As many have commented in the past, being colonised/civilised by the English was the best thinhlg that ever happened to a country.
As many have commented in the past, being colonised/civilised by the English was the best thinhlg that ever happened to a country.
OK a very quick list (I'm not claiming it's exhaustive) of former British (which I think Arsenal conflates with English) colonies, dominions, territories, sub-territories etc which have allegedly been "civilised" by the English (which I think he conflates with British)* - and for which the natives presumably ought to be eternally grateful as it "was the best thing that ever happened to them)
Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Papua New Guinea , The Bahamas , Bahrain , Barbados, Belize, Botswana , Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Egypt, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Israel, Iraq, Ireland (Eire), Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya , Kiribati, Kuwait, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Singapore, Maldives , Malta, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania,Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vanuatu, Yemen, South Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
The point is Arsenal, could you name just ONE of those countries above which is clamouring to be back in the bosom of Mother England?
No, I didn't think so - what a thoroughly beastly attitiude these foreign-johnnies have.
* This conflation of England with Britain is one of the things that pisses the rest of us in the UK right off. Now I'll concede that you may not have been conflating England with Britain (although I'm certain you were) - in which case fair enough but the list of countries which ought to be counting their lucky stars for the influence of the English would be a very much smaller one, wouldn't it?
Not that it is much consequence, you could have added Hong Kong and swathes of mainland China.
If Elizabeth I had given birth to a child, it would have been an enormous scandal, as she was never married. No way would that child have been in line for the throne. I doubt very much that she was trying for an heir. Charles II had 14 illegitimate children and none of them inheritd the throne. It went to his brother James II.
Colonization was a catastrophe for most of the colonies. If we look at how Third World countries have done, it's obvious that the ones that were not colonized, such as Jaoan and Thailand, have performed far better than the ones that were, such as Burma, Cambodia, India, Bagladesh and the long list provided by Scottie.
Old pointless argument. No one will be convinced.
fountainhall (April 23rd, 2016)
Let's take our Antipodean cousins. When the English got there it was just a big heap of dust. So we invented Australia. Now its quite good although still under the ultimate sovereignty of The Queen of England, of course.
And yet if you look at Scotty's list, you'll be hard pressed to find another handful or so whose post-colonial existence has not been marred by civil wars, massive spilling of blood, humungous corruption, dictatorships and a host of other little nasties. Mind you, though, compared to the Dutch and the Belgians, the Brits were positive fairy godmothers when they were in charge.
Fuck off fountainhall. You've spoilt my fun by introducing a note of realism into the discussion. A good number of our colonies were left as functioning parliamentary democracies. If they've screwed it up since we left..well.
I am appalled at your ignorance of history. Read here for starters:Originally Posted by arsenal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943
Australia, and same for Northern America, was not a "big heap of dust". They had been inhabited for millennia before the British arrived and wiped out most of the native population.
I don't think the Boer War, the Bengal Famine, and the genocide of the native Americans and Australians are funny.
Last edited by christianpfc; April 23rd, 2016 at 12:37.
The English have also shown most of Europe how to govern a country, forge lasting alliances, trade across the world and be held in high esteem by other nations while still being able to kick arse when required. For England and St George.
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