I like how people from Europe post on Youtube talk about how they believe US has been going to war for hundreds and hundreds years when Europe Nations have been at war amongst themselves forever.
I don't think any logical european or asian has ever been so naive to claim that there have been no wars between different nations for 4000+ years.
The only difference today is media.
About 1000 years ago, long before the United States (or even Britain as we know it), if two european countries went to war, people wouldn't be aware of it around the world.
If the Italian city-states were to declare war on the Spanish city-states then it's exceedingly likely that most people uninvolved, who were aware of the war, would look down on the parties involved.
However, if this war occured, between Italians and Spaniards, you wouldn't have people in Medieval China and India, and other places, aware of it.
Therefore, they wouldn't be able to criticise.
Now adays, if a country goes to war, it get's spread around in about 2 minutes, to the rest of the entire world.
Every bloke with a TV and his mother will know.
And all these people, completely uninvolved, will not know all the facts about the war. They won't know why it started, who started it, how it's happening or what it will take to end it. Instead, just as they did 1000 years ago, they'll likely sit there and think "Oh, that's bad of them. They shouldn't be fighting."
This happens today when countries are in civil wars. It happens in international wars.
The only reason the Americans seem to get even more of it though, is because you're a massive powerhouse of a country, an economic giant and one of the superpowers of the world.
So when you go to war or do something military, everyone knows and everyone is free to judge.
And if you look bigger than your opponent, you're going to be criticised for it. Even if your tiny enemy started it and really deserved the war or what have you.
This happens with every country ever, it has happened since human kind first started warring and it will happen forever. Just because you see it as against you and your country it means you think it's highly personal and only happening to you. It's not.
It's a human condition to feel that way. I wouldn't judge anyone for it. But you should just keep in mind that it's not something new, it's not something personal to you, it's not something that is only directed at you, and it's not something that will ever stop. You just have to put up with it.
I guess the British weren't the ones who tried to ensalve the Native Americans or just kill them off for land, or bring slaves to the American Continent, or wipe out African villages and then crush any rebellions to keep the native populations under control so they could establish more colonies. It was totally the Oil taking Americans who did those things, not the British Empire.
I don't want to retype everything I said before.
http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=191239.msg5120486#msg5120486IN relation to the bringing slavery and endorsing it in America;
This is true, however slavery in general can't be acclaimed purely to the British. The Slave Trade was run by all communities throughout Europe with colonies in America, including the French, Spanish, Portuguese, British and Dutch.
In 1803 Denmark was the first country to abolish the Slave Trade, followed by Britain in 1807.
Britain then worked and forged treaties with most of the other European countries involved in the Slave Trade to abolish it. Including the 1810 Anglo-Portuguese Treaty (Portugal was credited as the most prominent Slave Traders), the 1813 Anglo-Swedish Treaty which full abolished the Slave Trade, the 1814 Treaty of Paris which had France abolish the Slave Trade in five years time and then the 1814 Anglo-Netherlands Treaty which outlawed Slave Trade.
In 1808 Britain formed the West African Squadron, which in peace time in 1815 (Following all those treaties), began a 50 year campaign to prevent further Slavery in West Africa.
The British were one of a few involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade, but we were also one of the most prominent in abolishing it. Noteworthy is the American continuation of internal Slave Trading following the banning of the import of slaves in 1807. The Internal Slave Trade wasn't ended until 1865 following the American Civil War.
Just note that it took the Americans a Civil War to end Slavery within the country. You banned more slaves coming in for 60 years, but you didn't set them free.
My point here is that Britain ended slave trading in 1807.
You criticise Britain for bringing slaves to America.
America became an independant country in 1776 (
Officially acknowledged by Britain in 1783).
It was 31 years between America becoming it's own country and Britain stopping it's slave trade.
During that time, the USA continued to import and put slaves to use.
Following the number of British treaties quoted above, the American people still didn't ban slavery until the
American Civil War ended, in 1865.
Making it in total 89 years that the USA was it's own country and continued to use slavery. (I'll be fair and say that slavery started to be stopped at the beginning of the war (1861), meaning it was only 85 years.)
And then it was 58 years that slavery continued since the British stopped bringing slaves to the USA.
Everytime an American throws the enslaving of African tribes and trading them in America, they forget that they themselves were a part of it, even as an indepedent country. They also forget that the slave trade was funded and committed by the rest of Europe too, not just Britain.
I've no idea how to sort out the date in a quote, and since the topic is too old, I've had to make the quote myself.
So, for now, let's just imagine that I did write that back in 1980. :3
