cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26015783
source: https://www.statista.com/chart/3441/countries-never-invaded-by-britain/
source’s source: https://archive.org/details/allcountriesweve0000layc/mode/2up
The map is bullshit tbh. It includes countries where the brits actually helped achieve independence (the Baltics after WWII).
The definition of invasion according to the book is apparently “has fought in conflicts in territory”.
E.g Sweden is uninvaded according to this map. If Norway invades Sweden and the UK goes to help Sweden, it’ll count as the brits having invaded Sweden for this map.
Yup, when did Britain invade Poland, Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia?
To clarify a lot of confusion I see in the comments. This book considers a country to be invaded when:
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At any point during the history of England, Whales, northern Ireland, Scotland, and or significant predecessors any army of theirs “invaded”,
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Counting any part of the land that is now considered part of the UN country. So not only from when the country existed,
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And being invaded meaning they had some control over, or fought conflicts in the territory.
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They saw the Flag of Ivory Coast and thought they allready invaded it.
Looks like the US is going to try to break this record
22 countries have never been invaded by the British yet.
At first I thought that it was a bit of a stretch to include Brazil there, but I think that you can say that if you consider the English corsairs/pirates activity during the early period of Portuguese colonization.
Edit: also, probably that’s the reason why the indland countries in South America are out of this list.
Rule #1 to not get invaded: Hide your country as centrally as possible in your continent.
Hmmm.
When were Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain , Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria or Romania invaded by the British?
- Netherlands - Holmes’ Bonfire, 1666, 1944
- Belgium - Napoleonic wars — Waterloo
- France - (as England) 1230, 1337-60, 1369-89, 1373, 1415-53, 1562, (as Britain) 1794, 1795, 1813, 1815, 1944
- Germany - 1914-18, 1944-5
- Spain - 1808-13
- Italy - 1944-45
- Austria - 1945
Rampjaar. 1672. We where the dutch republic back then so it included belgium, Luxembourg. We had a lot of wars before and after between us and the English in which the english took a lot of our colonies by fotce.
Belgium was “invaded” during WW1 and again during WW2.
Spain: ever heard of Gibraltar?
The English fucked with everyone who had a ship back then.
France and Britain have a long history of warfare.
I think it would be easier to list the periods where France and Britain were NOT at war which each other rather than the opposite.
I think they still deserve some invasion for their awful food (jelly and honey glazed carrots). They need some education and it can only happens with some kind of war.
Amazing insight…
Warfare and invasion are not the same thing.
Are you saying the British never sent troops into French territory? Any incursion by armed forces into another state’s territory is the very definition of invasion.
There’s been a lot of occupation as well. E.g. the hundred year war.
If we can say Russia invaded Ukraine, England invaded France
You’re trying to be a pedant, yet you appear foolish.
Ignoring history and being pedant on the Internet are not the same thing. But you’re doing a good job at both.
Germany, and probably Austria: World War 2
At the time the Netherlands and Belgium were occupied by Germany. Don’t know if that counts.
France: Probably during the Hundred Years’ war.
Weird to exclude Luxembourg from that as they were also occupied by Germany and freed by the Allied forces
Edit: checked the book and:
- Netherlands, The: it counts the Battle of the Sluys and other various navel battles fought on Dutch territory as valid examples
- Belgium: it counts the battles that were fought on the land that is now Belgium, so not counting from its creation. It also counts assisting the local people, so for example fighting off the French in defense together with the Flemish
So the book is taking “invasion” more lenient than the comment section:
- The act of invading, especially the entrance of an armed force into a territory to conquer.
The introduction also states “invasion, had some control over, or fought conflicts in the territory”
Italy, probably WW2 too (operation dragoon)
Maybe they are counting any wars where the British fought? If so, the two world wars would account for a lot of it.
Yeah, they are. It’s bullshit.
Still Switzerland? We weren’t invaded in WW2 or WW1.
Switzerland was a part of the wars of the 2nd, 5th and 6th coalition against Napoleon against the British.
Parts of probably, e.g. Gibraltar
The Britain’s invaded Britain. Power move.
I guess the civil war counts?
That’s the American Revolution.
So many times depending on who you trace modern Brits to. Romans invaded the Celts. Saxons invaded the Romans. Normans invaded the Saxons. And that’s just England. Wales and Scotland could probably come up with another dozen plus examples between them
Horseshit, half the countries in the world didn’t even bother getting around to existing until long after the British put the great project on pause
To distinguish Chad and Romania, Romania should add the UK flag in a corner (like New Zealand)
Finland, as we were part of the non-invaded Sweden
Their politics still sucks to this day.
US?
Edit: I am incorrect. I didn’t see the “never” in the title.
