Anna B Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I think you'll find that this sort of view of history is very common among old people. They were born in the days of the Empire, when the English considered themselves as the greatest nation on earth. History lessons were one sided and taught as fact. He wouldn't know any different. The views you form in childhood stick with us for life unless you make a concerted effort to change them. He's old, leave him his dreams... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vague_Boy Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 You know that it wasn't a British army that defeated Napoleon? It was an allied army lead by Wellington. It's even more complicated than that, 3 armies fought at Waterloo. The first army comprised the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. As for the second... The Duke of Wellington's army was a mixture of Germans (the largest contingent), Netherlanders (often referred to as 'Dutch-Belgians') and British (many of whom hailed from Ireland). The other army was the Prussian army, led by Field Marshal Blücher. In terms of fighting power, Napoleon's army was the strongest, but it was not strong enough to defeat the two allied armies together. To win, he had to separate them and defeat them individually. Conversely, to defeat Napoleon, Wellington and Blücher had to unite their forces. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/three_commanders_01.shtml I think you'll find that this sort of view of history is very common among old people. They were born in the days of the Empire, when the English considered themselves as the greatest nation on earth. History lessons were one sided and taught as fact. Modern day Americans have much the same attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ela James Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 As I said earlier, I feel proud and lucky, seriously, living in UK … living among probably the most civilised folks in the world - and please note: I worked in 5 countries in 2 continents and feel I have concrete evidence and experience to support my opinion, But my opinion about the various british governments throughout history, or the ‘ruling classes’ is not so good I wonder why ….. I mean even theoretically, how can you have wonderfully civilised people choosing a bunch of guys to rule them, guys who aren’t really a good representation of the majority? I am puzzled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esme Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Have you considered the possibility that this nice 85 year old man may not be completely in possession of his faculties ? As for choosing a bunch of guys to rule them who aren't a good representation of the country, I agree. I've wanted a different voting system since I started voting, even on those rare occasions where I voted for the winner I recognised that the current system is inherently unfair, there hasn't been a government for a very long time that was elected by a majority of the total electorate, I can't remember the last time that happened, or if it ever did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ela James Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Vague_Boy, thanks for sharing the BBC link, but the BBC here is no neutral source ..., plus the fact that it lost a lot of its credibility in recent months ( J. S ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 This is serious, I just hope it doesn’t get deleted like the travel to Europe thread without understanding the reasons … Anyway, FACTS: I am British but not English. I was born and raised several thousand miles away. Oh yes, British and proud, but please wait Why do the Brits always paint themselves nice and beautiful when in fact …, I was having this conversation with a neighbour ..a nice old man .. 85 years old .. he took part in WWII Me: so tell me then, Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, was he? Him: he certainly was! And where was that? - Belgium. - and what was the Duke of Wellington doing in Belgium? - well … Belgium was a close friend of ours .. It needed help and we didn’t hesitate - I see, so you helped Belgium because it was your friend? - Actually we always have great many friends … except the idiots like Napoleon who thought they could take Europe without any resistance - I see, so you always had friends? - Exactly! … - listen mate, …. You fought the USA You had a big war with Spain Or the French? How about Germany? Or Ireland? … Please … please … _____________________________________________________ I am planning to drive to Spain Sept 2015, if you like to join hit pm Don't understand exactly what you're on about. Napoleon was intent on ruling the whole of Europe by force if necessary. He also planned to invade England at one time and attempted to add Russia to his conquests. His rule was not a benevolent one by any means. He was a dictator in any sense of the word. He had to be put down. Are you talking about the war of 1812 with the USA ? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ela James Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) A side point on how we may, or may not, rely on sources of information: Over the years I have read at least 12 or even 15 books on Churchill, plus more than that on WWII, and, frankly did not feel I understood the war until I read a few books written by some German generals …. the point I am trying to make here is, I think, we are unintentionally biased … our language is the most popular language, therefore it is possible what we consider popular may not be true or accurate ___________________________________ Harleyman is saying: Don't understand exactly what you're on about. Napoleon was intent on ruling the whole of Europe by force if necessary. How was the British empire built? Edited June 22, 2015 by Ela James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenRivers Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 This is serious, I just hope it doesn’t get deleted like the travel to Europe thread without understanding the reasons … Anyway, FACTS: I am British but not English. I was born and raised several thousand miles away. Oh yes, British and proud, but please wait Why do the Brits always paint themselves nice and beautiful when in fact …, I was having this conversation with a neighbour ..a nice old man .. 85 years old .. he took part in WWII Me: so tell me then, Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, was he? Him: he certainly was! And where was that? - Belgium. - and what was the Duke of Wellington doing in Belgium? - well … Belgium was a close friend of ours .. It needed help and we didn’t hesitate - I see, so you helped Belgium because it was your friend? - Actually we always have great many friends … except the idiots like Napoleon who thought they could take Europe without any resistance - I see, so you always had friends? - Exactly! … - listen mate, …. You fought the USA You had a big war with Spain Or the French? How about Germany? Or Ireland? … Please … please … _____________________________________________________ I am planning to drive to Spain Sept 2015, if you like to join hit pm So you're point is....we've been at war with lots of different nations through our history. What a revelation, who would have known that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halibut Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 This is serious, I just hope it doesn’t get deleted like the travel to Europe thread without understanding the reasons … Anyway, FACTS: I am British but not English. I was born and raised several thousand miles away. Oh yes, British and proud, but please wait Why do the Brits always paint themselves nice and beautiful when in fact …, I was having this conversation with a neighbour ..a nice old man .. 85 years old .. he took part in WWII Me: so tell me then, Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, was he? Him: he certainly was! And where was that? - Belgium. - and what was the Duke of Wellington doing in Belgium? - well … Belgium was a close friend of ours .. It needed help and we didn’t hesitate - I see, so you helped Belgium because it was your friend? - Actually we always have great many friends … except the idiots like Napoleon who thought they could take Europe without any resistance - I see, so you always had friends? - Exactly! … - listen mate, …. You fought the USA You had a big war with Spain Or the French? How about Germany? Or Ireland? … Please … please … _____________________________________________________ I am planning to drive to Spain Sept 2015, if you like to join hit pm Please please what? Teach you how to say what you really mean instead of writing guff like this whose intention is wholly opaque? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryRiley Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 What...the hell...is this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now