Current Events > The UK was the mightiest and most powerful nation in the world in 1920.

(+) Yeah! (+)

102 years later...wtf happened?

Decolonization

I think youre getting the 1700s confused with a 100 years agos

The UK was not the most powerful nation in 1920 wtf.

It probably had one of the best armies since it was ahead of the curve in training soldiers if that's what you mean but it was just "one of the big boys." The empire was fucked at that point

Well they had an empire that spanned the entire world.

Now look at them.

That's my point.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

The UK was not the most powerful nation in 1920 wtf.

It was the largest it ever got around that point. Then the World Wars and Japanese invasion of British territories in Asia and the independence of India happened.

baiken2 posted...

Well they had an empire that spanned the entire world.

Now look at them.

That's my point.

Bro never passed kindergarten

I would disagree with the notion that largest means more powerful.

You remind me of Russia constatly bragging about how much stuff they have only to routinely get their shit pushed in by everyone.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

I would disagree with the notion that largest means more powerful.

You remind me of Russia constatly bragging about how much stuff they have only to routinely get their shit pushed in by everyone.

You are missing the point.

In 1920 they conquered large portions of the world.

In 2022 they don't know if they will retain Scotland for long.

Do you not find this kinda...

I don't think the UK was more powerful than the US during post WWI, lol.

Wood and ink

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qNRQmCUagrA&feature=share

The latest bunch of Conservative screw-ups and piss poor Prime Ministers is what happened.

Inb4 the nu UK

There are a lot of factors, but my understanding is that the first woman prime minister sent police in on horseback to violently assault the working class for striking for better conditions. Things seem to have calmed down somewhat after her reign, with John Major being such a moderate step down that political spoof show Spitting Image lost a lot of its luster after Milk Snatcher got booted, but the general uptick in right-wing ideology, particularly anti-inmigrant and anti-queer viewpoints, brought extremist sacks of shit to the forefront like Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage. This led to Brexit, which fucked Britain so hard in the ass that they were paying more money for food items that had to be downgraded specifically for the UK, and has led to economic crisis after economic crisis as the conservatives spend hundreds of millions of pounds commemorating dead royals as the value of their currency continues to bottom instead of feeding their people before the country goes into default.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

There are British colonies who were taken over as recently as 1954.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I was assuming British Empire.

The British Empire was a disgusting blight on humanity and it's for the good of all that it declined.

2 World wars broke them.

pinky0926 posted...

The British Empire was a disgusting blight on humanity and it's for the good of all that it declined.

Lies

ColdOne666 posted...

Lies

Our empire consisted of raping and pillaging countries and sticking a flag in their soil until they were brave enough to tell us to piss off. That's why when decolonisation happened we just became a sad little island again.

I get the whole global economics argument but I suppose you could go and ask basically any of those countries how they felt about the occupation and whether all of that infinite human suffering was worth the tea and biscuits.

To be fair there's a reason why English was the global language for a while and its taught in schools of many other countries

pinky0926 posted...

Our empire consisted of raping and pillaging countries and sticking a flag in their soil until they were brave enough to tell us to piss off. That's why when decolonisation happened we just became a sad little island again.

I get the whole global economics argument but I suppose you could go and ask basically any of those countries how they felt about the occupation and whether all of that infinite human suffering was worth the tea and biscuits.

Not a defense of England but I will say this isn't unique

this is what the most powerful side always does throughout history

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Not a defense of England but I will say this isn't unique

this is what the most powerful side always does throughout history

I just find it somewhat ironic when people will defend these old colonial powers and lament the fall of the empire but then voice fear or derision at china or russia attempting to do exactly the same thing.

Like how do people think India was won over, cool conversation and an exchange of gin and tonic?

Like...yes. Becoming a global power is bad, especially for the people who are in the firing line.