different position in how the peons paid deference to royalty than other countries. 2 - Relative political stability. Whilst we have had dynasty change, civil war and other political conflicts, British democracy has been relatively stable for longer than any other country as far as I am aware. 3 - Limited land wars, apart from internal conflicts, the majority of british battles have been and where sea battles. The royal navy has always up until the second world war, had an outsized part of the military budget since Henry VIII in the 16th century. This gives a higher skilled military and merchant navy as a percentage of the population than any other country involved in colonisation. 4 - An acceptance that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whilst the British are and have been for a long time notorious rule followers, we are quite happy to bend the rules where the end's justify the means. Such as turning a blind eye, and even assisting privateers such as pirates to commit international piracy and terrorism. It was skill and attitude which lead to empire, a thirst for profiteering, expansionism, and yes racism. The industrial revolution spread through a lot of countries which could have been the biggest empire, a lot of technologies where developed outside of the UK. But it was the British through financial trade in an already existing Empire that was best placed to take advantage of what the IR offered. It was a British empire and colonies that created the demand for the technologies developed during the industrial revolution. Your initial comment to me sounds part like the tail wagging the dog.
I'd love to see the Mongolian empire as a topic. Its one of those historical events that is so significant, so notable, but don't know so much about... speaking personally of course.
In regards to slavery being condoned until 1807, might I suggest looking at the 1882 Somerset vs Stewart case? Slavery was held to be unsupported by common law.
every nations looking ackwardly towards Britain and France knowing far too well if those two did not exist it probably would have be them that would be the most hated nation in the world.
Portugal started the slave trade as far as I know quickly followed by Spain but Arab countries took whites & blacks years before then then there was the Roman Empire , I’m sure they’ve been taking slaves since time began tbh ,I’m not saying it’s right but that’s how empires are built mainly , look at the Egyptians , but yeah great work mate
@@standalby6949 Even before the pyramids were built in Egypt slavery was a thing. It's stupid to say Britain started it, because in reality they just took part in it for a while and then ended it everywhere
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.
So you’d like the british empire to be better recognised for solving the problem they helped create and profited from? Fair: thank you, Britain, for stopping the thing you massively contributed to industrialising and profited from. It was nice of you to compensate your slave owning subjects to make sure it ends. Pity about the slaves, who were simply told they were now free and then were left with no choice but to largely continue to do what they were doing before to survive, but the MAIN thing here is the huge sacrifices Britain made to end slavery. Britain are the true heroes and victims here. The centre of the story. Thank you so much for bringing this up. Someone simply HAD to speak up for the British Empire.
Well done. We need to talk about history acknowledging the good and bad. Trying call it exclusivly good or bad is as dangerous as ignoring it all together.
@Bartholomew Roberts Bad: crime, #GovSanctionedMoneyLaundering, #GovSanctionedChildAbuse. Globalism isn't bad, evil is. It is like Capitalism vs Communism, any system that isn't corrupt is the best. Unfortunately I don't believe there isn't a government that isn't corrupt.
@Bartholomew Roberts sorry it's not the banks, it's The Rothschild Family. Globalism is just a change in tech, transportation and population growth. You're talking about evolving organized crime around world economies, politicians and governments.
@Bartholomew Roberts Erm... 'Without Western conquest, over a quarter of the earth would still be in the Stone Age.' No actual historian would ever say that.
@Bartholomew Roberts You don't actually know what any of those places would have achieved without outside interference though, do you? None of us can. It is just conjecture. 'Exploration'? You mean 'Colonialism'. ...and it involved enslaving a large portion of the world in one way or another & robbing them blind. As was mentioned in the video, the effects of 'divide and rule' are still being felt today. You're expecting them to be grateful, I suppose.
@@danieljones9937 Court documents unsealed from pre trial proceedings state Stephen Hawking abused children on at least one of Jeffrey Epstein's child abuse islands. It's public record. You know he was known to frequent swinger ranches and sex clubs?
Churchill and FDR made an agreement that effectively laid out the groundwork for the dissolution of the Empire in an attempt to get the USA in the war in Europe (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter) Without it, it's almost safe to assume that the USA would only have fought against Japan and the Empire would've been held together for longer postwar (Assuming victory) because the self-determination statement was popular with those in power in America and the independency inclined people in the colonies but unpopular in Britain's government. It's only one of many small details that was skipped, but the effect it had shouldn't be underestimated, and it probably could have been mentioned in the video.
I'm a Newfoundlander and every time I think of the Atlantic Charter, the first thing that pops into my head is poor uncle Ned just out trying to catch a few fish and soiling his pants when a bunch of war ships appear out of nowhere.
@@soulsphere9242 Absolutely, the empire would've ended. Probably in a collapse all at once like most empires, rather than be dismantled over decades like it was.
The USA would've still have gone to war against Germany since Germany declared war on them, not the other way around. The US only declared war on Japan and Italy and Germany declared war on them in retaliation.
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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.
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.
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?
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
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.
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
How civilized they were ?
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.
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
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.
Simon, it's ridiculous that your writers claim that the British started slavery.... more than once.
That's because the fellow, entertaining as he is, is one of our modern Liberal Quislings, who loathes his own history, extolling only the bad, observed, of course, only through the lens of C21st morality.
It did start chattel slavery
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.
"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.
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
"And yes, everyone in the past was the worst" that was hilarious😂🤣
*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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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! 🥃🥴👌
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.
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
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.
Nah the mass killings were just done by the tribes, don’t forget the musket wars, oh and you maori pretty much wiped out the moriori people..
So when are we going to see a mega projects about Simon and his youtube empire??
Underrated comment
I love seeing the older videos and seeing how much Simon's beard has grown.
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
"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.
When we talk about the industrial and scientific revolutions, we should remember where the monies came from to back these advances, and the answer is more or less from the plundering of India by the EIC and also from the slave trade. In the early 18th century before the British company began gaining political power India was one of the two largest economies in the world, rivalled only by China. If I remember right, India's economy was larger than that of all European nations put together.
In 1765, Britain gained the right to collect taxes in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, replacing the Mughal authorities. Before that date, 85% of the EIC's exports to India was bullion to pay for the goods imported back to Britain. After 1765, part of the tax revenues were used to pay for those goods (effectively making Indians pay for their own manufactures to make profits for Britons in Europe). Over the course of the empire until 1947 Britain impoverished India.
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.
..
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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
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2 Peter 3:9
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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.
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.
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
Spectacular objectivity. Nicely done.
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.
“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...
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
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.
Hi Simon!! You must take to task the writer of this program! I live in the American colonies, North Carolina! The Roanoke colony was located on an island among the NC Outer Banks and NOT South Carolina!! Roanoke was not too far from Virginia but too far for the ship's captain with a storm coming. So he dumped the colonists on this uninhabited island off North Carolina . Love your videos! And you are a cutie!
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
"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.
"Throwing hand grenades into the comment section" must be one of the best lines I've heard on RUclips 😄
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 !!
A few things you did not mention, and perhaps should have done:
The actual enslavement in Africa was mostly by one African tribe enslaving another and selling the slaves to traders from other countries;
The slave trade in Britain was private enterprise and not state enterprise;
After we changed our mind about slavery, we actively set about ending the global slave trade.
The Royal Navy was ordered to intercept slave ships of other nations and turn them back to Africa. In this, the Navy returned about 150,000 Africans to Africa.
Wikipedia has a good article on the topic.
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.
The most enlightening covno's I've ever had on Brit colonialism has been with friends from India and Pakistan. Convo's of good, bad, and a whole lot of grey. Definitely advise others to have chats with those on the other side of colonialism (my father is English), as its both humbling and inspiring.
It was a nightmare
bad? How? Higher GDP growth than Mughals and 🍆 worshipping kings. Much benevolent than the Portuguese and Spanish. Higher literacy than Lindhoo reign.
Today India is a more horrid state than ever under the British.
India is hundreds of years away from a democratic system.
@@YuddhaVeera: Wait until you hear about the Delhi Sultanate. The Brits were amateurs by comparison.
@@donquixote3927 British were a class apart in the damage they did through economy and culture. Islamic invaders were another class. 😂
Please please please do a video (showing my age lol) on the Mongolian Empire. I am a disabled man who when not creating art likes to spends his time educating himself and you are the most educational channel on youtube (i watch your other channels too) Keep up the great work :D
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.
We here in Ireland would like to thank the British empire for their input into civilising us. Only for them we probably wouldn't speak English as our first language, millions would not have died in a famine or spread to all parts of the world to escape it, they partitioned our country that lead to civil War and years of troubles.. I could go on.. Thanks again.
No problem 👍🥰
Hey, you skipped the horrendous border drawing in the middle east (which is still haunting us until this very day).
Kind of a big deal.
Also, eating baked beans for breakfast. The Horror.
Have you ever tried those sausages? Take my advice, don’t!!
Yeah, but it's really difficult to blame that one on the British when the natives were pushed out of their home over 1000 years ago, and have been repeatedly persecuted in Europe since migrating there, from being massacred in the 14th century due to being blamed for the black death, all the way up to what happened in WW2. None of this was the fault of the British, nor was it their fault when huge numbers of Jews started turning up in the middle east immediately post WW2. That should have been on the collective shoulders of the international community to deal with. We could have all chipped in to buy some land somewhere in the world to resettle them in a new country of their own.
@@BigBoomOfDoom2 To me it sounded like he meant the Iraq/Syria border from the "Sykes-Picot Agreement"
@@fjooyou Ah, I see. Thanks for clarifying.
so i remember my dad telling me when i was young about how the British and their advancements developed our country and cursed it at the same time,he told me about how the empire handed power/backed a certain tribe and till this day that tribe continues to rule our country one way or another.
well yes, but what about before that? the other tribe was ruling over the latter one.
Rwanda?
Where are you talking about?
Washington DC is an interesting remain
Love the channels and long time fan but I noticed a mistake in this video, the first colony wasn't in south carolina, it was in north carolina. I grew up on roanoke island and worked backstage with my father running the concessions for the actors and actresses of the Lost Colony outdoor reenactments. Honest mistake but yea, roanoke island north carolina is where sir walter raleigh set down the first colony where the first baby colonist to be born into the new world virginia dare. Love your shows though brotherman, keep up the good work and take care
He was also wrong about Brittan "basically starting the slave trade", ludicrous. Still love his content though, great stuff
Witch!
He gets a lot wrong. There is a major Bias and he is very selective about what parts of history to tell. He has a left wing Bias.
@@Purgar316 Yeah, slaves were captured and relocated since ancient times. Even if you were talking about the specific trade of slaves from africa to north america, Portugal was the first.
@@Plainsburner didn't know Portugal was first. Cheers for an interesting tidbit
Whenever think of how an empire could possibly control the entire world, I look at the British Empire as an example. The amount of people, supplies, and Navy size to be everywhere at once. I watched your video on the U.S. Military’s logistics and even when we have territories and states, we are no where near the size of the British Empire at its height even if we have military bases pretty much every where.
El imperio británico nunca pudo con una potencia de su nivel, solo sometió pueblos débiles y territorios invitados, además de ser el imperio más genocida de la historia
I’m pretty certain that just Britain today is richer than the whole British empire, everyone is richer. The USA is way more powerful than the British empire ever was, and I’m proud of our brothers across the pond taking the helm.
@@mrsentencename7334 el timón de genocidas
@@tercomada You criticise the British empire using the standards the legacy of the British empire set and the values it left behind. Think about what you're saying
Podría darte una lista de todos los tratados que rompió, traición de aliados, genocidio contra su propio pueblo, genocidio a pueblos externos, persecución religiosa, narcotráfico (opio en china, asta hicieron dos guerras porque no les dejaban hacer contrabando), y sin mencionar tratas aztuales que por ejemplo reino unido debía devolver el peñón de Gibraltar hace más de 100 años @@mrsentencename7334
2:30 ok hold that thought, now I have to go look up the Pandyan Empire. Any Simon videos that focus on it?
In all fairness, the British Empire is undeniably an important history topic, but sometimes I actually learn more from Simon's videos indirectly- when he briefly mentions something I've never heard of, and then I go on an internet deep dive on the subject for several hours.
One recent thing I did learn from a Simon video that *does* relate back to the British Empire, is that the British Army in Uganda was Idi Amin's point of entry into the military, and so in a way, the British officer(s) who approved his entry could be seen as having played a part in his eventual dictatorship, even though I don't know if anyone but Amin himself could have foreseen everything he was planning or how many people would die under his regime. Some sources state that the British initially thought he was unintelligent and were just using him for his physical strength, but I've also heard that there was substantial British interest in having him overthrow Obote once he'd gained more influence, because Obote was seen as a threat to their colonial interests in Uganda.
Interesting comment ... Cold war times and Obote was swinging towards the left ..so Amin was basically a counter measure....unfortunately a really bad choice ...
This is all the British,Amin is their man. Have you every wondered how there has been a coup in every former British colony,where acting covertly England has put a puppet in power, ousting an elected Government.
“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.
"and yes everyone, the past was the worst"
Possibly the future: Hey hold my beer!
Hello from a worse future.
Very infromtive videos , keep up the good work
Speaking of megaprojects, could you perhaps do a video on the eventual abolishment of slavery throughout the world? It would be interesting to see the inception of the abolitionism movement, the slow implementation of laws prohibiting the African slave trade, and how different countries reacted to these laws at the time. Love the videos, keep it up?
Great video idea!
You understand slavery STILL exists, right? Slavery is very popular in the Far East, the Middle East, and wait for it………. Africa. The idea that slavery was abolished is true if you are referring to the western world.
Boring
Get yourself to libya….. you can buy your own today
Get yourself to libya. You can buy one of your own today
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.
Excellent video, as usual, Simon. However, your coverage of the atrocities committed against the Irish, was glaringly absent.
indeed it was but there was more to it than just Norman kings putting down non Catholic Bishops because the Pope wanted authority. Seems the Pope won after all?
@norman-m [KANDAGAIGO] Not that Factboi hasn't done long-running mini-series before... ;o)
Didn’t even bring up the Middle East and why the uk is responsible for much of the troubles there still to this day
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😢
Touchy subject, much like the British Empire, but you should cover the tobacco lords that made Glasgow so rich. As you say, as touchy as it might be, not talking about history doesn't get us very far.
Also, more 5 year plans fact boi!
Not talking about history is better then talking about it inaccurately like Simon. Roanoke, in north Carolina? Simons an idiot, it doesn't take a history expert to know it's in Virginia....his stuff is always wrong in several places...it's embarrassing how often he's wrong
@@jamesmeppler6375 fair point, but Simon doesn't claim to be an historian. The man is making 10 or more videos a week lol, things go wrong.
@@froggystyle642 fair point, my thought was like the man records 10 videos a week, that's like getting 1/10 facts on your homework wrong, right?
Though I guess I should be calling on Danny or the editor, I'm guessing I'm the one pedantic person who fact checks everything I can. ^_^
@@jamesmeppler6375 nothing wrong with fact checking at all, I see these videos as a way to get a rough idea on things, and often I'll go look up the subject!
@@jamesmeppler6375 just so you know the original Roanoke colony was in fact in North Carolina
The modern day city of Roanoke is in Virginia
I have been trying for a long time, nut here is my Mega Project suggestions: Aswan High Dam, Bar Lev Line and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Literally laughed the whole time u talked about the opium wars in such a “careful” way 😂
Simon’s facial expression in the first 10 seconds of the video was that of a man knowing just how bad this was going to get 😂
@@manzelli1981 But he never gets tired pointing the finger during ww2 at germany.
Yeah its weird rights the Chinese have smoked opium in Europe since medieval times then all of a sudden they have a problem with those selling them it
15:44
German Empire: "Am i a Joke to you?!"
In spite of the black effects you mentioned, you did not speak to one of the most recognizable effects of the British Empire: the establishment of the English language as the dominant language in the world today. And many of the former areas of the empire still rely on the precepts of English Common Law to guide their judicial systems.
I believe thats a quite literal thing too.
Apparently if a crime or some random arse scenario ends up in a court, if the courts have no precident or clue on how to manage it, they'll look to see if Britain has dealt with the issue. If British courts have ruled on that paticular strange scenario then the courts overseeing the case will follow that set precident.
Its pretty interesting how the court systems are so interlinked and how a court can literally change the law by ruling differently, law set by precident is a quirk not many acknowledge or appreciate.
Gary .i very much do agree on this point. And here's I think is a simple example .....When you look at the Nuremberg trials .Im sure it followed english common law .Even those vile creatures had the right to face their accusers and give their side of the story .If starlin had his way he would have simply taken them out and have them shot NO trial .
Love the channel, this was another fantastic video. Just one small thing, the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke was in present day Dare County North Carolina, not South Carolina.
The Lost Colony was not far from Nags Head, NC.
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.
1:30 - elephant side eye
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
Roanoke Island and the colony after which is was named, was in North Carolina, not South Carolina.
well, was there a north or south carolina then?
@@ursodermatt8809 I suppose at the time, no.
Strangely it seems that only people from the carolinas actually care whether it was in north or south carolina. the rest of the states could care less.
@@lucienfury2606 It's prolly cuz while the names are similar, they both have their own vibe and character.
Wasn’t all bad. We got a great fish & chips shop on the main drag!🇨🇦🇬🇧
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.
An equally critical video about the US-American empire would be interesting.
2nd this
That would be a good watch.
US was Europeans who brought there practices here…. Eventually US has done trillion times more good than harm to the 🌎
@@gk4539 that's a very huge overestimation. And no, the US is not so great that it counterweights it's past and current misdeeds. It's very good at redirecting people's blame tho.
@@gk4539 Really? How?
Great Britain be all like, “Hello, we like this place and want to do business with you. Oh, you lot don’t have guns?? Well then, we shall just be taking whatever we want then, Cheerio…”
HA. Actually it was more like. "Hello, we like this place and want to do business with you. Oh, you lot don’t have guns?? Well let us sell you guns so you can take whatever you want, from your neighbours without guns, which we will then trade for more guns, Cheerio"
“Do you have flags? No! Looks like this is ours old chap”……..plants flag, steals everything. To quote Dora the Explora “swiper no swiping”🤣
@@Mike-jz3oo Hello we want to sell you something. O look some moghuls warlord is demanding tribute perhaps we should pay? Actually no. Gun beats spear. What is that he is back for more well will have to imprison him put his deputy in charge and control the country for him
Any nation on the planet "be all like"... taking what they wanted... IF they had the capacity to do so. This singling out of Britain and the other European nations as singularly 'evil' is fucking preposterous. And check out the way the conquered nations were living before they were colonised. In the majority of cases, you'll find a much more accurate definition of evil.
its not a matter of "having guns" it's a matter of having a recognizable state structure. when you meet a new people and ask to see the "leader" or whatever sort of "king" they have, and you're presented a guy with slightly nicer clothes, on a slightly bigger chair, in a slightly bigger hut, and the guy "rules" more by tradition and common agreement rather than actual political power, you know that there is in effect little to no leadership with whom to deal with. you can't make treaties with that because the second people start to dislike it it will be torn apart, the "leader" deposed and you're back to square one.
that's essentially why Asia had it much better than Africa. You arrive in japan, china and others, and you are met with an actual emperor who can send an army at your ass, or at the ass of whoever challenges the treaty you signed with the emperor.
I suppose one could consider establishing (and running) an empire a (mega) project of sorts...certainly a long-term one.
Imagine the gantt chart - terrifying.
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.
Mongolian empire would be a awesome addition to the play list. What a mega project
He just wanted to find a woman that hadn't been raped. Wasn't even sure if his son was his.
As a Brit being born in England having a Sierra Leonian mother gives me a very good perspective. Both on the empire and on slavery. Considering my mothers people decend from freed slaves. British colonists exploited something that was already there however in Sierra Leone the slave trade had been started by Portuguese and Spanish slavers which resulted in the slave fortress of Lomboko and bunce island, which took slaves to the Caribbean and from there to the United States and South America. It is with good authority that a lot of black peoples residing in these areas come from and decend from those belonging to the tribes of Sierra leonne. A film known as la amistad based on real events talks about the journey of a select group of liberated slaves of the Temne and Mende being tricked into sailing to the United States which sparks off a legal case and then is the spark that sets off the American civil war. Slavery had been abolished in England at least since 1066 but not in the empire, and was abolished eventually in 1806. All in all a lot of criticism of the Atlantic slave trade goes to the British but honestly not enough attention is given to the Spanish or Portuguese slavers. It is my belief that although we should be taking responsibility and acknowledging the evils the British empire brought on the world, the blame should not solely rest at its feet simply because it was the largest.
No one is denying the role of the Portuguese and Spaniard. In fact, most of the Europeans did it
@@opola1432 In anglosphere discourse we gloss over it because we are English speakers sharing some stock with the English the focus is generally on Atlantic and indigenous slavery our states engaged in. I've seen it among educated people, they think there's something uniquely savage about white people and the colonial era, the states of south America are just 'poor browns' in their mental space. Kind of ignoring the larger scale of African slavery in places like Brazil or the 1400 year old sub-saharan slave routes to Arab markets from west Africa.
Ultimately a lot of anglos who go woke still take pride in white people being special, even if its being exceptional in inhumanity so they can act enlightened on the topic. Christian cultures still take great pleasure in self-flagellation.
@@chinogambino9375 exactly couldn’t agree more, there isn’t so much of a debate in the Latin realms of the impact of slavery in the southern americas.
Martin Luther king jr often said to beware of white liberals “when the issues were joined concerning local conditions, only the language was polite; the rejection was firm and unequivocal.”
Malcom X had the same view as that they both believed that the liberal or woke liberals in the north would simply use the cause of black community to further their own gains for white liberals, but when it comes to issues concerning both groups of even just black people they would simply but politely say no and disagree.
A lot of people will forget the first suffragettes did not allow black women to protest with them. Most woke liberals forget that the latins are white Europeans, but you often here just simply how bad the English or even the British are.
Reason you dont hear much is because many deniers use it as a scapegoat.
Aren't you glossing over the role of other Africans in the trade? In the end the British fought wars to stop Africans from trading other Africans.
I knew about the south indian dynasty of pandyas because, well I am Indian and it is hard to avoid them. But I didn't realise they were the longest lasting empire. Learning new things about things I thought I knew!
हाँ यार ! कितना प्राउड फ़ील हुआ ना ये जानकर ❗️
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.
11:08: the army of 250,000 men was a very late development in the East India Company's history. Until the wars with the French in the mid-18th century, they usually made do with small security forces at their fortified trading posts, but then they gradually expanded, exceeding 70,000 by the end of the century
". Until the wars with the French in the mid-18th century,"
Which is when they actually started having an empire?
@@Ravi9A Ultimately, yes. Robert Clive originally worked for the East India Company as a junior administrator/clerk. Then in 1746 the French captured the trading post of Fort St. George where he worked. After a few weeks he managed to lead an escape and soon turned out to have a fine military mind.
However, even after he sneakily defeated the Nawab of Bengal over a decade later, the policy was to instal a more "sympathetic" Nawab rather than rule Bengal directly. That took years more.
@@PastPresented yes, the Brits reckon the empire to hav e begun in 1757.
@@Ravi9A Some do, but I don't think Robert Clive would have at the time. They were simply solving a business problem, with the help of some of the Bengalis with whom they traded and who were also affected by the same problem. Apart from the name of the Nawab, and the very generous awards to Clive personally and the Company in general, not much changed until 1764 (and even that was still just in Bengal).
@@PastPresented Some? Thats the official position of the empire itself.
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.
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
After starting it! 😂
@@SecondTake123 After Starting What ?
We need a much longer video on this...
The Roanoke Colony ("The Lost Colony") was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh (the namesake of Raleigh, NC) in Dare County, North Carolina (county named after Virginia Dare -- allegedly the first English child born in North America) rather than South Carolina.
Nice addition 👌
Side note - Sir Walter Raleigh was never in the Carolina's. He was an absentee landlord.
I feel that you neglected to say that Britain started its empire because of a number of things like a good supply of Oak trees and the knowledge for fine shipbuilding ship building, also the smelting of Iron plus accurate time keeping for navigation being an Island race high quality having quality seamanship. The standardization of the gunpowder formula by Francis Bacon produced an curate constant for firearms. and most importantly the Industrial revolution started in Britain thus supplying quality Steel. In a nut shell hi quality ships and sailors, Iron canon and gunpowder, the ability to sail any were on the planet with no comparable power to stop you taking what you want, for better or worse it was all inevitable human nature being what it is.
The British Empire (not empire in name as it needed an emperor or empress which didn't happen till Victoria) started 200 years before the industrial revolution.
The Industrial revolution happened because of the Empire, it wasn't the cause of it.
@@Youchubeswindon There where two British Empires, one early one late what are you talking about?
@@jas20per
The strict term Empire was formalised after the failure of such companies as the East India being 'nationalised' which had been pillaging since the 1600's.
This formalisation of British Overseas territories and subdigation of indigenous peoples into the label Empire did happen after the industrial revolution.
However whilst not homogenised under Governmental rule, Empire style tendencies and actions had been happening long before the Industrial revolution with governmental blessing and sometimes support. The increased material and financial resources from this Owner occupier expansion enabled the revolution, northern mills would not need steam engines without a massive supply of cheap cotton to process, as the rivers had all been tapped out for water wheel potential.
My point is, that whilst the industrial revolution formalised the ability of Britain to advance the position and defend that position known as Empire, it didn't create what was to become the Empire.
If you are an historical scholar, correct me where I am wrong, but to me seeing the statement including high quality steel and the industrial revolution as said to create the empire, that whilst coming before the 'formal' label Empire, did not to me create the Empire.
In fact, reading the Wikipedia article about the British Empire, shows what I am talking about, as a majority of the history of the First Empire happened before the Industrial Revolution, and it finishing as a concept with the 1776 kerfuffle ;)
@@jas20per In fact I would go so far as to say the industrial revolution did not have as much of an impact as per your original comment, it was the cementation of the empires structures before the industrial revolution that allowed the empire to take advantage of the industrial revolution.
You did note our good oak supply (now mostly gone), island status and sea faring abilities, but I think this has much more of an impact than your comment would have readers believe.
The British colonisation outside of the national borders was not the first example of a country to do so, however I feel there are a couple of factors not in your comment, or given due deference in your comment which lead to Britain's leading global position.
1 - Deference to the monarchy but in alternate to other countries, an expectation of privateering, and profit making for personal gain (not shared with the crown, but the lay backers), which I feel came from a difference in religious views (Protestant vs Catholic) and common law from the Magna Carta. Since the Magna Carta there seems to have been a much different position in how the peons paid deference to royalty than other countries.
2 - Relative political stability. Whilst we have had dynasty change, civil war and other political conflicts, British democracy has been relatively stable for longer than any other country as far as I am aware.
3 - Limited land wars, apart from internal conflicts, the majority of british battles have been and where sea battles. The royal navy has always up until the second world war, had an outsized part of the military budget since Henry VIII in the 16th century. This gives a higher skilled military and merchant navy as a percentage of the population than any other country involved in colonisation.
4 - An acceptance that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whilst the British are and have been for a long time notorious rule followers, we are quite happy to bend the rules where the end's justify the means. Such as turning a blind eye, and even assisting privateers such as pirates to commit international piracy and terrorism.
It was skill and attitude which lead to empire, a thirst for profiteering, expansionism, and yes racism.
The industrial revolution spread through a lot of countries which could have been the biggest empire, a lot of technologies where developed outside of the UK. But it was the British through financial trade in an already existing Empire that was best placed to take advantage of what the IR offered.
It was a British empire and colonies that created the demand for the technologies developed during the industrial revolution.
Your initial comment to me sounds part like the tail wagging the dog.
@@Youchubeswindon Get over it and get a life you would continue this until King Henry the VIII would forgive Ann Boleyn for sleeping around.
I'd love to see the Mongolian empire as a topic. Its one of those historical events that is so significant, so notable, but don't know so much about... speaking personally of course.
Pronounces Grenada like it’s a 70’s car! 😂😂😂
In regards to slavery being condoned until 1807, might I suggest looking at the 1882 Somerset vs Stewart case? Slavery was held to be unsupported by common law.
Owning slaves in Britain has been illegal since 1066; before that, the Saxons practiced (non-African) slavery…
Natives: But this is our land!
British: Yes, but do you have a flag?...
I believe they did not have a flag. Viva Espana
i feel like we need more open animosity between England and France, it just helps the world make sense.
every nations looking ackwardly towards Britain and France knowing far too well if those two did not exist it probably would have be them that would be the most hated nation in the world.
Portugal started the slave trade as far as I know quickly followed by Spain but Arab countries took whites & blacks years before then then there was the Roman Empire , I’m sure they’ve been taking slaves since time began tbh ,I’m not saying it’s right but that’s how empires are built mainly , look at the Egyptians , but yeah great work mate
@@standalby6949 Even before the pyramids were built in Egypt slavery was a thing. It's stupid to say Britain started it, because in reality they just took part in it for a while and then ended it everywhere
Lets hope they dont meet in the World Cup (football)
@@paulgearing3018 They will play next week😂
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.
So you’d like the british empire to be better recognised for solving the problem they helped create and profited from?
Fair: thank you, Britain, for stopping the thing you massively contributed to industrialising and profited from. It was nice of you to compensate your slave owning subjects to make sure it ends. Pity about the slaves, who were simply told they were now free and then were left with no choice but to largely continue to do what they were doing before to survive, but the MAIN thing here is the huge sacrifices Britain made to end slavery. Britain are the true heroes and victims here. The centre of the story.
Thank you so much for bringing this up. Someone simply HAD to speak up for the British Empire.
The British did not end slavery, only replaced it with indentured labor largely from India and largely on similar terms
Well done. We need to talk about history acknowledging the good and bad. Trying call it exclusivly good or bad is as dangerous as ignoring it all together.
@Bartholomew Roberts Bad: crime, #GovSanctionedMoneyLaundering, #GovSanctionedChildAbuse. Globalism isn't bad, evil is. It is like Capitalism vs Communism, any system that isn't corrupt is the best. Unfortunately I don't believe there isn't a government that isn't corrupt.
@Bartholomew Roberts so if you took the corruption out, people not committing crime an money laundering are still evil? Interesting...
@Bartholomew Roberts sorry it's not the banks, it's The Rothschild Family.
Globalism is just a change in tech, transportation and population growth. You're talking about evolving organized crime around world economies, politicians and governments.
This was a good video. Thank you Simon. I'm no historian but I'm pretty sure no country is without its sins.
@Bartholomew Roberts how is it that the western empire which itself was in stone age became rich after colonisation
@Bartholomew Roberts Erm...
'Without Western conquest, over a quarter of the earth would still be in the Stone Age.'
No actual historian would ever say that.
@Bartholomew Roberts You don't actually know what any of those places would have achieved without outside interference though, do you? None of us can. It is just conjecture.
'Exploration'? You mean 'Colonialism'.
...and it involved enslaving a large portion of the world in one way or another & robbing them blind.
As was mentioned in the video, the effects of 'divide and rule' are still being felt today.
You're expecting them to be grateful, I suppose.
@@chrissinclair4442 I'm sorry, Stephen Hawking?
How does he fit into anything?
@@danieljones9937 Court documents unsealed from pre trial proceedings state Stephen Hawking abused children on at least one of Jeffrey Epstein's child abuse islands. It's public record. You know he was known to frequent swinger ranches and sex clubs?
Churchill and FDR made an agreement that effectively laid out the groundwork for the dissolution of the Empire in an attempt to get the USA in the war in Europe (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter) Without it, it's almost safe to assume that the USA would only have fought against Japan and the Empire would've been held together for longer postwar (Assuming victory) because the self-determination statement was popular with those in power in America and the independency inclined people in the colonies but unpopular in Britain's government. It's only one of many small details that was skipped, but the effect it had shouldn't be underestimated, and it probably could have been mentioned in the video.
I'm a Newfoundlander and every time I think of the Atlantic Charter, the first thing that pops into my head is poor uncle Ned just out trying to catch a few fish and soiling his pants when a bunch of war ships appear out of nowhere.
@@ih302 amazing!
@@soulsphere9242 Absolutely, the empire would've ended. Probably in a collapse all at once like most empires, rather than be dismantled over decades like it was.
After WW1 British empire days was numbered. It was heading that direction regardless.
The USA would've still have gone to war against Germany since Germany declared war on them, not the other way around. The US only declared war on Japan and Italy and Germany declared war on them in retaliation.