“The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only 22 which have never experienced an invasion by the British.” So are Mali, Chad and Belarus next then? (In fact, since early 2013, Britain has been intervening militarily on the side of the French, who are using airlift supplied by Canada and the USA to intervene in Mali.) In this connection, it is sobering to reflect that leading British politicians openly justify or even celebrate the crimes of colonialism. Tony Blair infamously stated that the British Empire was a “remarkable achievement.” Gordon Brown declared that Britain should stop apologising for colonialism, although nobody has been able to find any evidence of such an apology. David Cameron prefers to speak about colonialism in terms of the great “benefits” that Britain gave to the world in the 19th century and declares that overall, Britain’s “contribution” was a “good one.” The crimes of British colonialism in India alone resulted in the deaths of over 20 million from famine alone.
For his part, Stephen Harper, echoing the Cameron approach, shamelessly hails the “benign” “benefits” of the British Empire, sponsors lavish royal visits and restores “royal” to the navy and air force. It is unfashionable, Mr. Harper acknowledges, to speak of colonial legacies as anything other than oppressive, although there is no evidence of any Tory official speaking against British oppression: “But in the Canadian context, the actions of the British Empire were largely benign and occasionally brilliant.” Speaking as a colonialist, British magnanimity, he acclaimed, ensured the survival of French culture; Québec is an oppressed nation without the right of self-determination but with a culture that is Québecois and not French, which is a language. British approaches to the aboriginal population, “while far from perfect, were some of the fairest and most generous of the period.” The Beothuk and Mi’kmaq will be pleased. So far as the native peoples are concerned, of course, the “approaches” were genocide. which was “far from perfect”: apart from the Beothuk, the First Nations actually survived, a testament to their resistance.

21 of the 22 countries that have not been invaded by Britain
Jasper Copping, The Telegraph (Nov. 4, 2012 ) – EVERY SCHOOLBOY used to know that at the height of the empire, almost a quarter of the atlas was coloured pink, showing the extent of British rule.
But that oft recited fact dramatically understates the remarkable global reach achieved by this country.
A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 per cent of the countries around the globe. Continue reading →
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