r/europe • u/MarktpLatz Lower Saxony (Germany) • Feb 21 '17

What do you know about... the UK?

This is the sixth part of our ongoing weekly series about the countries of Europe. You can find an overview here.

Todays country:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The UK is the second most populous state in the EU. Famous for once being the worlds leading power, reigning over a large empire, it has recently taken the decision to exit the EU.

So, what do you know about the UK?

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u/kervinjacque French American Feb 22 '17

  • What I know about UK is that it was a great naval power back then and the world went by "Pax Britannica" .

  • Thanks to France, America defeated Great Britain and gave all of us such pleasure.

  • Great Britain is a great country to reside in.

  • I like British accents.

  • British women are pretty hot imo.

  • They built a very beautiful palace called "Crystal Palace" I wish I was alive to see such a beautiful palace finished.

  • The UK has a respectable professional army

  • The UK has a remarkable history and anyone would never get bored learning about what went on in the UK

  • They have the BBC and I LOVE BBC so much!

  • The UK are very into politics and it can get a bit messy and may look like it from an outsiders perspective.

  • The UK is an admirable kingdom and are great at governing colonies. It's why a lot there ex colonies are doing so well, (South Africa , India , America, etc.)

  • The United Kingdom's Empire is something any British citizen should be proud of imo.

  • Also, One direction came from the UK.

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '17 edited Mar 06 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

Uh, no. Britain was incredibly generous and great at governing colonies, in hindsight.

Honestly, USA just didn't want to be subjected to British rule anymore.

If you want a case of a country who sucked ass at governing colonies look at Spain.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

Yeah, let's look at South Africa, that turned out really well. /s

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17 edited Mar 06 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

At the time the US was a relatively unimportant back water. The real prize was India.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

And the sugar islands.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

Of course, improvements could always be made, and at a certain point some countries just want to be independent. We just happened to be the first.

Speaking relative to others, Britain was the best colonizer. They built infrastructure, had the best political influence, and the fairest system. USA wouldn't have been as strong and prosperous as it was if it wasn't for the British way of colonizing and managing.

And I cannot in good faith say they were awful or that they sucked.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '17

Indian here - they sucked.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

What a load of nonsense. The only colonies in which infrastructure was barely ever built was in Africa, as far as I know. To complain that Spain didn't build infrastructure in the Americas is nonsense. You can see Spanish architecture widely in California for instance.
Not to mention we brought the first European cattle and horses to the Americas. Which allowed cities to prosper.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '17

In India too, but they only built it so they could transport tea and other stuff to the ports.