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/AbstractLemgth United Nation Feb 23 '17

The UK is an admirable kingdom and are great at governing colonies

bengal, ireland, kenya, south africa, australia disagree

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u/WeighWord Britannia Feb 23 '17

What's your opinion on Rome? Were they merely tyrannical, genocidal oppressors who contributed nothing to the world?

Read a book, lad. There are multiple facets to history.

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u/AbstractLemgth United Nation Feb 23 '17

Funnily enough, I don't idealise the Roman Empire either. At least the Romans didn't asset strip the countries they invaded.

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u/WeighWord Britannia Feb 23 '17

Again, it seems as though you've not listened to other people's responses properly.

Nobody is holding up the British Empire as a champion of morality. Especially not by today's standards. What people are saying is that whilst you have atrocities, you also have benefits. It isn't black and white, so stop treating it as such. Appreciating the historical complexity of these things and their influence on forming the world we know today is important.

At least the Romans didn't asset strip the countries they invaded

Wrong.

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u/AbstractLemgth United Nation Feb 23 '17

Were they merely tyrannical, genocidal oppressors who contributed nothing to the world?

Again, like I said in another comment, i'm specifically saying that the 'benefits' of the Empire to the countries it colonised are meaningless (if at all existent!) compared to the countless dead at the hands of the British. I have no interest in precisely quantifying the 'good' that was done, because as far as i'm aware, there is no good which will have outweighed a crime against humanity and the intentional stagnation of an entire country.