Happy Treason Day!

[SlowwHand]

Or lose.

Mexico used Texas settlers as a buffer against Comanche.
I guess the French don't meet certain criteria, to some.

[allok]

It's only treason if you loose.

this is true

[Egbert]

I do not think the secession of the Confederate States of America was treason, they lost.

Nor do I think the secession of the United States of America was treason, they did get away with it.

Both looked to go their own way.

[Alexander's Horse]

I always cheer for the redcoats. I can't help it, even though I know the American colonists have legitimate grievances.

The trouble is they paint the magnificent British army so badly in shows like Son of Liberty, or that movie Mel Gibson did, like cartoon villains.

The finest military since the Romans they were, the British Navy peerless. Tough bastards too, no doubt about it, the ultimate professionals. AFAIK the British army behaved honourably in the war of independence. That came through at the surrender at Yorktown.

London certainly bungled its relations with the American colonies, a mistake they did not repeat with Australia or Canada. We benefitted from the lessons learned. Both dominions got self-government early because London was not going to repeat the same mistakes.

Even without the American colonies Britain went on to create the largest empire the world as ever seen, and they did it all with tiny forces and a lot of skill. The same regiments demonized in the revolutionary wars go on to defeat the monster Napoleon. Their battle honours are incredible to see even today. One year they can be fighting Afghans, the next year Zulu and the next Germans.

When I was at school we still had old maps of the British empire on the school room wall, between a quarter and a third of the globe was coloured in salmon pink or red for British. It was something to be proud of to be part of it. You were as much at home in London or Sydney or Ottawa or Capetown if you were a white British subject, an amazing thing. It wasn't all bad. Racism was it's downfall. But there was this kind of global community that you belonged to which even school children could marvel at.

God save the Queen. I'm still proud to have served in Her Majesty's forces, worn her uniform, used her ammunition.

[giblets]

If Napoleon was a monster how was the British Empire not monstrous?

[The Mad Monk]

Redcoats, eh?

[Egbert]

I always cheer for the redcoats. I can't help it, even though I know the American colonists have legitimate grievances.

The trouble is they paint the magnificent British army so badly in shows like Son of Liberty, or that movie Mel Gibson did, like cartoon villains.

The finest military since the Romans they were, the British Navy peerless. Tough bastards too, no doubt about it, the ultimate professionals. AFAIK the British army behaved honourably in the war of independence. That came through at the surrender at Yorktown.

London certainly bungled its relations with the American colonies, a mistake they did not repeat with Australia or Canada. We benefitted from the lessons learned. Both dominions got self-government early because London was not going to repeat the same mistakes.

Even without the American colonies Britain went on to create the largest empire the world as ever seen, and they did it all with tiny forces and a lot of skill. The same regiments demonized in the revolutionary wars go on to defeat the monster Napoleon. Their battle honours are incredible to see even today. One year they can be fighting Afghans, the next year Zulu and the next Germans.

When I was at school we still had old maps of the British empire on the school room wall, between a quarter and a third of the globe was coloured in salmon pink or red for British. It was something to be proud of to be part of it. You were as much at home in London or Sydney or Ottawa or Capetown if you were a white British subject, an amazing thing. It wasn't all bad. Racism was it's downfall. But there was this kind of global community that you belonged to which even school children could marvel at.

God save the Queen. I'm still proud to have served in Her Majesty's forces, worn her uniform, used her ammunition.

Awesome.

This is the best post I have seen on the Apolyton Off Topic.

[ricketyclik]

When I was at school we still had old maps of the British empire on the school room wall, between a quarter and a third of the globe was coloured in salmon pink or red for British. It was something to be proud of to be part of it. You were as much at home in London or Sydney or Ottawa or Capetown if you were a white British subject, an amazing thing. It wasn't all bad. Racism was it's downfall. But there was this kind of global community that you belonged to which even school children could marvel at.

Hah! I remember those, and the portraits of the Queen. My reaction was quite different though. (I'm at least ten years younger than you I think, and my parents were very young - baby boomers, and republicans at that).

My thoughts were something like "That god-awful woman is keeping me trapped in this school room via her subservient teacher subjects. F*ck the British Empire, they can take their white supremacist elitism, class structure and guilt and stick it where the sun don't shine".

[ricketyclik]

[Alexander's Horse]

yes well I have had that reaction too but the point of the thread was to troll the Americans

[Egbert]

The British Empire

[Egbert]

yes well I have had that reaction too but the point of the thread was to troll the Americans

Uh?

I thought the point was to stir the Polytubbies who said the CSA were a bunch of traitors.

OTH Thoth started the thread. Thoth, old chap, were you indeed stirring those who called the CSA a bunch of traitors?

[Thoth]

Uh?

I thought the point was to stir the Polytubbies who said the CSA were a bunch of traitors.

OTH Thoth started the thread. Thoth, old chap, were you indeed stirring those who called the CSA a bunch of traitors?

Not specifically....just stirring at random and seeing what floated to the surface.

[rah]

There's always at least two sides to every conflict and the winner greatly influences who are viewed as the good guys were and who were the bad guys.

But it's hard to influence the actual two sides. They both know they were the good guys.

[Alexander's Horse]

yes although if the American colonies had stayed under the crown its kind of interesting to speculate what might happened, not all bad.

You see like even on this forum today the Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and Canadians kind of still feel like brothers or cousins on some deep level. It's hard to explain I guess.