The 400 Year Rise & Fall of The UK

Britain was once the preeminent Global superpower 

as a pioneer of industrialization that would reshape the future and a reach that spanned across 

the planet the Sun never set on the British Empire until it did so what the happened to my beloved 

Britain turn on any news station today and you'll see sites of looted shops smashed up streets 

and Hooligans clashing with Riot police but the recent riots in the Southport area unfortunately 

are nothing new civil unrest happened back in 81 85 and 1990 to 2001 and 2005 also saw tensions 

reach boiling point in Bradford and Birmingham in 2010 angry students smashed up the conservative 

party headquarters after the government hiked up University fees one year later a police 

shooting triggered unrest across the entire Capital every time riots break out experts ask 

the same question how much of this is caused by socioeconomic policies and culture clashes 

and how much is Just opportunistic destruction fueled by far-right groups and leftwing 

agitators the answer depends on who you are economists will cite the UK's High inflation and 

stagnant wages as root causes the UK may still be in the top 10 economies by GDP but it won't be 

for much longer and its most immediate issues have gone from controlling its Global Empire 

to managing its rampant poverty meanwhile some social scientists point to public spending cuts 

and austerity others say Mass immigration and an unaff voidable National Health Service have 

strained infrastructure to Breaking Point then there are the artists and entertainers despite 

the British accent being being popular amongst Hollywood Productions British influence isn't what 

it was since the days of Brit pop and Beat Mania before Harry Potter was adapted into movies the 

British film industry was on life support as for football the less said the better but what really 

rubs salt in the wound is how Britain's status stands in stark contrast to its former glory the 

little island almost dominated the entire world through military might and Naval power then it 

ruled through industry and commerce during the 20th century the underdog helped fend off Global 

threat to become a political Powerhouse however slowly but surely that status has been diminishing 

they say in life everything moves slowly until it happens all at once so was the United Kingdom's 

decline really slow and steady or did a few bad decisions suddenly shove the superpower to the 

brink of irrelevance it's time to learn how history works as we track the 400-year rise and 

fall of Britain here's British history in shell after building Stonehenge for some reason Britains 

were invaded by Romans then Anglo-Saxons and finally French Vikings who took over in 1066 this 

triggered almost 1,000 years of fighting between England and France however that wasn't the last 

time Britain was invaded in 1797 an Irish American Commander LED revolutionary French forces to 

invade the quaint Welsh coastal town of fishguard but they stopped pillaging and surrendered when 

they saw British infantry lining the coast except it wasn't Red Coats it was women whose traditional 

red shaes and tall black hats looked like soldiers from a distance it was only once Napoleon 

bonapart had been defeated during the Battle of waloo that the Brits and Frenchies decided to 

bury the hatchet once and for all not because the two Nations got bored of fighting a neighbor who 

was only 21 miles away the tide had been turning ever since the age of Discovery technology had 

Advanced so much between the 1400s and 1700s that discovering new trade routs became a top priority 

power shifted away from geographical dominance to economic strength things went into overdrive when 

the likes of Spain England and France discovered the Americans with two brand new continents 

Prime for the taking the European powers raced for first place whichever country controlled 

the new lands would surely control the world France and Spain were well positioned to cross the 

Atlantic with a sizable land mass and population to supply resources and Manpower Great Britain 

was much much smaller yet strategically placed a wide open shop across the Atlantic meant 

a shorter Journey it also provided a strong reconnaissance for competing vessels enemy ships 

would think twice about using the English Channel but Britain's Advantage would be lost without 

footing in the new world so Britain began Colonial ventures in Earnest by settling in Jamestown 

Virginia in 1607 colonies sprouted up across the Eastern Seaboard to become vital sources 

of sought after raw materials tobacco sugar and cotton for sugar plantations Britain also used 

its colonies in the Caribbean what can we say if you've been overthrown by Romans and Vikings and 

even the French you pick up a thing or two about invading then in 1588 the world saw the might of 

Her Majesty's nautical power when the British Navy defeated the Spanish Armada this turning point 

in world history set Britain on the fast track to World dominance King Philip II of Spain sent a 

fleet of 130 huge ships to overthrow the British Monarchy but Britain's Navy of smaller vessels 

and Merchant boats outmaneuvered their formidable opponents this was the period's geopolitical 

equivalent of being the new guy in prison who knocks out the gang leader in a single punch 

with military Supremacy firmly established and the reputation to back it up England doubled down 

on its imperialist project in 1600 the British East India Company was granted a royal Charter 

to establish British trade dominance in the East with Colonial project picking up speed in all 

directions the stage was set for Merry Old England to become the indisputable world leader in might 

money and influence sure it lost its American colonies to traitorous revolutionaries in 1776 

but that wasn't the end of the world if settlers really want to revolt over a small ta tax just 

so citizens could be taxed higher on State and local sales federal estate gasoline tobacco gift 

tattoos candy and pies and have to declare their federal income tax forever even if they don't live 

in the United States of America well then let them besides Britain got to keep its land speculation 

and Investments we didn't even lose trade so while America incurred debt for their independence 

Britain wrote the whole thing off as a business expense anyway the point is that despite some 

blips things were going strong for the small island yet there were still Great Heights to 

climb before it came crashing down the Industrial Revolution began in Britain so add Black Lung and 

global warming to the list of British achievements it started with advancements from the Agricultural 

Revolution things like selective breeding of livestock and crop rotation helped create food 

surplus to support the growing population this freed up labor to move to more urban areas in 

search of industrial work then James Watts refined the steam engine in what was the 1760s version 

of unveiling the smartphone the world was never the same after that by 17 64 the spinning Journey 

was invented and in 1769 the waterf frame hit the scene by 1784 when the power loom appeared the 

entire textile industry had been revolutionized sure a few little kids lost their limbs cleaning 

out the threshing machines but you can't make an industrial revolution without breaking some legs 

mass production was in capitalism was here to stay factories with a hot new way to structure 

societies adopting industrialization ahead of European Rivals paid off literally the industry 

was making more profit than in colonial trade of course it helped to have a vast Trade Network to 

export goods no wonder Britain earned the name the workshop of the world she was producing 

most of the world's coal iron and textiles all that money helped fortify the country's 

financial institutions throughout the 19th century Britain was able to maintain its position 

as the world's leading economic power in 1851 the great Exposition was staged in London to showcase 

the nation's might however some Scholars argue that Britain wasn't so great during the Industrial 

Revolution according to Jeffrey G Williamson Britain's economic growth was slower than expected 

He suggests the cost of wars with France hindered growth more than we'd like to admit as the century 

closed Germany and the United States of America emerged as industrial powers to and they didn't 

have the Head Start or Trade Network of Britain so how much of Britain's economic strength was 

an over speculation and was its military Edge really that powerful well economists were 

about to find out because at the start of the 20th century the world's Empires decided 

to put everything on the line competition for colonies fights over resources and stockpiling of 

weapons men superpowers were poised for a conflict multiethnic groups were seeking Independence 

in the likes of the Ottoman and Ostro Hungarian Empires which meant discontent and Uprising were 

in the air add to that a Europe divided over two prime alliances Britain France and Russia on one 

side and Germany Austria Hungary and Italy on the other and any small conflict would Cascade into to 

a broader War the Powder Keg had been set all that was needed was a match the assassination of arch 

duuk France Ferdinand by Bosnian Serb nationalists in 1914 caused a chain reaction of events which 

culminated in Austria Hungary declaring war on Serbia to make a long story short World War I 

sucked sure it gave us black out of Goes Forth but at the cost of 16 million lives though some 

resources estimate the death toll was between 15 and 20 million and once the fighting was over 

all the debt and borrowing Britain incurred to the campaign had shifted the country from the 

world's biggest lender to one of its biggest debtors the total cost of the war for Britain was 

about $35 billion at the time adjusting for modern inflation that's closer to 735 billion and with a 

lower population of young men many returning home with deep psychological issues it's not hard to 

imagine how this impacted Family Life employment and the economy World War II only compounded 

the damage although Britain emerged Victorious once again the national debt dwarfed that from 

World War I at the end of 1945 the national debt was about $27 billion which was about 270% of the 

country's GDP justing for modern inflation that's just over $470 billion over the next 30 Years 

the debt Rose to $64 billion in nominal terms parts of this had to do with having to rebuild the 

country infrastructure was decimated during the blitz but out of the rubble came a strong sense 

of commanderie which resulted in the creation of the National Health Service however maintaining 

such a project has not been easy or cheap between 2022 and 2023 the NHS cost 81.7 billion with 

almost 95% of that funding day-to-day items like medicine and staff salaries to the Brits 

its National Healthcare System is more than a Progressive Medical policy it's a symbol of the 

British fighting Spirit unfortunately rebuilding Britain was fraught with difficulty Industries 

which had power with the nation for ages were now outdated yet postwar Britain was slow to react 

coal mining steel production and textiles might have been money makers during the 19th century 

but the 20th century was all about Innovation America and West Germany invested in modernizing 

Industries Britain lost its Competitive Edge Plus the breakup of the British Empire radically 

reduced the government's finances political influence military presence and cultural identity 

when India and Pakistan became independent in 1947 it was the beginning of the end access to key 

resources and markets became harder Britain was in a precarious position unfortunately a series 

of policy missteps took things from bad to worse austerity and public Cuts increased social unrest 

and led to turbulent Economic Times unemployment and inflation were common especially during the 

1970s this peaked with the winter of discontent of 78 and 79 when strikes became widespread there was 

a housing crisis poor urban planning and a decline in quality of life some of the homes built during 

the 60s were closer to homes of East Germany than European neighbors and as the population grew the 

NHS took on more strain despite Cuts in response Britain encouraged immigration with many migrants 

coming from former colonies to work in the NHS unfortunately an increase in ethnic diversity also 

saw a rise in racist groups like the skin heads of the national fronts and the controversial British 

national party the 60s and70s were marked by financial hardship racial conflict and discontent 

international relations became worse during the War take the case of Roger Hollis he was a British 

intelligence officer and director of MI5 from 1956 to 1965 he was also a Soviet spy Britain was in 

such disarray that an agent of the USSR reached the second in command position of the country's 

entire intelligence Network however it should be noted that technically Hollis was cleared of 

any wrongdoing mi5's official website Margaret Thatcher and the Soviets all said he was not a 

traitor whether that's true or some deep State 4D chess move doesn't matter what matters is the 

fact that Britain's reputation as an international Vanguard was evaporating rapidly look at the 

folkland war which technically wasn't a war it was a conflict to date many Britain still 

take issue with Margaret Thatcher's decision to defend Britain's overseas territory when they 

were invaded by Argentina's authoritarian military jenta following audar in 1976 the jenta ruled 

Argentina with an iron fist they had a penchant for forced disappearances torture and dropping 

dissident out of helicopters the folkland islands are 300 mi from the southern coast of Argentina 

so there has been a territorial dispute ever since Britain beat out France and Spain to establish 

control so when the Juna decided to take over in 1982 they deployed several Landing ships troops 

and a naval fleet of Destroyers frig and Corvettes plus air support as backup in response Britain 

sent a larger more comprehensive task force 8,000 Mi across the Atlantic IC ocean composed 

of better trained better equipped soldiers 74 days later Argentina surrendered 18 months 

later the humiliated military dictatorship was overthrown civilian rule returned in a callback 

to the victory over the Spanish Armada Britain's Naval dominance had reinvigorated Britain's image 

even if it was just in political circles but with the '90s on the horizon the admiration for Britain 

would return to the masses Spice Girls Oasis Harry Potter cool Britannia was a cultural phenomenon 

it might be hard to imagine in an ear of Kpop and Taylor Swift but Britain's cultural dominance 

in the leadup to the Millennium made Beatle Mania seemed like a dead meme bands like blur pulp and 

the progy dominated music charts across the world films like train spotting and four weddings and 

a funeral made British actors a hot commodity in Hollywood then there was the fashion designers 

like Alexander McQueen and Vivian Westwood and models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were a 

main stay at fashion shows even Mr Bean was big in the same way that Britain successfully 

pivoted from trade routes to Industry it looked like Britain had once again found the next 

big thing when Tony Blair's youthful and modern new labor movement won by a landslide during the 

1997 general elections the return of Britain's patriotism and triumphalism had been cemented 

despite some economic upsets at the start of the decade most of the '90s was a booming economy 

for the Brits London had become a cultural and financial Global Center a shift towards high-tech 

sectors helped restructure the loss of Industries ever since that you closed down the mines plus an 

influx of overseas investment boosted the economy even more globalization was poised to become the 

next big thing with Britain as a key figure but that was almost a quarter of a century ago and 

unfortunately those prosperous times planted seeds for Britain's next season of Misfortune 

Britain's relationship with the EU has always been at arms length despite being an early member 

it's not part of the continent and never joined the single currency culturally it's caught between 

European sensibilities and American society add to that the close ties and language with the biggest 

Global superpower and you can imagine why Britain had such a standoffish relationship with the 

European Union whatever you might think of the media coverage of brexit EU membership was a 

bipartisan issue for most of British history left Wingers like Tony Ben and Jeremy Corbin had 

been vocal critics throughout their careers and conservative Prime Minister David Cameron backed 

the remain campaign in fact most Tory MPS were against brexit when the referendum was initially 

announced even Marxist journalist Christopher Hitchens had doubts over the eurocurrency his 

right-wing brother Peter Hitchens has been criticizing the eu's overreach for years although 

there was a point in the '90s when he admitted a loss of sovereignty was worth future stability 

when the 2008 financial crisis hit discontent for the single Market grew as the consumerism of the 

'90s gave way to gentrification and unemployment the free movement of foreign Nationals exacerbated 

employment tensions with industry this was felt hardest in the north because these former cities 

of Industry had received less funding and support over the decades Scotland's push for Independence 

also threatened the unity of the British Isles the SNP held a referendum on Scottish independence 

in 1997 and lost so they did another once in A- lifetime vote in 2014 and lost again but when 

brexit unexpectedly won its referendum through a narrow victory in 2016 the S&P demanded a doover 

the third time might be the charm they argued that most of Scotland had voted to remain in the EU 

so that had the independence vote occurred after brexit then Scotland would have been independent 

of Britain so that it could be dependent on Europe apparently the S&P understands democracy as little 

as it understands sovereignty the big question now is whether or not leaving the European Union has 

put Britain on a course correction Peter Hitchens says the botched trade deals meant Britain freeing 

itself of Brussels only to be pushed around by China has ruined the chances of a fresh start 

depending on who you ask brexit's impact on the UK's economy is either setting the country up for 

an irreversible downfall or a small price to pay for a prosperous future after all their biggest 

allies are some of the world's richest countries if Trump is reelected Britain's best friend would 

be a billionaire but would Donald help the UK get a better trade deal or just put himself out in 

front then again maybe it's not a coincidence that Britain has strong ties with Rich Nations most of 

the biggest gdps are former colonies and enemies America Germany Japan India France Canada maybe 

Britain doesn't need to pull itself up by its bootstraps if the rest of the world has its 

back maybe all the Brits have to do to make Great Britain Great again is to develop ties 

with China and Brazil maybe Britain's Legacy isn't enough to get through another rough 

patch or maybe Britain can't keep bringing up the fact that it built the world maybe that 

card has been played too many times maybe it's time to retire gracefully and go quietly into 

the night is Britain overdue for a Resurgence or is the Nay saying just haters with a skill 

issue if you liked this video be sure to check out one on the British East India Trading Company 

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