We have had this reaction video requested almost since we started our channel! It's finally time! The British Empire was a MASSIVE Empire that nearly ruled the entire World! But how much of the World? What countries? When? There's a lot here and the information is given quickly, so hold on and don't blink! This is shocking and surprising! We have a few questions in this episode and hope that you will answer them in the comments. *HELP US ON OUR ROAD TO 100k SUBSCRIBERS AND SUSBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL TODAY! IT'S FREE AND ONLY TAKES A SECOND AND MEANS A LOT TO US* Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
To answer your how do British people feel about this. In general we don't. Yes there are some people who get heated about it in positive and negative ways. But most of us couldn't care less. It's just history.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow LOL - all the letters are the same, but at times the mindless computer tends to lean towards the dark side. HahaHave a good day or evening in the USA.
War with France was more of a hobby to keep us "Match Fit" for when we had to fight everyone else. 😁 And we've never invaded Sweden yet, but i'm sure we'll get around to one day, in revenge for all those ABBA hits and Ikea meatballs we've been subjected to.
@@Mark-Haddow Actually, if we're talking "factual" comments here, there are around 40+ notable conflicts between the central states of England/Britain and France. France won a little over half of these conflicts, whilst the remainder were either won by England/Britain or are considered a "draw". So technically, your original comment of "England never beat France" unless part of an alliance is incorrect, however England's victory ratio is worse off than than France's. If you were to look at individual battlefields, rather than whole wars, then that's a very different story.
I worked in Nigeria for a bit years ago, and someone said to me that he was glad they had their independence, but when the British were in charge, at least everything worked.
I was bought up there,, in the 60's the electricity, phones, water, airports, ports, buses, etc... etc.. everything worked, more importantly people got paid, the police, teachers, hospitals, transport etc.. etc.. then TIA
@iainhughes8110 I'm afraid any humoUr based on holidays (vacations) is generally wasted and goes over the heads of USA folk. They don't get enough time off from work work work, for travel, even to the next door state.
Note that the British territories in the Atlantic have not been mentioned i.e. The Falklands, St Helena, Tristan da Cuhna etc plus the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Chagos Islands et al. It is said that the sun never set on the British Empire because whatever the time, somewhere in the World the sun was high in the sky. Maybe the reason for the general good reaction to the British occupations was that the Brits always brought something to improve the country rather than just exploit it.
Jeanette there is something in that, when you think of our DNA here, we have Celtic, Pictish, Roman, Anglo Saxon,Viking and Norman genes mixed together, all people who were very good in a scrap.👍
Just a ps.Two former colonies I can't remember their names have recently asked to be recolonised by The UK because after the British left their countries deteriorated.
Two countries, Gabon and Togo joined in 2022. Zimbabwe and 3 other countries have applied to rejoin, are you saying the UK destroyed Zimbabwe? Almost every country which was part of the Commonwealth flourished as a result. 56 members in the Commonwealth now iIrc, you think they'd be there if they felt they were deteriorating?
Zimbabwe comes to mind as an example of somewhere that has become a basket case. Ironically Mugabe always blamed us for its problems, but used to go to Europe for shopping trips and healthcare at his own peoples expense.
It's true that Nepal wasn't conquered and in fact so tough were the Nepalese we asked them to join us. They are one of the most feared and very very respected part of the British army AND the British people- the Gurkhas!
@@mogznwaz so just think how hard and well those Nepalese fought to be given a life time offer to be part of the British army 100+ nations and only 1 was given this offer
@dazo69 A lot of territories/countries which are very rocky and mountainous, such as Nepal and Scotland, were not conquered by various forces because they were easily defended because of the terrain, but also there might not have been much in the land to be of any use. Desolate areas with very few occupants etc....were not much sought after.
@dazo69 Yes I agree. The citizens were and are very tough, but the mountainous terrain was also a contributing factor in making it difficult to conquer the land. Scotland has similar difficulties for any would be conquerers.
to coin a phrase: 'we got sick and fed up of being invaded by everyone so we learned how to do it properly and set about doing to everyone else'. if you want to learn about the history of the Empire, you will be on for a long time, as it's very deep and complex, could be something to do as a side project over a longer period of time as it will take a bit to get into many of the different aspects of the Empire and why it eventually ended.
Correct. We were invaded over and over again. And each time we learned a lot. So eventually we turned the tables on everyone who sought to harm us. 🇬🇧🏴🏴🏴
We the invaded are laterally the invaders!… We British by ancestry.. ( family going back 1200 years) have an amazing pedigree… namely ALL OF US have had at least one male direct descendant that has stood on a battlefield. The blood and violence that happened on the British isle’s over hundreds of years is shocking- Its simple part of our DNA
France started it 😅 I think it says a lot about the British people we maybe small country but it is full of bolshy people and this is what's kept behind all those stiff upper lips.😊
Britain ran the empire as a business France just wanted more places Being a business and also having the industrial revolution that we spread around the world made the British empire so successful. The 2 world wars messed everything up. So we are just keeping everything in the British museum as souvenirs from our big heist You can't have your stuff back We're still looking at them ~James Acaster
I'm neither proud or ashamed of English history, it's history, it's not important for us to like or dislike it, it's important that we learn from it, so we don't keep making the same mistakes. England itself has been invaded many times, I don't hold a grudge against anyone, history is what shaped us as a nation. I'd like to point out you missed a joke at the beginning, where the narrator said we invaded Spain every winter, he jokingly mean't a lot of British pensioners escape our cold winters and go to the warmer climate of Spain for 3 months every winter, my parents who are both in their late 80's used to do it every year for around 20 years, Covid put an end to that. Keep the video's coming, I really enjoy them, I especially like the looks on both your faces when you are reacting to the sights to be found in the countryside, in this country we don't always appreciate what is on our doorstep.
@@AA2639-m9vI think you missed the joke. Monty Python famously said ‘what have the Romans ever done for us!’ They then go on to list pretty much every modern feature of civilisation the Romans brought.
The Commonwealth is often described as a family of nations. For many Brits including myself this has a very literal meaning. My Father spent his youth in India. I spent my youth in South Africa. I have family in both Canada and Australia. The empire grew not so much from government, but from private people and companies pursuing Trade. In the 19th century Americans climbed into covered wagons and headed West. British people did the same thing for the same reasons and so colonised a large part of the world.
> The French resented the fact that "William the Bastard" a mere 'duke' of Normandy had suddenly gained the crown of England, which overrode his French dukedom, and meant that, despite his lands in Normandy and elsewhere in France, he no longer saw himself as a 'vassel' to the French crown. Their resentment increased until 1328 when Charles IV of France died, with no immediate male heirs (sons or brothers.) Charles' heir then (since females couldn't ascend the French throne due to French laws in effect at the time,) was the son of his sister Isabella, who just happened to have married Edward II of England and given birth to a son, who by that time had ascended to the English throne as Edward III of England, due to the death of his father, a year earlier. However the French nobility objected to Edward becoming King of England AND France, and twisted the rules a little in order to pass the French title to Charles' cousin Philip, Count of Valois, who became Philip VI, King of France in his place, (and was known as 'Philip the Fortunate'.) At this time, most of the English Crowns' territories in France had been lost, with only Gascony remaining under English rule, and so as to not risk losing Gascony, Edward submitted to the French ruling and recognised Philip as King of France, rather than dispute it by promoting his own claim. Later though, in 1337, Philip (at his 'Great Council' in Paris,) decided to take Gascony back into French hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim to the French throne and to use force of arms to support it. Thus began "The Hundred Years War" which continued until 1453, which rather than being an example of England invading another country, was more an extended militarised family tiff between French nobles (on both sides of the channel,) with the only part taken by the English being the thousands of English soldiers killed for the sake of a French family squabble.
In Bosnia British soldiers first deployed to Bosnia in 1992 during the country's vicious civil war. Initially tasked with protecting aid convoys, they were part of a peace keeping Army, I remember it. They didn’t invade! The US were also involved all under NATO
They first went in as peacekeepers, as UN troops, but its hard to keep the peace when there is no peace. NATO took over the mission, and the troops went from toothless peacekeepers to peace makers, which went much better.
@@FedericoDLP I couldn’t keep up but I’m sure there are other inaccuracies in the video, that stood out as I remember Bosnia. If people are showing these we need the truth.
@@cassandra5875 Have a look at my reply on the British 'invasion' of Mexico. The bloke who made the video just wanted to put the Union Jack on all countries of the world.
Let’s face it we all like stuff, we just like to pop over for a quick invasion, have a cuppa tea, rule a bit, make sure everyone forms an orderly queue, nick a few keep sakes and we are on our way to the next country.
I think it would be better to describe some of these as occupations than invasions. Plus, the time-lines involved span over 1000 years, particularly within Europe. One other thing to remember is that if the British hadn't, 'invaded', a lot of these places during the age of expansion, then some other European power at the time would have, and actually did. And, as Britain was at war with those nations at the time, felt it in their interests to push out the other occupiers as a tactical move. One thing that seems to be conveniently forgotten also, is that the British, 'invasions', brought a lot of stability to these countries. Both political and economical. They installed infrastructure and legal systems that benefitted all, which among a lot of them that gained their independence would continue to use for their own advantage. Those within what would become the Commonwealth in particular.
The problem with this video is that it equates "British boots on the ground" with "Britain invaded". To give just two examples, British troops were active in Korea and Bosnia but both times as part of a multi national United Nations task force, that's not Britain invading. As someone else pointed out a lot of the countries that we supposedly invaded didn't exist at the time, especially in Africa. Another example, we fought against the Germans during WW1 in what was at the time the colonial province of German East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania), the same applies in the south -modern day South Africa and Zimbabwe post date the genuine British invasions by many decades. You asked how we Brits see this. The point is that we distinguish between places we fought across during a larger war (most of North Africa and Italy during WW2 for example) and places that we actually invaded and occupied for various reasons.
@@jeremywood2129 Why would I be bitter, I'm Scottish, we've never lost a war, and we own the oldest, undefeated nation flag. 🏴 😆 There is no such place as "Britain," especially in connection with Scotland, and its much larger geographical territory
I always find it interesting that the American war of Independence was quintessentially the English fighting the English or more over the Crown fighting the English as most of the colonists were of English blood...even Washington considered himself an English gentleman prior to the War of Independence and a lot of England supported the war of Independence as they had relatives living there and investments in the colonies ...I mean most of the founding fathers were British or of British descent ...also remember the American national anthem and hail to the chief are originally 2 British drinking songs...now that would be a good one to react to in the future...this is why our ties to the US have always remained strong as the 13 colonies were colonised by the British but they were sick of the Crown ruling them at home so sailed off to find a new home and finally the American flag is of British design with 13 stripes and the union flag occupied the space where now the stars are..😉🍻
Hi Debbie and Natasha!!☺️ Such a fascinating video. We are only a little speck on the map really so hard to believe we invaded such a vast area of the globe. There is an overall sense of pride being British amongst the British people and of course, like many countries, respect for our military but i wouldnt say that was necessary because of the amount of countries we have invaded over the years. In fact, much of this all is so far in the past that the topic rarely comes up. So, thank you for the super interesting video. Certainly makes you think. Care Bears!! What a blast from the past. 🥰
I'm very proud of my English history [being half English/German - born in Germany] and part of my German history too. Too many look at the negatives [which is only part of the story and not the whole picture, so a lot of lies]. Many were invasions to stop evil powers [Napoleon/Hitler etc.]. We ended the slave trade and enforced it costing us a lot of money [only paid off in 2015] and blood [sailors lives], we brought in the Industrial revolution which eventually brought billions of people out of poverty and reduced the death rate [heating/medicines]; we invented a lot of important things including entertainment in sports/English language in songs etc., brought in the rule of law. The list is long. Most of the former British colonies have thrived [especially in Asia - Singapore/Hong Kong] as well as Canada/Australia/NZ, whereas those from other countries did not.
@@tiborkovacs4827 Half German. English father and German mother. Where I was born was British controlled territory within Germany - British Army hospital. I have lived 2/3 of my life in England and 1/3 in Germany & abroad [where my father was stationed]. I only have British citizenship now though as I was born before the rules of 'being born in the country' came into place - I'm 62].
Every English person is a mix, ancestry wise, of every European race plus often a chunk of the rest of the world. The Royal Family an example of our european heritage (Hanoverian/Austrian/Greek/Scottish). I have a large chunk of Norman/Scandinavian/Germanic ancestry.
Just with you mentioning France, Simon has a 20 minute video he did all about the Channel Tunnel which connects the UK to France. If it was something you was interested in learning about "The Channel Tunnel: Planned Since 1802"
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow nice, look forward to it. It's a really good channel full of stuff from all over the world. Theres one he did on Crystal Palace in London, which was a giant Victorian era glass exhibition house that was sadly destroyed by a huge fire in the 30s. It's where the football club of the same name got their name from, its on their badge too. "The Crystal Palace: An Omen of Things to Come"
It really blows my MIND...how such a tiny nation could - and still does - have had *so* much of an influence on the entire world. I really can't get my head around it tbh.... Yes, in the modern world, the large superpower nations like the US, Russia, China etc are the main players today, but little ol' Britain is _still_ has such an influential voice!
Britain is still influential because it invented and spread the rule book by which all modern countries play - government, judicial systems, human rights, even the humble business suit. We take these now universal things so for granted we forget where they came from. The USA is the child of Britain so is really the continuation of the British empire
@Red_Snappa But the main difference between then and now is what the super powers do with their power. Back in the days of the British Empire, a lot of countries benefitted hugely from being "invaded". Railways and industry plus democracy helped them progress and if we hadn't helped them in this way, a lot of countries would be a long way behind the modern World as we know it today. Certain countries have said that at least things worked when Britain was in charge. Indeed a few African countries have recently requested to be "back with" UK because they are struggling.
Regarding what Natasha said about the lack of ill will afterwards, it's actually because we don't bear any ill will ourselves. The average Brit finds it much much simpler just to say 'No offense mate' than to avoid being offensive so basically, the whole of British history has been one long Friday night after the pubs have shut. Also, people always know we've got their back despite our history. Just look how many times we've been at war with France but we still went and helped them out with Vietnam in '45. We just love a good scrap.
@@janolafulWhat Cromwell did to the Irish was horrendous. But the English didn’t fair much better either. He was a truly evil tyrant. But then, that’s what religion has always done to people.
@@janolafulThousands of Irishmen defied their leaders to join the Allies to fight against Hitler. Many Irish left Ireland, made a home in England and stayed for good. I don’t think it’s quite as straightforward as you think.
Ladies, you referenced the Royal Navy. By the middle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy had around 1,000 ships of varying sizes and uses. All of them in service.
The lives of a lot of people from these countries were greatly improved in many ways, especially the removal of tyrannical dictators and the introduction of fair justice systems etc. which is likely why we still have close ties with many of them. Most of the military action was performed to remove evil and grease the wheels of trade, not to merely rule for the sake of it.
Ladies ,you HAVE to follow this up with Britains involvement in ending slavery .!! You will understand what Britain did when she held the reigns of World power 🙏🏴❤️
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad By all means precede it with a video about Britain's involvement in slavery. In fact, how about a video about EVERYBODY'S involvement in slavery, going back as far into ancient history as records allow. "Britain did what everybody else was doing and had always done" is a way smaller dunk than "Britain was the first to stop doing it and tried it's damndest to stop everybody else from doing it too" is a flex.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad mate every single nation in the history of the world was involved with slavery at that point, the term slave came from the slavic nations and how many were taken, your taking about the transatlantic slave trade in which Britain played a huge role no doubt but also fought to stop it, give their lives to stop it, and lets face it in the entire history of the world, ending slavery was maybe the best thing to ever happen
You asked if there was animosity towards the British because of their empire and the answer is yes. Britain is one of the most hated countries in the world because of their past conquests. In Ireland obviously there is still a huge amount of resentment for how we were treated under British rule and the same is true of most formed colonies and territories. Especially in India and Pakistan where the British are hated. The British do not have a good reputation amongst its former subjects. A great example of this is that in Ireland when Queen Elizabeth died there were celebrations across the country, everyone I knew was chanting "Lizzie's in a box" and "the auld b*tch is dead".
One time I was travelling in Canada, and borrowed the guidebook of a French person who was in the same accommodation to look something up. While I was doing so, I noticed that her very normal guidebook (not a joke one or anything) referred to Britain at one point as "l'ennemi historique" ("The historic enemy") without explanation, just assuming that all the readers would know which country that referred to and that it was perfectly normal way to refer to Britain in a mainstream travel guide!
“Invade”? Em , for example, world wars don’t really count as it’s Allied occupation. Bosnia ….. where I served …. Was not an invasion . It was an attempt to stop a war
We probably wouldn't want to repeat it, especially the worst parts, but yes - I think in general we are very proud of our nation's and our ancestors' achievements. Of course, it needed the combination of several factors (the professional army, the world's best navy and being the birthplace of the industrial revolution) to propel this relatively small island nation to the forefront of global trade & dominion.
I think about the British empire at least once everybday. Every time I'm making a cup of tea it pops into my head. We loved a wee bit of conqueroring. We are a lot more relaxed now days.
You have to remember that the French; Dutch; Spanish and Portuguese were doing exactly the same thing. It's just we were better at it. I think it's also true to say that the British motive was mainly economic and not necessarily just for the sake of conquest.
Spot on. For example, India initially wasn’t ruled by government or military organisations but by commercial companies whose main aim was to make money for shareholders. While Britain’s ruling of India may have given benefits (railways etc) it also decimated India’s own cotton economy…..by that I mean the ability for individuals to produce garments from cotton in small, home based businesses. Countless people (and therefore families and communities) lost their independence and ability to support themselves.
Not that the British were better but simply because they were actually interested in gaining territories and were able to conquer territories because they had a bigger economy and more people. Also they were lucky since they were in the middle of the ocean, further away from active military conflicts (which wasn't the case for France, Spain and the Netherlands) and Portugal, which dominated the seas and world trade in the 1500s, was in a big crisis following the consequences of the Inquisition and the Iberian Union.
Much of the story about Africa was about stopping slavery. The British Crusade to End Slavery began in 1807. We patrolled Africa to protect the people who were being taken into slavery, but warred with the people who captured and sold slaves. Our last naval patrol around the east coast of Africa and Indian Ocean took place in the 1970's when the final Arab nation signed an Anti Slavery Agreement. The Crusade ended when the last country to sign up, Mauritania, West Africa, did so in 1981. Many Africans, released from Slavery by the Royal Navy and, latterly by our soldiers on lands over slavery routes, fought and died with our own sailors/soldiers in their efforts to set Africans free.
Lets be real here. The invasion of Africa was NOT about stopping slavery (those attempts were mainly focused on the sea). It was mainly about accuiring the wealth and minerals of African nations for the glory and profit of the British Empire.
@@mattsmith5421 Hello matt smith. If you would like to watch the videos about the history of the RN West African Squadron you will see that Britain did indeed fight the leaders of the enslaving tribes on land. Britain also bought land to established a place on the coast of Africa to take the rescued slaves. It became known as Freetown. Britain also fought against the Slavers taking slaves overland to the Ottoman Empire, to many Arab countries and of course to Asia. It's why I mentioned our soldiers. The RN also patrolled all around the world - like Brazil - and to Oceania to try to get, for instance, the indigenous people of New Zealand to give up slavery. May I remind you too that General Gordon of Khartoum and British soldiers gave up their lives fighting to stop the overland Slave routes. David Livingstone's reports back to Britain from Africa helped keep everyone informed. You are right though a lot of the anti slavery work was done by the British Navy - although other European countries and America did eventually send ships to help us patrol the seas in the mid to late 1800's. The British also sent people out to Africa to help build new Economies to replace those that had been reliant of slavery. Finally, before Britain started its Crusade to stop slavery it was the NORM for every society in the World to have slaves except - perhaps Britain whose King passed a law in 1086 forbidding slavery.
@@zahransalmost every part of africa britain went into it immediately ended slavery and put a blockade of troops near egypt to stop the arab slave trade to the ottomans throughout the entire 1800s up until the ottomans collapsed. many historians have pointed out why each country went into africa, and britains was to end slavery.
@@zahrans , maybe it was more about policing , “ the wanna carry on enslaving people “ in certain pockets on the continent ? You know , despots wanting to take over from Benin ? Not unheard of and perfectly feasible especially as Britain paid a third of our GDP at that time to end slavery , a sum so large , we only finished paying it off 8 years ago …….If you were not there, you can’t know how things were …Countries committing atrocities either against their own or other nations to kick off slavery again ????? Enter the Brits !!! It’s a filthy trade and we know about human trafficking today of women and children …it’s a million times worse and maybe as a species, instead of obsessing on the past and looking for reparations , we should come together to crush this current barbarism that’s happening AGAIN right now . There are 2 million children for Gods sake , enslaved right now !!!!!
@@pauldurkee4764 yes and there was a programme "Not the 9 o'clock news" with Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith and Pamela Stevenson who if I remember rightly, made the very most of it.
The term "invaded" is a bit of a misnomer and the reason why all these countries don't hate us for the invasions is because these invasions actually improved those countries. Many invasions were actually peace-keeping missions such as in Bosnia, some were to prevent opposing empires from getting their hands on those places. In other words, if Britain hadn't ruled those places, then France, Spain or Denmark would have. Many countries were much improved under British rule and now they have independence life is actually getting worse such as Zimbabwe under Mugabee or Hong Kong fighting for democracy against Chinese oppression and all the countries mentioned in WWII were not invaded by the British but were liberated by the British (and her allies).
The north-eastern segment of Africa is notable for a lack of English presence. I have always understood that in the second quarter of the nineteenth century we British were very happy for the French to be active there to keep their minds off aggression against our little island for taking part in successive coalitions against Napoleon. It worked, at least to the extent that we were on the same side in the Crimean War in the early 1850s!
The British brought law and order to most of the countries they “visited” they also brought infrastructure, commerce and innovation. Democracy, trial by jury, transport, jobs. If it wasn’t for the British, the world you know now and enjoy would not even exist. True facts 😉
@@petermizon4344 Portugal first dabbled in slavery by buying slaves from their mates the African Chiefs and rulers who ran a profitable slave trade business, Britain was the first country to abolish slavery.
I think you'll find that Portugal were the biggest European slave traders but nothing compared to the Arab slave trade which ran for over 1000 years only really ending in the 1960's.@@petermizon4344
The most benign empire in history. Believers in democracy should thank the British. Never forget Britain's precedence for teaching other nations how to live.
Well yes, I suppose so. You make it sound dictatorial. In ‘general’ we let people live the way they wanted, with some exceptions. Even Gandhi thought we were benign, until he changed his mind, or had it changed for him. You know he was a perv, right? Ugh
Hello Natasha & Debbie. Another great video. You mentioned that France was responsible for French Fries, sorry, this was an error. During WWI US troops in Belgium found fries on sale. It seemed that they thought they were in France so called them French Fries!
they didnt think they were in france, the belgians living in that area spoke french, so assumed it was a french food. whats ironic is that french toast is actoally from italy, and the french kiss was an american invention because the french women used more tongue.
I am English you would have to learn reason why we did invade some countries some was to defend that country from other countries or they had ties to one country we was at war with to stop them supplying them and what would the world be like now if we did,t thats why i think we got lots of support from them countries and i love your videos debbie and natasha ❤
When you view the map, you also have to consider the control of the sea lanes also. As a Britain, i look at it like this, it could have been another European state that colonised these places, of course we were certainly not universally liked, even today, we did things that were regreattable yes, but I also like to think we tried to introduce change for the better also. We did manage to build a lot of infrastructure, and left the former colonies in better shape than most. We can say that the parts of the world that came under a long term British influence are very desirable places to live. Whats done is done, it is history, and I accept the good and bad points.
Get your hands on an old fashioned school globe or an old fashioned political atlas. If it’s been made or printed in the British Isles look at the contents for a map of the world then the old British Empire countries and possessions will all be coloured a slightly pale red.
It's definitely a situation where some people are very proud of this military history, and some people are a bit more "hmmm...". There are pros and cons to both the British Empire and to the wider history of invasions and conflicts around the world. We massacred millions in various countries, effectively committed genocide sometimes, transported a large proportion of Africa's young and capable people across the Atlantic as slaves, and extracted enormous wealth from many of our colonies - so at the very least you have to admit that it "was not entirely positive".
Your comment about what if an 'evil country' had conducted these invasions (and installed a global empire) was I think somewhat the reason why it was the British that eventually did so successfully, because I honestly think that 'good' does eventually prevail and perhaps the Brits were just less evil and terrible than a lot of other countries and empires of the time... and I really don't think enough people recognise that the alternative to British colonialism would still have been colonialism but by far less ethical regimes.
Many wars throughout the centuries were fought between alliances involving several states and quite often supplemented by mercenaries from other countries. WWII was merely bigger in the scale of the alliances.
As a small island that frequently got invaded pre 1066 we definitely saw the benefit and need for having a good navy, its how we won a lot of those wars
It was the empire on which the sun never set, then we gave Hong Kong back and I remember the headline "The sun has set on the British Empire" and it sounded so sad.
I'm British and I'm proud to call myself a one. I live at a very historical area of Britain. I wouldn't say I'm proud of what the British empire did, some awful things went on such as stealing old pieces of history from different countries, but in all fairness, if Britain didn't exist, the world would have been 200 years behind where we are now.
I wouldnt class most of these as "for good reason". For example 1.Britain invaded haiti in an attempt to annex what at the time was the most profitable regime of plantation enslavement on the planet. They did so after the Haitians had revolted against the french and weakened their control. 2. They invaded India in order to have control of its resources and under the British Raj 120 million Indians died in a 40 yr period due to the extreme poverty and famines implemented under British rule 3. There were at least 270 frontier massacres over 140 years, as part of a state-sanctioned and organised attempt to eradicate Aboriginal people by the British settlers in Australia. And not to mention British colonialism is directly to blame for the 75 years of death and destruction that has been the Israel-palestine crisis cough*Balfour Declaration*cough But yeah those are just some highlights but although I'm not totally informed into all it's invasions I would bet anything that most of Britain's invasions were NOT for "pure" reasons
A lot of France came with William the Conqueror (1066) who then invaded Ireland. We still have Guernsey & Jersey. So, can’t really say we “invaded” France - it was ‘ours’ through W the Conq. and we fought to keep it.
ive always said now that we have the internet and can talk to anyone from anywhere, the biggest problem for brits is if we encounter a flag or country name we dont recognize, the first thing we have to do is look it up to see if we owned it or not, 9/10 its a yes.
My brain exploded seeing it mapped out. I enjoyed that don't understand much of it but that's why I watch you girlies 😊 yo learn more about my own country. Well done 👏👏👏❤
Remember that was the way the world worked back then. The Roman Empire was similar as well as other leaders from history. Britain was invaded and ruled by many other countries before it became what it is today. The lesson is to learn from all history and not make the same mistakes as the world was evolving.
Britain was invaded a number of times by a lot of these countries, among others. What helped us along was how our navy was by far superior to anybody else. Also, as it does mention, a lot of these were only invaded so not to let Britain's enemies get control first. Very good tactically.
when you are a tiny island, that is constantly invaded and raided for many centuries, you learn how to fight back or die :) england/uk/g.b. was in a constant turmoil for centuries before it's politeness broke ;p big love to all people :)
That’s why we are great at the sport of Boxing 🥊 in England because we love fighting & we still do it’s a very powerful country & we ran the world & we found America 🇺🇸 & we have won two world wars & we have never lost a war we have fought in From Sheffield England 🏴🇬🇧👍
Worth mentioning that the British never invaded India. They were there trading in the 17th century, along with the French and the Dutch. The UK's part in the Government of India grew gradually over the next 200 years.
It’s not a nice thing to do but other countries were doing the same thing back in the day .. we apparently were more successful at it . When you know better you do better Later Some countries needed to be stopped trying to do the same , so we helped stop them . We should remember it was the kings , Queens and governments of the time deciding to invade Not the king or the people of today
As an Englishman i can tell you that there are a number of countries that bear us ill will however we generally don't care, we just accept it is what it is .
Britain retaliated to GERMANY’s invasion of Austria and Poland in WW2, in self defence from threatened invasion by the Nazis.. and because it had promised Poland that it would help. I am English, born in 1934.
Don't forget England from 1066 till 1603 was ruled by decendants of French Vikings all the wars during that period was inter Family Squabbles over Englands Throne & who had Right of Access to it & It's Vast Wealth??
I suspect that, owing to the spelling mistakes, this video is voiced over but created by non English speaking people's who might be wanting to undermine trust in the people of the UK. Lots of actions mentioned were WW1, WW2, UN actions, Sovereign possessions due to changes in monarchy and trade offs due to treaties or surrendered territories. Granted we were, like most other nations grabbing territory everywhere, but in a more efficient manner. But we assisted, alongside our many allies, in freeing most of Europe, parts of Africa and much of China and the Pacific from the Axis Powers. We did much wrong but we have endeavored to do so much more that is right.
@@glastonbury4304 OK dokey. I'll "shush" knowing the English are upset they can't answer my question, because their independent history is one of a nation of perpetual losers. 😉👍🏴
there are SO MANY inaccuracies in this. The territory "owned" by the British in France were actually ceeded to the British crown through marriage and Normandy as Willia the conquorer was also Duke of Normandy so that territory came with him when he INVADED Britain. saying D-Day was n invasion the cheek
When Debbie introduced the cute green bear I thought that Natasha was showing her new fashion look. It really suits her and of course it makes her even more beautiful than usual. If that could be possible. Now as a Scotsman I can only look at you happy pair and I cannot decide which one of you is the prettiest. P.S. Please keep doing your wonderful shows as I really appreciate your openness and the way that you are willing to appreciate this wonderful world. Just one major correction. In your heading you say that it is about the countries that England invaded. Every British army that invaded was lead by wild feroscious Scots who roared into battle, Kilts A,Flying ( A truly wondrous sight to behold ) with Bagpipes Skirling and followed by their truly fierce pack of 1,000 faithful Wild Haggis all called MacTyson the Strong.
We have had this reaction video requested almost since we started our channel! It's finally time! The British Empire was a MASSIVE Empire that nearly ruled the entire World! But how much of the World? What countries? When? There's a lot here and the information is given quickly, so hold on and don't blink! This is shocking and surprising! We have a few questions in this episode and hope that you will answer them in the comments. *HELP US ON OUR ROAD TO 100k SUBSCRIBERS AND SUSBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL TODAY! IT'S FREE AND ONLY TAKES A SECOND AND MEANS A LOT TO US*
Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
Hello Ladies
Just a friendly nudge - You misspelt Expect (you typed Except) -
Cheers From the Aussie guy down under.
@@Neo.Altair yeah we know. 2 years and our 1st typo! It was bound to happen at some point
To answer your how do British people feel about this. In general we don't. Yes there are some people who get heated about it in positive and negative ways. But most of us couldn't care less. It's just history.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow LOL - all the letters are the same, but at times the mindless computer tends to lean towards the dark side. HahaHave a good day or evening in the USA.
@@neilgayleard3842I absolutely agree with you there.
On behalf of The Swiss Nation,I feel disrespected that the British never thought of us as worthy of being conquered...😥😥
We'll pencil you in for next week.
we like the watches thats why we did not invade lol
Nonsense, it was the chocolate. It's always about the chocolate. 🙂@@scottosborne2915
Your chocolate is just to good to justify it 😂😂
You're too clever, that's why. Classy too.🇬🇧☮️👋
War with France was more of a hobby to keep us "Match Fit" for when we had to fight everyone else. 😁
And we've never invaded Sweden yet, but i'm sure we'll get around to one day, in revenge for all those ABBA hits and Ikea meatballs we've been subjected to.
Yeah, except England never beat France, and the UK was always part of an alliance when it saw France defeated.
@@Mark-Haddow..mushroom season
@@thomaslawley7444
Why inform me of your calendar, I didn't request you to.
I suppose you thought a deflection from my factual comment was necessary?
Ugh..you had to mention the meatballs! They justify invasion on their own!😂
@@Mark-Haddow Actually, if we're talking "factual" comments here, there are around 40+ notable conflicts between the central states of England/Britain and France. France won a little over half of these conflicts, whilst the remainder were either won by England/Britain or are considered a "draw". So technically, your original comment of "England never beat France" unless part of an alliance is incorrect, however England's victory ratio is worse off than than France's. If you were to look at individual battlefields, rather than whole wars, then that's a very different story.
I worked in Nigeria for a bit years ago, and someone said to me that he was glad they had their independence, but when the British were in charge, at least everything worked.
Now the train drivers are going on strike again!.....
Yes, because we invented trains.
I was bought up there,, in the 60's the electricity, phones, water, airports, ports, buses, etc... etc.. everything worked, more importantly people got paid, the police, teachers, hospitals, transport etc.. etc.. then TIA
@@wanderer5581 Everyone still gets paid there now from Airport workers right to the top of the Government via brown envelopes.....~+
Funny it no longer works here!
The invasion of Spain every winter refers to the holiday makers seeking sunshine! Spain is a favourite of British tourists.
@iainhughes8110 I'm afraid any humoUr based on holidays (vacations) is generally wasted and goes over the heads of USA folk. They don't get enough time off from work work work, for travel, even to the next door state.
Note that the British territories in the Atlantic have not been mentioned i.e. The Falklands, St Helena, Tristan da Cuhna etc plus the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Chagos Islands et al. It is said that the sun never set on the British Empire because whatever the time, somewhere in the World the sun was high in the sky.
Maybe the reason for the general good reaction to the British occupations was that the Brits always brought something to improve the country rather than just exploit it.
Like government department administration, industrial revolution and railways.
Yeah I noticed that, especially the Falklands.
Thanks for the reminder of that amazing phrase about the sun never setting on the British Empire. Whoever first thought of that was inspired!
@@TomNoles007 If you like that one the one we use up north is "The sun never sets on the British Empire because God dosnt trust us in the dark"
There are two countries missing from the list of countries England has invaded , Scotland and Wales .
Some people in my family honestly believe that we only had an empire because we were better at fighting than learning languages!😂
Also better sailor's
@@adrianmcguire8048Bingo.🤣
And sshh - don't tell anyone - much of it was created through trade
Jeanette there is something in that, when you think of our DNA here, we have Celtic, Pictish, Roman, Anglo Saxon,Viking and Norman genes mixed together, all people who were very good in a scrap.👍
Still are! Best fighting force in the world, plus Gurkas, Paras etc Unlike some we don't brag, we just know!
We brits just love to travel & see new places.
A pick up some really nice Museum pieces😀
Shssh! (They'll want them back)
@@circus-jf5kr
... and maybe make a penny or two of of them!
And teach English drinking songs..... Roll out the barrel......🤣🇬🇧
when it rains all year round in england you start to yearn for adventure half the world away
As a Scottish person from Edinburgh and immensely proud to be British and was taught at school that the sun never set on our empire. 🏴🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
When you think that most of our invading was done via Oak ships powered by linen cloth sails catching the wind it really is impressive.
Please accept our apologies I'm sure it was never personal 😊
Just a ps.Two former colonies I can't remember their names have recently asked to be recolonised by The UK because after the British left their countries deteriorated.
Two countries, Gabon and Togo joined in 2022. Zimbabwe and 3 other countries have applied to rejoin, are you saying the UK destroyed Zimbabwe?
Almost every country which was part of the Commonwealth flourished as a result.
56 members in the Commonwealth now iIrc, you think they'd be there if they felt they were deteriorating?
@@petergordon4525I think you need to re-read the post.
@@gavinpaice8008 possibly some punctuation was needed in the comment?
Reacted to "recolonised".
Well said. 🇬🇧
Zimbabwe comes to mind as an example of somewhere that has become a basket case.
Ironically Mugabe always blamed us for its problems, but used to go to Europe for shopping trips and healthcare at his own peoples expense.
It's true that Nepal wasn't conquered and in fact so tough were the Nepalese we asked them to join us. They are one of the most feared and very very respected part of the British army AND the British people- the Gurkhas!
I note the British didn’t invite the Taliban in the same way
@@mogznwaz so just think how hard and well those Nepalese fought to be given a life time offer to be part of the British army 100+ nations and only 1 was given this offer
@dazo69 A lot of territories/countries which are very rocky and mountainous, such as Nepal and Scotland, were not conquered by various forces because they were easily defended because of the terrain, but also there might not have been much in the land to be of any use. Desolate areas with very few occupants etc....were not much sought after.
Yup Gorkhas hindus r amazing
@dazo69 Yes I agree. The citizens were and are very tough, but the mountainous terrain was also a contributing factor in making it difficult to conquer the land. Scotland has similar difficulties for any would be conquerers.
to coin a phrase: 'we got sick and fed up of being invaded by everyone so we learned how to do it properly and set about doing to everyone else'.
if you want to learn about the history of the Empire, you will be on for a long time, as it's very deep and complex, could be something to do as a side project over a longer period of time as it will take a bit to get into many of the different aspects of the Empire and why it eventually ended.
Correct. We were invaded over and over again. And each time we learned a lot. So eventually we turned the tables on everyone who sought to harm us. 🇬🇧🏴🏴🏴
Exactly. It is useful to point out that 30% of the English language comes from Normandy French introduced from when they invaded us.
We the invaded are laterally the invaders!… We British by ancestry.. ( family going back 1200 years) have an amazing pedigree… namely ALL OF US have had at least one male direct descendant that has stood on a battlefield. The blood and violence that happened on the British isle’s over hundreds of years is shocking- Its simple part of our DNA
France started it 😅 I think it says a lot about the British people we maybe small country but it is full of bolshy people and this is what's kept behind all those stiff upper lips.😊
Something I always like to say the Viking never die out they evolve into the British empire haha
Britain ran the empire as a business
France just wanted more places
Being a business and also having the industrial revolution that we spread around the world made the British empire so successful.
The 2 world wars messed everything up.
So we are just keeping everything in the British museum as souvenirs from our big heist
You can't have your stuff back
We're still looking at them
~James Acaster
@dirtbikerman1000 You can look at your ex- belongings in our museums.......STAND BEHIND THE ROPE!!!
I'm neither proud or ashamed of English history, it's history, it's not important for us to like or dislike it, it's important that we learn from it, so we don't keep making the same mistakes. England itself has been invaded many times, I don't hold a grudge against anyone, history is what shaped us as a nation. I'd like to point out you missed a joke at the beginning, where the narrator said we invaded Spain every winter, he jokingly mean't a lot of British pensioners escape our cold winters and go to the warmer climate of Spain for 3 months every winter, my parents who are both in their late 80's used to do it every year for around 20 years, Covid put an end to that. Keep the video's coming, I really enjoy them, I especially like the looks on both your faces when you are reacting to the sights to be found in the countryside, in this country we don't always appreciate what is on our doorstep.
You say you can’t judge it but you talk about not repeating the same ‘mistakes’ - so you are making a judgement
You asked "What would it be like if we never did this" ....the World would be 200+ years behind.
What have the British ever done for us,..... !
@@robward367 Classic!
@@robward367 Clearly enough that you felt the need to learn our language 🤷♂
@@AA2639-m9vI think you missed the joke. Monty Python famously said ‘what have the Romans ever done for us!’ They then go on to list pretty much every modern feature of civilisation the Romans brought.
The Commonwealth is often described as a family of nations. For many Brits including myself this has a very literal meaning. My Father spent his youth in
India. I spent my youth in South Africa. I have family in both Canada and Australia. The empire grew not so much from government, but from private people and companies pursuing Trade. In the 19th century Americans climbed into covered wagons and headed West. British people did the same thing for the same reasons and so colonised a large part of the world.
The commonwealth is the biggest single group of peoples in the world over 2 billion. It blows my mind
@Silver749 1.4 billion as a group, not 4
@Silver749 there's over 4 billion in the whole of the continent of Asia, could that be what you were meaning?
>
The French resented the fact that "William the Bastard" a mere 'duke' of Normandy had suddenly gained the crown of England, which overrode his French dukedom, and meant that, despite his lands in Normandy and elsewhere in France, he no longer saw himself as a 'vassel' to the French crown.
Their resentment increased until 1328 when Charles IV of France died, with no immediate male heirs (sons or brothers.) Charles' heir then (since females couldn't ascend the French throne due to French laws in effect at the time,) was the son of his sister Isabella, who just happened to have married Edward II of England and given birth to a son, who by that time had ascended to the English throne as Edward III of England, due to the death of his father, a year earlier.
However the French nobility objected to Edward becoming King of England AND France, and twisted the rules a little in order to pass the French title to Charles' cousin Philip, Count of Valois, who became Philip VI, King of France in his place, (and was known as 'Philip the Fortunate'.)
At this time, most of the English Crowns' territories in France had been lost, with only Gascony remaining under English rule, and so as to not risk losing Gascony, Edward submitted to the French ruling and recognised Philip as King of France, rather than dispute it by promoting his own claim.
Later though, in 1337, Philip (at his 'Great Council' in Paris,) decided to take Gascony back into French hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim to the French throne and to use force of arms to support it.
Thus began "The Hundred Years War" which continued until 1453, which rather than being an example of England invading another country, was more an extended militarised family tiff between French nobles (on both sides of the channel,) with the only part taken by the English being the thousands of English soldiers killed for the sake of a French family squabble.
Jeez! I now know where the 'Great' in Great Britain came from. Thanks for posting. Happy Christmas.
In Bosnia British soldiers first deployed to Bosnia in 1992 during the country's vicious civil war. Initially tasked with protecting aid convoys, they were part of a peace keeping Army, I remember it. They didn’t invade! The US were also involved all under NATO
They first went in as peacekeepers, as UN troops, but its hard to keep the peace when there is no peace. NATO took over the mission, and the troops went from toothless peacekeepers to peace makers, which went much better.
@@leighalderton1851 I remember, it was horrific.
Exactly. There is a lot of exaggeration with the 'invasion' label.
@@FedericoDLP I couldn’t keep up but I’m sure there are other inaccuracies in the video, that stood out as I remember Bosnia. If people are showing these we need the truth.
@@cassandra5875 Have a look at my reply on the British 'invasion' of Mexico. The bloke who made the video just wanted to put the Union Jack on all countries of the world.
Let’s face it we all like stuff, we just like to pop over for a quick invasion, have a cuppa tea, rule a bit, make sure everyone forms an orderly queue, nick a few keep sakes and we are on our way to the next country.
😂
LMAO!!
It’s more fun that way. 😂
Yes ,I think you could say that as invaders we are not sour losers! 😂😂
I think it would be better to describe some of these as occupations than invasions. Plus, the time-lines involved span over 1000 years, particularly within Europe. One other thing to remember is that if the British hadn't, 'invaded', a lot of these places during the age of expansion, then some other European power at the time would have, and actually did. And, as Britain was at war with those nations at the time, felt it in their interests to push out the other occupiers as a tactical move. One thing that seems to be conveniently forgotten also, is that the British, 'invasions', brought a lot of stability to these countries. Both political and economical. They installed infrastructure and legal systems that benefitted all, which among a lot of them that gained their independence would continue to use for their own advantage. Those within what would become the Commonwealth in particular.
Well said.
I think that's a fair assessment.
The problem with this video is that it equates "British boots on the ground" with "Britain invaded". To give just two examples, British troops were active in Korea and Bosnia but both times as part of a multi national United Nations task force, that's not Britain invading. As someone else pointed out a lot of the countries that we supposedly invaded didn't exist at the time, especially in Africa. Another example, we fought against the Germans during WW1 in what was at the time the colonial province of German East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania), the same applies in the south -modern day South Africa and Zimbabwe post date the genuine British invasions by many decades. You asked how we Brits see this. The point is that we distinguish between places we fought across during a larger war (most of North Africa and Italy during WW2 for example) and places that we actually invaded and occupied for various reasons.
I notice for one it doesn't include Tunisia, which is where the North Africa campaign ended in 1943.
Wow, my country really did rule the world! Britain has so much to be proud of. Thank you again ladies for a great video.
Really, where is this "Britain" on a map?
You sound very bitter Mark@@Mark-Haddow
@@jeremywood2129
Why would I be bitter, I'm Scottish, we've never lost a war, and we own the oldest, undefeated nation flag. 🏴 😆
There is no such place as "Britain," especially in connection with Scotland, and its much larger geographical territory
Proud of the millions of people who were displaced, dispossessed and killed along the way? 🤮
@@Mark-Haddow Britain existed long before Scotland.
I always find it interesting that the American war of Independence was quintessentially the English fighting the English or more over the Crown fighting the English as most of the colonists were of English blood...even Washington considered himself an English gentleman prior to the War of Independence and a lot of England supported the war of Independence as they had relatives living there and investments in the colonies ...I mean most of the founding fathers were British or of British descent ...also remember the American national anthem and hail to the chief are originally 2 British drinking songs...now that would be a good one to react to in the future...this is why our ties to the US have always remained strong as the 13 colonies were colonised by the British but they were sick of the Crown ruling them at home so sailed off to find a new home and finally the American flag is of British design with 13 stripes and the union flag occupied the space where now the stars are..😉🍻
I believe that the flag of Hawaii still has the British Union Flag in the top corner.
@@janettesinclair6279 Yes it does.
@@janettesinclair6279 23 countries around the world use the Union Jack (British Flag).
We'd have won that one if we hadn't been busy with the French. Then Americans would all be polite Canadians.
The American revolution was basically a bunch of British people getting pissed off at London.
I agree France is a lovely country only thing wrong is it's full of the french
There are plenty of countries that had ill will to the UK during different periods. If you think it was all good look up Oliver Cromwell in Ireland.
Hi Debbie and Natasha!!☺️
Such a fascinating video. We are only a little speck on the map really so hard to believe we invaded such a vast area of the globe. There is an overall sense of pride being British amongst the British people and of course, like many countries, respect for our military but i wouldnt say that was necessary because of the amount of countries we have invaded over the years. In fact, much of this all is so far in the past that the topic rarely comes up. So, thank you for the super interesting video. Certainly makes you think.
Care Bears!! What a blast from the past. 🥰
I'm very proud of my English history [being half English/German - born in Germany] and part of my German history too.
Too many look at the negatives [which is only part of the story and not the whole picture, so a lot of lies]. Many were invasions to stop evil powers [Napoleon/Hitler etc.].
We ended the slave trade and enforced it costing us a lot of money [only paid off in 2015] and blood [sailors lives], we brought in the Industrial revolution which eventually brought billions of people out of poverty and reduced the death rate [heating/medicines]; we invented a lot of important things including entertainment in sports/English language in songs etc., brought in the rule of law.
The list is long. Most of the former British colonies have thrived [especially in Asia - Singapore/Hong Kong] as well as Canada/Australia/NZ, whereas those from other countries did not.
Spot on.
So you're German.
Well said. I lived in Germany in the 80s. Loved it. Felt right at home. ❤️🇬🇧🇩🇪
@@tiborkovacs4827 Half German. English father and German mother. Where I was born was British controlled territory within Germany - British Army hospital. I have lived 2/3 of my life in England and 1/3 in Germany & abroad [where my father was stationed]. I only have British citizenship now though as I was born before the rules of 'being born in the country' came into place - I'm 62].
Every English person is a mix, ancestry wise, of every European race plus often a chunk of the rest of the world. The Royal Family an example of our european heritage (Hanoverian/Austrian/Greek/Scottish). I have a large chunk of Norman/Scandinavian/Germanic ancestry.
To answer your question, as a British person I feel proud of our rich history and empire
Just with you mentioning France, Simon has a 20 minute video he did all about the Channel Tunnel which connects the UK to France. If it was something you was interested in learning about
"The Channel Tunnel: Planned Since 1802"
It's on our list!
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow nice, look forward to it. It's a really good channel full of stuff from all over the world. Theres one he did on Crystal Palace in London, which was a giant Victorian era glass exhibition house that was sadly destroyed by a huge fire in the 30s. It's where the football club of the same name got their name from, its on their badge too. "The Crystal Palace: An Omen of Things to Come"
It really blows my MIND...how such a tiny nation could - and still does - have had *so* much of an influence on the entire world. I really can't get my head around it tbh....
Yes, in the modern world, the large superpower nations like the US, Russia, China etc are the main players today, but little ol' Britain is _still_ has such an influential voice!
Britain is still influential because it invented and spread the rule book by which all modern countries play - government, judicial systems, human rights, even the humble business suit. We take these now universal things so for granted we forget where they came from. The USA is the child of Britain so is really the continuation of the British empire
@Red_Snappa But the main difference between then and now is what the super powers do with their power. Back in the days of the British Empire, a lot of countries benefitted hugely from being "invaded". Railways and industry plus democracy helped them progress and if we hadn't helped them in this way, a lot of countries would be a long way behind the modern World as we know it today. Certain countries have said that at least things worked when Britain was in charge. Indeed a few African countries have recently requested to be "back with" UK because they are struggling.
Regarding what Natasha said about the lack of ill will afterwards, it's actually because we don't bear any ill will ourselves. The average Brit finds it much much simpler just to say 'No offense mate' than to avoid being offensive so basically, the whole of British history has been one long Friday night after the pubs have shut. Also, people always know we've got their back despite our history. Just look how many times we've been at war with France but we still went and helped them out with Vietnam in '45. We just love a good scrap.
I think Ireland are not fans of us.
Did we?
@@janolafulWhat Cromwell did to the Irish was horrendous. But the English didn’t fair much better either. He was a truly evil tyrant. But then, that’s what religion has always done to people.
@@robncarolhudson9803 12:32 According to this video yeah, I don't actually know the history.
@@janolafulThousands of Irishmen defied their leaders to join the Allies to fight against Hitler. Many Irish left Ireland, made a home in England and stayed for good. I don’t think it’s quite as straightforward as you think.
Ladies, you referenced the Royal Navy. By the middle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy had around 1,000 ships of varying sizes and uses. All of them in service.
The lives of a lot of people from these countries were greatly improved in many ways, especially the removal of tyrannical dictators and the introduction of fair justice systems etc. which is likely why we still have close ties with many of them. Most of the military action was performed to remove evil and grease the wheels of trade, not to merely rule for the sake of it.
Bingo. Unlike other countries who just wanted to conquer for the sake of it.
Um 120 million people killed during the British Raj would like to disagree
You keep telling yourself that.
@@erikdalna211 I don't need to because it is a fact.
@@IanDarleyyour facts are a joke🤣🤣Britain is still to this day occupying and stealing peoples wealth😂..
Ladies ,you HAVE to follow this up with Britains involvement in ending slavery .!! You will understand what Britain did when she held the reigns of World power 🙏🏴❤️
You have to proceed that with a video of britains involvement in slavery though.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDadWow. Why just England? Are you scared to accuse others. And why say ‘have to’. Who the hell do you think you are?
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDadAnd the word is ‘precede’ not proceed. 🤣🏴
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad By all means precede it with a video about Britain's involvement in slavery. In fact, how about a video about EVERYBODY'S involvement in slavery, going back as far into ancient history as records allow. "Britain did what everybody else was doing and had always done" is a way smaller dunk than "Britain was the first to stop doing it and tried it's damndest to stop everybody else from doing it too" is a flex.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad mate every single nation in the history of the world was involved with slavery at that point, the term slave came from the slavic nations and how many were taken, your taking about the transatlantic slave trade in which Britain played a huge role no doubt but also fought to stop it, give their lives to stop it, and lets face it in the entire history of the world, ending slavery was maybe the best thing to ever happen
You asked if there was animosity towards the British because of their empire and the answer is yes. Britain is one of the most hated countries in the world because of their past conquests. In Ireland obviously there is still a huge amount of resentment for how we were treated under British rule and the same is true of most formed colonies and territories. Especially in India and Pakistan where the British are hated. The British do not have a good reputation amongst its former subjects. A great example of this is that in Ireland when Queen Elizabeth died there were celebrations across the country, everyone I knew was chanting "Lizzie's in a box" and "the auld b*tch is dead".
How are the potatoes doing lad?
I'm absolutely proud of our British History and our past Empire 🇬🇧
Amen to that
Too bad that your nation is loosing its identity now.
Me too! What the hell happened???
How did you contribute to it? It’s such a ridiculous thing to be proud of…
@@edwardbateman3094 If they're going to attack me just for being British, I might as well be proud of it. Works both ways.
One time I was travelling in Canada, and borrowed the guidebook of a French person who was in the same accommodation to look something up. While I was doing so, I noticed that her very normal guidebook (not a joke one or anything) referred to Britain at one point as "l'ennemi historique" ("The historic enemy") without explanation, just assuming that all the readers would know which country that referred to and that it was perfectly normal way to refer to Britain in a mainstream travel guide!
“Invade”? Em , for example, world wars don’t really count as it’s Allied occupation.
Bosnia ….. where I served …. Was not an invasion . It was an attempt to stop a war
We probably wouldn't want to repeat it, especially the worst parts, but yes - I think in general we are very proud of our nation's and our ancestors' achievements. Of course, it needed the combination of several factors (the professional army, the world's best navy and being the birthplace of the industrial revolution) to propel this relatively small island nation to the forefront of global trade & dominion.
I think about the British empire at least once everybday. Every time I'm making a cup of tea it pops into my head. We loved a wee bit of conqueroring. We are a lot more relaxed now days.
These aren't all invasions though. Bosnia in the 90s wasn't an invasion. And where's the Falklands?
You have to remember that the French; Dutch; Spanish and Portuguese were doing exactly the same thing. It's just we were better at it. I think it's also true to say that the British motive was mainly economic and not necessarily just for the sake of conquest.
Spot on. For example, India initially wasn’t ruled by government or military organisations but by commercial companies whose main aim was to make money for shareholders. While Britain’s ruling of India may have given benefits (railways etc) it also decimated India’s own cotton economy…..by that I mean the ability for individuals to produce garments from cotton in small, home based businesses. Countless people (and therefore families and communities) lost their independence and ability to support themselves.
Not that the British were better but simply because they were actually interested in gaining territories and were able to conquer territories because they had a bigger economy and more people. Also they were lucky since they were in the middle of the ocean, further away from active military conflicts (which wasn't the case for France, Spain and the Netherlands) and Portugal, which dominated the seas and world trade in the 1500s, was in a big crisis following the consequences of the Inquisition and the Iberian Union.
Much of the story about Africa was about stopping slavery. The British Crusade to End Slavery began in 1807. We patrolled Africa to protect the people who were being taken into slavery, but warred with the people who captured and sold slaves. Our last naval patrol around the east coast of Africa and Indian Ocean took place in the 1970's when the final Arab nation signed an Anti Slavery Agreement. The Crusade ended when the last country to sign up, Mauritania, West Africa, did so in 1981. Many Africans, released from Slavery by the Royal Navy and, latterly by our soldiers on lands over slavery routes, fought and died with our own sailors/soldiers in their efforts to set Africans free.
No it wasn't we didn't go into Africa to stop slavery it was done on the sea
Lets be real here. The invasion of Africa was NOT about stopping slavery (those attempts were mainly focused on the sea). It was mainly about accuiring the wealth and minerals of African nations for the glory and profit of the British Empire.
@@mattsmith5421 Hello matt smith. If you would like to watch the videos about the history of the RN West African Squadron you will see that Britain did indeed fight the leaders of the enslaving tribes on land. Britain also bought land to established a place on the coast of Africa to take the rescued slaves. It became known as Freetown. Britain also fought against the Slavers taking slaves overland to the Ottoman Empire, to many Arab countries and of course to Asia. It's why I mentioned our soldiers. The RN also patrolled all around the world - like Brazil - and to Oceania to try to get, for instance, the indigenous people of New Zealand to give up slavery. May I remind you too that General Gordon of Khartoum and British soldiers gave up their lives fighting to stop the overland Slave routes. David Livingstone's reports back to Britain from Africa helped keep everyone informed. You are right though a lot of the anti slavery work was done by the British Navy - although other European countries and America did eventually send ships to help us patrol the seas in the mid to late 1800's. The British also sent people out to Africa to help build new Economies to replace those that had been reliant of slavery. Finally, before Britain started its Crusade to stop slavery it was the NORM for every society in the World to have slaves except - perhaps Britain whose King passed a law in 1086 forbidding slavery.
@@zahransalmost every part of africa britain went into it immediately ended slavery and put a blockade of troops near egypt to stop the arab slave trade to the ottomans throughout the entire 1800s up until the ottomans collapsed.
many historians have pointed out why each country went into africa, and britains was to end slavery.
@@zahrans , maybe it was more about policing , “ the wanna carry on enslaving people “ in certain pockets on the continent ?
You know , despots wanting to take over from Benin ? Not unheard of and perfectly feasible especially as Britain paid a third of our GDP at that time to end slavery , a sum so large , we only finished paying it off 8 years ago …….If you were not there, you can’t know how things were …Countries committing atrocities either against their own or other nations to kick off slavery again ????? Enter the Brits !!!
It’s a filthy trade and we know about human trafficking today of women and children …it’s a million times worse and maybe as a species, instead of obsessing on the past and looking for reparations , we should come together to crush this current barbarism that’s happening AGAIN right now .
There are 2 million children for Gods sake , enslaved right now !!!!!
The leader, ofcourse, of Djibouti is Sheik Djibouti 🤪
There was once a middle eastern representative of OPEC, I think called Sheikh Yemani, not sure if I spelt it correct.
@@pauldurkee4764 yes and there was a programme "Not the 9 o'clock news" with Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith and Pamela Stevenson who if I remember rightly, made the very most of it.
The term "invaded" is a bit of a misnomer and the reason why all these countries don't hate us for the invasions is because these invasions actually improved those countries. Many invasions were actually peace-keeping missions such as in Bosnia, some were to prevent opposing empires from getting their hands on those places. In other words, if Britain hadn't ruled those places, then France, Spain or Denmark would have. Many countries were much improved under British rule and now they have independence life is actually getting worse such as Zimbabwe under Mugabee or Hong Kong fighting for democracy against Chinese oppression and all the countries mentioned in WWII were not invaded by the British but were liberated by the British (and her allies).
The north-eastern segment of Africa is notable for a lack of English presence.
I have always understood that in the second quarter of the nineteenth century we British were very happy for the French to be active there to keep their minds off aggression against our little island for taking part in successive coalitions against Napoleon. It worked, at least to the extent that we were on the same side in the Crimean War in the early 1850s!
The British brought law and order to most of the countries they “visited” they also brought infrastructure, commerce and innovation. Democracy, trial by jury, transport, jobs. If it wasn’t for the British, the world you know now and enjoy would not even exist. True facts 😉
LAW AND ORDER OF SLAVERY LOL
Yes slavery didn’t exist before the British Empire ( who banned it first )
@@petermizon4344 Portugal first dabbled in slavery by buying slaves from their mates the African Chiefs and rulers who ran a profitable slave trade business, Britain was the first country to abolish slavery.
I think you'll find that Portugal were the biggest European slave traders but nothing compared to the Arab slave trade which ran for over 1000 years only really ending in the 1960's.@@petermizon4344
@@lukegale4002 Slavery has always existed everywhere.
We still invade Spain every year, for our holidays ;)
Haha 😆
I don't..
The most benign empire in history. Believers in democracy should thank the British. Never forget Britain's precedence for teaching other nations how to live.
Well yes, I suppose so. You make it sound dictatorial. In ‘general’ we let people live the way they wanted, with some exceptions. Even Gandhi thought we were benign, until he changed his mind, or had it changed for him. You know he was a perv, right? Ugh
I was taught at school that the Greeks were the ones who were the Fathers of democracy...
@@margaretflounders8510But not for all. The Greeks were worse than the Romans in their tyranny.
@@margaretflounders8510 Yes, but it was an odd sort of democracy in that it was so only for some of the citizens I believe.
Hello Natasha & Debbie. Another great video. You mentioned that France was responsible for French Fries, sorry, this was an error. During WWI US troops in Belgium found fries on sale. It seemed that they thought they were in France so called them French Fries!
they didnt think they were in france, the belgians living in that area spoke french, so assumed it was a french food.
whats ironic is that french toast is actoally from italy, and the french kiss was an american invention because the french women used more tongue.
@@bigenglishmonkeyNot surprised by that last one. They always overdo everything.🤣
I am English you would have to learn reason why we did invade some countries some was to defend that country from other countries or they had ties to one country we was at war with to stop them supplying them and what would the world be like now if we did,t thats why i think we got lots of support from them countries and i love your videos debbie and natasha ❤
When you view the map, you also have to consider the control of the sea lanes also.
As a Britain, i look at it like this, it could have been another European state that colonised these places, of course we were certainly not universally liked, even today, we did things that were regreattable yes, but I also like to think we tried to introduce change for the better also.
We did manage to build a lot of infrastructure, and left the former colonies in better shape than most.
We can say that the parts of the world that came under a long term British influence are very desirable places to live.
Whats done is done, it is history, and I accept the good and bad points.
Get your hands on an old fashioned school globe or an old fashioned political atlas. If it’s been made or printed in the British Isles look at the contents for a map of the world then the old British Empire countries and possessions will all be coloured a slightly pale red.
It's definitely a situation where some people are very proud of this military history, and some people are a bit more "hmmm...". There are pros and cons to both the British Empire and to the wider history of invasions and conflicts around the world. We massacred millions in various countries, effectively committed genocide sometimes, transported a large proportion of Africa's young and capable people across the Atlantic as slaves, and extracted enormous wealth from many of our colonies - so at the very least you have to admit that it "was not entirely positive".
Your comment about what if an 'evil country' had conducted these invasions (and installed a global empire) was I think somewhat the reason why it was the British that eventually did so successfully, because I honestly think that 'good' does eventually prevail and perhaps the Brits were just less evil and terrible than a lot of other countries and empires of the time... and I really don't think enough people recognise that the alternative to British colonialism would still have been colonialism but by far less ethical regimes.
I knew about some of it. But it was amazing too see how much they did, around the world.🌍 ❤❤❤❤.
Many wars throughout the centuries were fought between alliances involving several states and quite often supplemented by mercenaries from other countries. WWII was merely bigger in the scale of the alliances.
As a small island that frequently got invaded pre 1066 we definitely saw the benefit and need for having a good navy, its how we won a lot of those wars
It was the empire on which the sun never set, then we gave Hong Kong back and I remember the headline "The sun has set on the British Empire" and it sounded so sad.
False the sun set on the empire however to this day we still own enough that the sun has not set still
@@slipperylordtouchme7921 While we still had Hong Kong there was always some part of the empire in daylight.
To paraphrase Al Murray; We have large requirements for hot & spicy foods, and Olympic quality athletes 😂
I’m shocked I didn’t even know all this and I’m British , love your vlogs x
MAKES YOU FEEL PROUD TO BE BRITISH!
🤣😅😂🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I'm British and I'm proud to call myself a one. I live at a very historical area of Britain. I wouldn't say I'm proud of what the British empire did, some awful things went on such as stealing old pieces of history from different countries, but in all fairness, if Britain didn't exist, the world would have been 200 years behind where we are now.
That was fascinating didn’t realise how many places we invaded.
I wouldnt class most of these as "for good reason". For example
1.Britain invaded haiti in an attempt to annex what at the time was the most profitable regime of plantation enslavement on the planet. They did so after the Haitians had revolted against the french and weakened their control.
2. They invaded India in order to have control of its resources and under the British Raj 120 million Indians died in a 40 yr period due to the extreme poverty and famines implemented under British rule
3. There were at least 270 frontier massacres over 140 years, as part of a state-sanctioned and organised attempt to eradicate Aboriginal people by the British settlers in Australia.
And not to mention British colonialism is directly to blame for the 75 years of death and destruction that has been the Israel-palestine crisis cough*Balfour Declaration*cough
But yeah those are just some highlights but although I'm not totally informed into all it's invasions I would bet anything that most of Britain's invasions were NOT for "pure" reasons
A lot of France came with William the Conqueror (1066) who then invaded Ireland. We still have Guernsey & Jersey. So, can’t really say we “invaded” France - it was ‘ours’ through W the Conq. and we fought to keep it.
Do not forget the Plantagenets then who came with 3000 men, who are from the west of France (Angevin war)
Proud of, look how these Countries have moved forward, and prospered with UK Influence 🤘
ive always said now that we have the internet and can talk to anyone from anywhere, the biggest problem for brits is if we encounter a flag or country name we dont recognize, the first thing we have to do is look it up to see if we owned it or not, 9/10 its a yes.
My brain exploded seeing it mapped out. I enjoyed that don't understand much of it but that's why I watch you girlies 😊 yo learn more about my own country. Well done 👏👏👏❤
Being a veteran of the British Army we are proud of our military achievements and the traditions.
And so we should, Sir....Thanks to soldiers like you....
...and we are proud of you!
You got kicked out of every single country. Now you whinge like hell because people from those countries come to the UK.
Karma for you.
Remember that was the way the world worked back then.
The Roman Empire was similar as well as other leaders from history.
Britain was invaded and ruled by many other countries before it became what it is today.
The lesson is to learn from all history and not make the same mistakes as the world was evolving.
Britain was invaded a number of times by a lot of these countries, among others. What helped us along was how our navy was by far superior to anybody else. Also, as it does mention, a lot of these were only invaded so not to let Britain's enemies get control first. Very good tactically.
You two are great you always cheer me up. Love. ELAINin England.
when you are a tiny island, that is constantly invaded and raided for many centuries, you learn how to fight back or die :) england/uk/g.b. was in a constant turmoil for centuries before it's politeness broke ;p big love to all people :)
Well put. The worm turned with a lot of success.🇬🇧
Fighting despots can't really be called "invasion". Unless the British stuck around & ruled the country, they weren't invaded.
Another great video 😊
This never get old watching the reactions of the Americans who see this video it down right funny as hell.
Just one big pub crawl 😂😂😂
😂👏
That’s why we are great at the sport of Boxing 🥊 in England because we love fighting & we still do it’s a very powerful country & we ran the world & we found America 🇺🇸 & we have won two world wars & we have never lost a war we have fought in
From Sheffield England 🏴🇬🇧👍
We're respected because when we invade we do it politely.😊
And when finally we are asked to leave ,we don`t go off burning and slashing in reprisal
.Which is why the Commonwealth of Nations us so great
I have been asking for 2yr for KNOW YOUR ALLY BRITAIN. Please Debbie just watch 5min and suggest to Natasha it's all military UK US
Thank you for shearing this wonderful video. Big hug mujeres hermosas
Worth mentioning that the British never invaded India. They were there trading in the 17th century, along with the French and the Dutch. The UK's part in the Government of India grew gradually over the next 200 years.
Thank you. People love to s..t over everything the Brits have done. Crazy.
It’s not a nice thing to do but other countries were doing the same thing back in the day .. we apparently were more successful at it . When you know better you do better Later Some countries needed to be stopped trying to do the same , so we helped stop them . We should remember it was the kings , Queens and governments of the time deciding to invade Not the king or the people of today
As an Englishman i can tell you that there are a number of countries that bear us ill will however we generally don't care, we just accept it is what it is .
Britain retaliated to GERMANY’s invasion of Austria and Poland in WW2, in self defence from threatened invasion by the Nazis.. and because it had promised Poland that it would help. I am English, born in 1934.
Hello @wendyfield7708 - it was good to be reminded of this piece of history. Thank you. All the very best to you.
when you look at the globe , and see just how small the UK is , its a just madness how much the UK took over .
"Invaded" is doing a lot of work here. "Liberated" isn't quite so clickbaity i guess.
Don't forget England from 1066 till 1603 was ruled by decendants of French Vikings all the wars during that period was inter Family Squabbles over Englands Throne & who had Right of Access to it & It's Vast Wealth??
It's said the sun never sank on the British Empire. Because God didn't trust the Brits in the dark 😅 (true story)
The word is ‘sets’ not sank.🤣
God is British apparently.
@@SoulvexOnly for some on Sundays. Most white British are atheists.
@@Roz-y2d I am one of the most.
@@Soulvex I didn't claim God to be British lol
I suspect that, owing to the spelling mistakes, this video is voiced over but created by non English speaking people's who might be wanting to undermine trust in the people of the UK. Lots of actions mentioned were WW1, WW2, UN actions, Sovereign possessions due to changes in monarchy and trade offs due to treaties or surrendered territories. Granted we were, like most other nations grabbing territory everywhere, but in a more efficient manner. But we assisted, alongside our many allies, in freeing most of Europe, parts of Africa and much of China and the Pacific from the Axis Powers. We did much wrong but we have endeavored to do so much more that is right.
And I suspect you’re right. Probably an EU creator with ‘Ode to joy’ playing in the background.🤣
The best trained soldiers in the world we get the job done every time.🇬🇧
Who is we?
@@Mark-Haddow shush mark
@@Mark-Haddow...yeah shush mark...😂
@@glastonbury4304
OK dokey. I'll "shush" knowing the English are upset they can't answer my question, because their independent history is one of a nation of perpetual losers. 😉👍🏴
@@glastonbury4304 🤣🤣
there are SO MANY inaccuracies in this. The territory "owned" by the British in France were actually ceeded to the British crown through marriage and Normandy as Willia the conquorer was also Duke of Normandy so that territory came with him when he INVADED Britain. saying D-Day was n invasion the cheek
Yes it was a lot. When you think it was all done with ships that took months even years to get to there destination. It's crazy
I think as someone from britain i am both proud and ashamed of our history. It depends on if it was to do with our own defense or just selfishness
What little old us 😮 when you think about it its quite remarkable we really did rule the waves.
When Debbie introduced the cute green bear I thought that Natasha was showing her new fashion look. It really suits her and of course it makes her even more beautiful than usual. If that could be possible. Now as a Scotsman I can only look at you happy pair and I cannot decide which one of you is the prettiest. P.S. Please keep doing your wonderful shows as I really appreciate your openness and the way that you are willing to appreciate this wonderful world. Just one major correction. In your heading you say that it is about the countries that England invaded. Every British army that invaded was lead by wild feroscious Scots who roared into battle, Kilts A,Flying ( A truly wondrous sight to behold ) with Bagpipes Skirling and followed by their truly fierce pack of 1,000 faithful Wild Haggis all called MacTyson the Strong.
And Now……. We’re being invaded 🤦♀️