Monday, November 05, 2012

Empire -- Lest we forget

Thanks to Nick Russon, this piece from the Telegraph:

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.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.Among this select group of nations are far-off destinations such as Guatemala, Tajikistan and the Marshall Islands, as well some slightly closer to home, such as Luxembourg.

The analysis is contained in a new book, All the Countries We’ve Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To. Stuart Laycock, the author, has worked his way around the globe, through each country alphabetically, researching its history to establish whether, at any point, they have experienced an incursion by Britain.

2 comments:

  1. Rule Brittania, Brittania waives the rules...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5:11 pm

    Sweden, Guatemala and the Ivory Coast are the true oddballs -- they at least have coastlines the Navy could get to.

    ReplyDelete