The British Empire was pure evil.

Back then, the idea that the British Empire was in any way bad wasn't happening.

But now in this time, the British Empire can only be seen as an agressive system of exploitation.
The American Empire is much less visible but there is no difference.
Ruthless exploitation for profit and power is the aim.

Power is the aim. The American Empire has technolgy on its side. World domination is its goal.
The power people that control Ameica and have only one aim. Total control.

Every civilisation that existed has wanted power and world domination.. so I wouldn't put it down to specific nationalities. We have just had many evil psychopath leaders throughout history.

a reply to: droid56

Yet when you look at ex colonial countries how many have a better standard of living since independance?, granted south east Asia is a exception in some cases where the native population built a successful society..

It was a far different time than we live in now, the world was still undiscovered and of course when new lands where found with what many would call savage natives then the colonials with more know how would take a controlling stake in the region.

I do wonder had the more powerful nations of the now Europe not given up control of their colonial regions what would the world look like, I am sure the people of Haiti, Zimbabwe, to name a few would be far better off???...



RA

a reply to: droid56
Yet the Spanish-born American philosopher Santayana described them at the time as "sweet, just, boyish masters".
Sweeping generalisations are usually inaccurate.

Didn't we play a part in stopping the nazis pure evil mmmmm

Look under the floor of the Coronation room in Windsor Castle....you will learn how Humanity has perservered for Epochs.....times shall not be changing any time soon IMHO.

I agree...what a history.

a reply to: droid56

Yep, but not as evil as the Romans, ol' Genghis Khan, Alexander, The Egyptians, etc.

Compare the Brits to Hitler or Stalin and "we ain't so bad...once you get to know us".

The Americans have done their fair share, too. Seems, as it stands, to get more civilized as time wears on...or so we HOPE!

Monty Python described it best:
www.youtube.com...

a reply to: feoil

Hahaha was hoping someone would post that!
True though
Conquerors conquer and the conquered learn from it and usually expand and evolve just like we Brits did after the Normans Romans Vikings et al
We didn't sit on our arses and cry poor me we are such victims...nope...we became a force to be reckoned with and did not too bad for a tiny island

a reply to: Denoli

There are many things about British history that one cannot, in good faith or with sound mind, be proud of. The fact that our ancestors allowed an Empire to be created with Britain at its core, for me, is a source of shame. After our contact with the Romans, we really should have known much better than to inflict ourselves on other nations in the way that we did.

Alas, the lesson taught our nation by the Roman invasion, was not well learned, and as a result we became infected with an imperialist approach that we probably would never have developed for ourselves, absent that influence.

Snap forward to World War 2, and there we are, throat punching the Nazis wherever we can find one, being bombed by them, bombing them back, fighting against tyrants, learning lessons. And yet, here we are now, in 2017, still not cleansed of the racist, phobic, empire obsessive, domineering, oppressive attitudes which have endangered us before, still not yet properly learning the lessons of history.

I am proud to be British, I love my country. But loving where you are from is not about believing your nation to be flawless, not about believing your ancestors to have all been noble people, not about believing that your nation can do no wrong, could never have done wrong. Loving where you are from is about caring about it enough to ensure that the lessons which have been ignored or misunderstood, are learned correctly in your generation and the generations to come. Loving a place means caring about it enough to change it for the better, to make best use of its history to avoid repeating old mistakes and to correct with great enthusiasm, any modern expression of those mistakes.

Far right ideology is just such a mistake. Phobic thinking is just such a mistake. These things need correcting, whether that be through the courts, or by judicious application of a heavy piece of rock to those who refuse to learn at an appropriate speed.

a reply to: droid56

All empires exploit, take and enslave, some do however give back.

Rome was a nexus of knowledge, a melting pot of idea's and indeed despite it's many and truly heinous crime's it was still a force for good and the PAX ROMANA - the roman peace meant that during it's period of control and law the population of all it's people's free and slave exploded, people multiplied as peace forced or not meant that inside the empire at least war's were stopped by the imperial legion's.
They however left a mixed legacy of good and bad.


The British Empire did indeed do many bad thing's but unlike the Roman Empire it was not entirely an Empire of Conquest.
For example Britain never actually invaded or Conquered India, instead the East Empire company and it's mercenary army were most often invited into many of the provinces and country's many of which were actually independent monarchy's and often the people would line the street's of the indian city's actually cheering on the British led mainly Indian mercenary's as they entered these region's, there reason for this joy at the arrival of the British was that the British brought law, proper court's and an end to the Tyranny and torture used by the Muslim overlord's under whom the majority of the Indian people's had suffered.

There too under British rule the people multiplied, instead of just road's the British brought the train and the industrial revolution with them.

Many places in Africa the British did good as well, compared there legacy to that of the Belgian's to see the extreme opposite between good and bad, unfortunately despite the imposition of school's, infrastructure, law and government when the British Empire withdrew finally after WW2 the result was the return to tribal nationality's within many of these former nation's, Kenya is a success but other places not so much so.

Evil action's of the British empire, making William Blye the infamous captain of the mutiny on the bounty fame governor of new south wales (Australia), he was a cruel and tyrannical man hated by most that knew him.
Seeing the Australian natives as sub human were in Africa they believed in the White man's Burden, there christian (Peculiar Victorian British interpretation of it) duty to educate, civilize and advance the African people's were as in Australia it was more about wiping them out, there were sadly even an entire aboriginal Australian family, murdered, skinned and stuffed then put on display by those whom believed rather in Evolution and interpreted the Australasian people's as a more primitive and less human species, of course they ignored all those kid's of mixed marriages also.
Another evil of the British Empire was it's strict class system, a hierarchy of caste that was only partially shrugged off after WW2 but which is today being restored by the Tory's, one in which the poor knew there place or would be whipped back into it and the rich were lord's over all they surveyed.

But I truly don't think it is simply as clear cut as good and evil, all empire's have both.

The Indian mutiny was an uprising by Madrasa (Asian - Pakistan, Afghan and India) Islamic Schooled muslim jihadist's, they once promised safe passage to the English civilian woman and children of a beleaguered and besieged east empire army (Indian Army under East Empire company control - mercenary) fort but then as they drifted past on the boat's they instead raped and murdered them all, this was the only time the British government sent the Actual British army to India and unlike the Indian Army soldier's these true professional soldiers quickly and efficiently if ruthlessly put down the Islamic uprising.

All Empire's commit crime's but all empire's also stop other's from doing pretty much the same as they are doing, if it had not been the British OR the French (Slightly less) with there far more humane policy's it may well have been the German's whose imperial period was rather short or by far the worst of all the Belgian's with there utterly inhumane treatment of those they DID conquer.

So I would say that the British Empire by balance was actually MORE good then evil but some of the thing's it did and/or that were done during the Imperial episode were indeed very evil while other's were both enlightened and indeed very good.

All i know is I enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world and not running through jungles, chucking spears and living in mud huts surrounded by sewerage.
To me thats a win



Rule Britannia

a reply to: TrueBrit

Its human nature to form empires and dominate weaker less developed cultures.

If Britain had not dominated those areas another country would have and maybe even dominated us. the Spanish, French or Portuguese had much more brutal track records in the areas they ruled.


Despite its faults and a few nasty actions (that where the exception not the norm) Britain was a reasonabley benign Empire which did tend to increase standards of living.

a reply to: droid56

We did a lot of bad s*** at a time when everyone was doing bad s*** to everyone else. 'Pure evil' is all hype when 'ruthless' is more accurate. Ironically, we became an Empire after other empires had taken us over too. It's part of the pattern of history.

But now in this time, the British Empire can only be seen as an agressive system of exploitation.

Quick update - there is no British Empire anymore.

a reply to: crazyewok

I do not see it that way.

The correct lesson to learn from Roman occupation, would have been to bind into every action undertaken by leaders of these isles, that no matter what, our military and other resources, should only ever have been used to defend this island, rather than create for it a greater pool of resources from which to work, because it is better to become extinct than bow to the call of tyranny.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
Alas, the lesson taught our nation by the Roman invasion...

What lesson was that? Bathe daily?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Nope. Learned that from the Vikings old chap.

The lesson was that it is better to be extinct than a dictator, better for a nations people to die entirely, than to live under rule from without, and MUCH better to die from a lack of resources, than to ever consider putting another nation under heel, either by military force or capitalistic endeavour, regardless of necessity.

In short, never be a Roman, when you could be something else.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
Nope. Learned that from the Vikings old chap.

Uh, the Romans were in Britain before the Norse. By about 700 years.

The lesson was...

...wash yourself, don't drink warm beer and eat boiled dreck. Sadly, this all evaporated after their departure and we were left with Heil Honey, I'm Home!'.

a reply to: droid56

On your list, let's not forget the most modern of your ruthless empires, the communist regimes the world over, and the Chinese, not to mention other smaller examples.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Rome may have turned up before the Vikings, but it was the Norse who taught us most about keeping ourselves in proper order.