Did France and Britain Almost Unite into the Franco-British Union? (Short Animated Documentary)

France and Britain have, numerous times, come close to becoming one state? But how close? And why didn't the two formally unite into the Franco-British Union? Well you can find out in this short and simple, animated history documentary.
Spoiler: it was in 1940 and was a proposal supported by Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle.
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Sources:
Suez 1956: A European Intervention? by Ralph Dietl
Prelude to Downfall: The British Offer of Union to France, June 1940 by Avi Shlaim

[@aldotorres1983]

1940 England: "Join us, or die!" France:. "We'd rather die!"

[@brooke-3615]

France: *actually dies*

[@jesseberg3271]

Then France has chosen... death.

[@Alusnovalotus]

Aldo Torres “merd!!! nous choisissons une mort glorieuse, monsieur!!!!” * La Marseillaise plays in background*

[@Alusnovalotus]

Jesse Berg yet. She still lives on, monsieur * La Marseillaise plays in background *

[@jimtaylor294]

France: dies in several weeks. Germans: "Vell... zat vuz e~zee... almost... tuu e~zee..."

[@frose1980]

Uk: I hate you France: I hate you too Germany: *Forms* Uk: Friends?? France: Yeah

[@LHSMeleeClub]

LOL

[@ptlemon1101]

More like France: I still hate you more.

[@frose1980]

WOW 100 LIKES, NEVER HAD THIS MUCH TY!!!

[@Iceman-bn9dm]

England was originally fine with Germany existing until Wilhelm ii started building a navy

[@grangermontag1824]

Epic handshake

[@salahddinebensebane8429]

Germany is really good to make enemies into friends

[@davidfreeman3083]

Russia (especially Soviet Union): allow us to introduce ourselves. Edit: OMG thx for the likes. And I think Putin is very successful at bringing this part of Soviet union back hahaha

[@RamsFan93]

You ever heard the saying 'the ememy of my enemy is my friend'

[@krashd]

@@RamsFan93 Yeah, but that means the friend of the enemy of my enemy would also be my enemy, and so my enemy has a friend to counter the enemy who is a friend but also the enemy of my enemy so I have an additional enemy who is.. my enemy? Or his enemy? He's the enemy of my enemy's enemy which makes him my enemy. Or does it. No, his enemy is a friend because he is my enemy and I am his enemy. Aww, fuck it!

[@RamsFan93]

@@krashd not really, if you are at war with France, and Spain is at war with France it makes sense to be 'friends' with Spain and share intel/strategy etc.

[@wtfbros5110]

Thanks, Kaiser Willie

[@ricardoguanipa8275]

That sounds like Canada with extra steps

[@WizzardJC]

Was just thinking this, imagine Canada but the Quebecois make up Half the land and they both have Nukes!

[@keepout3553]

Canada is the product of divorced parents, imagine how happy would Canada be if they reunite, make it happen, make Canada happy

[@kevinclass2010]

@@keepout3553 The Quebec nationalists would be even madder that their "mother" nation is annexed by Britain. They would propose secession again like in the 90s

[@theotakuking4136]

@@kevinclass2010 they still are. Vote for me in a decade and I'll make sure to make an example out of Quebec.

[@keepout3553]

@@kevinclass2010 not like an annexation, more like a federal union. Maybe after the queen death it could be a republic

[@m.a.6265]

The only time where Africa would have been a country

[@arjunmokha4505]

They’d need Portugal as well

[@saitamapunch8035]

@@arjunmokha4505 And Spain

[@dariusgunter5344]

@@saitamapunch8035 And Italy or what would ahve been left

[@saitamapunch8035]

@@dariusgunter5344 And Belgium

[@someguy4512]

@@dariusgunter5344 and also the dutch and belgians

[@corporalzeph2518]

Considering their relations during WWII, the Franco-British Union would've been the most dysfunctional country ever

[@Daniel-kq4bx]

Well it would have certainly made the allied organization which screwed france less shit

[@duchyofluxemburg]

You forget the HRE and austria-hungary

[@Daniel-kq4bx]

@@duchyofluxemburg considering what kind of ethnic bordergore conflicts resulted in the collapse of Austria and The Ottomans it honestly such giant states dont sound so bad. Look at the Greco Turkish war where people that had been neighbors genocided each other. But you are right, Austria Hungary was very dysfunctional

[@blackout6772]

Could be worse, look up something called Intermarium.

[@nutpeg6915]

@@blackout6772 I like the idea of it..But I knew it couldn't happen, it looks like a monstrosity.

[@hecticfreeze]

"France and Britain have not had the best relationship" Talk about a bloody understatement

[@jimtaylor294]

Aye. Had a certain Kaiser played his cards better; the UK & Germany could've been allies of the last century instead.

[@elbentos7803]

@@jimtaylor294 To say that a certain Kaiser played his cars poorly is also a massive understatement... He only succeeded in alienating Russia, UK and Italy in close succession. Some statesmen have a real skill at being hated by nearly everybody : John Lackland, Charles the foolhardy (or Burgundy)...

[@thespianed]

Crisis: happens UK and France: Hippity hoppity lets unite our property

[@nutpeg6915]

And remake our property.

[@keepout3553]

*France is being invaded* UK: hippity hoppity now you are my property

[@capitalistmaxington5329]

noooooo said france try it! said britan noooooo said france a little more quieter

[@aunicornwithglasses3284]

Thanks for making me choke on my drink.

[@abbyalphonse499]

@@capitalistmaxington5329 and so the union was put into place

[@james_baker]

"Would have fallen apart five minutes after the war was over." Nice.

[@remembertotakeshowerspleas355]

Has he always made comments after the credits? I usually pause and read the comments or move on to another video when they start.

[@strikeforce1500]

Tbh 5 min is like 4.5 min more than I expected

[@paireon3419]

@@remembertotakeshowerspleas355 Not usually IIRC.

[@kothemagica]

I wonder how many comments have I missed

[@kothemagica]

@Emperor AlHasan good to know, I will check them out

[@peterg76yt]

Canada has been half British and half French since 1867 and they're still figuring it out.

[@Ake-TL]

Peter Grey from what i heard, Québéc people, being descendants of French, are constantly not OK with something

[@armahpruski5877]

It dates back before Canada confederated. It was since the Brits took over Quebec in like 1750.

[@NordeGrasen34]

@@armahpruski5877 1763*

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

@@NordeGrasen34 Montreal surrendered in 1760, effectively ending hostilities in North America. The Seven Years War (or World War Zero, as some historians call it) was formally concluded in 1763.

[@crowbar9566]

Theyre only 1/6 french to 5/6 British

[@tonyhawk94]

"France and Britain have not had the best relationship" 35 wars in 1000 years, which makes it the biggest rivalry in human history lol.

[@snowcold5932]

Funnily enough Sweden and Denmark have the record, France and England are only 2nd

[@tonyhawk94]

@@snowcold5932 No the largest count is 21 dano-swedish wars (still impressive)

[@kothemagica]

Top 10 anime rivalry

[@iuliusconstantcornelio2018]

Romania and Hungary: AMATEURS

[@someguy3766]

Well it's not our fault, I mean those Frenchies are right across the sea from us and they are so insufferably obnoxious, it's _really_ hard to resist the urge to declare war on them...

[@dmeads5663]

Britain and France are like those two people who grew up hating each other but then start dating when they were adults.

[@someguy3766]

And then Brexit was the divorce. WW3 will be the court battle over child custody. :P

[@generalgrievous9987]

Isnt it germany and france were the childhood rivals until they married each other when they become adults?

[@Valencetheshireman927]

Brexit wasn’t the divorce since the British left a European political union not France .

[@hundhun17]

eeewww.

[@eedragonr6293]

Menage a trois

[@scanida5070]

The Emperor of this country would probably have been James Bisonette because at this point, he literally finances this channel...

[@Aston_sdo17]

and 'feed the oink oink'

[@caiawlodarski5339]

Who ?

[@lollalo1]

But how about danny mallony

[@yarpen26]

@Bigoof man I'm boycotting his parties.

[@eta1961]

I can literally hear the words James Bizzanet at this point

[@ChessedGamon]

Oh christ this video made me imagine French being spoken in a thick Welsh accent and I can't get it out of my head

[@danghostman2814]

Jee ma'pelllllllellel Rob Hwalfellen.

[@JustbeJealousHD]

Chessed Gamon tearsss

[@nutpeg6915]

VIVVEEE LA FRANNNKO BRIIIITIISHH UNIONNNNNNN

[@hahaha5290]

Oh no

[@arthur__lt]

*perfection*

[@CruzaComplex]

Imagine being handed a personal union over France and saying no.

[@jimtaylor294]

Macmillain wasn't the brightest of PM's. Almost all his decisions in office - from foriegn policy to thermonuclear bomb yields - proved to be of poor judgement. I'm sure Elizabeth II would've grinned upon knowing the French PM had offered to accept her as Queen of France. The reminants of the Bourbon Dynasty must've been stunned though XD.

[@skiteufr]

This would have not be possible anyway as Guy Mollet could not gibmve away sovereignty without consent of the president and Parliament. But he made sure his plans were never known publicly by them as he would have been charged for high treason and shot

[@QQ-xr8ky]

@@skiteufr Or guillotined.

[@krashd]

It wasn't a personal union _over_ France, it would have been a partnership. Of course there would have been ambitious people on both sides vying for domination but there also would have been some sort of constitution drawn up dividing powers. You hear a lot about "British Empire this" and "British Empire that" but back in the day the French had a pretty fucking formidable collection of territories, you saw it there on the map at 1:02, even today the French have some nifty overseas territories like the spaceport in French Guyana. This Brit would have liked to have seen what we might have accomplished together. And what we likely will accomplish in 20 or 30 years when this spate of ugly nationalism goes away and Brits start to accept that we are Europeans.

[@charliewright4044]

@@krashd loool cry more Rob, not any more matey

[@naksis1102]

UK and France joining a union is literally the quote "keep your friends close but your enemies closer"

[@utku1441]

It would be funny if it was a 3 way cold war with imperialism

[@slewone4905]

You mean like, now, but with EU.

[@timothymclean]

@@slewone4905 Eh...not really? Communism as it was is dead, the EU and US are cordial at worst, and ye olde imperialism has given way to letting corporations do the hard work of oppressing people.

[@angelopueyygarcia43]

Timothy McLean west Africa is still French economically. It’s so much in the pockets of France you might as well still call them colonies but with extra steps.

[@theexam7394]

@@angelopueyygarcia43 basically neo-colonialism in that sense.

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@angelopueyygarcia43 Tell me more. I don't know much about this.

[@cursedex3755]

*Reads the title* EU4 Players: "Allow us to introduce ourselves"

[@sakakaka4064]

More like HOI4

[@TheNutmeg33]

Sakakaka amateurs, Victoria 2 Union baby

[@civi4ever460]

French liberty desire 1000000%

[@SoundsideSherry]

"...With the help of Burgundy" And there's the strategy. Use the Dutch Minors to rapid-occupy.

[@enigmaZerg]

No March of the Eagles

[@HellbirdIV]

"The first time that there was any real chance of unification was at the height of the Hundred-Years War." *angry Roman noises*

[@reillycurran8508]

Gallic Empire forevaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

[@dinodude6992]

Oh hey its an asari.... Wait a second... *robotic suspicious noices*

[@timothymclean]

Neither France nor England existed at that point, just Gaul and Brittania.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

@@reillycurran8508 ... Long live Postumus!!!

[@utvara1]

English are Angles and Saxons mostly and French are to a significant degree Francs and Burgundians so it would not make sense to consider those before them as English and French.

[@EricDec]

The French: Since a third of your vocabulary comes from French, let's make it the official language. The British: Sounds fair. The French: But you are have to pronounce it properly tho. The British: We're out!

[@ilikelampshades6]

We're the land of many accents. When we have literally hundreds of different ways to speak english what makes you think we can pronounce foreign words correctly Haha

[@krashd]

Eric, I hope you do not take this the wrong way but you do know that blue-and-white striped shirts are one of the most well-known stereotypes we British have for French people? If you were on a bicycle with a string of garlic hanging around your neck it would be perfect 😂

[@BaguetteGamingOfficial]

@@krashd In France we always imagine you brits wearing monocles and suits ! Stereotypes on both sides

[@Kaiserbill99]

The British: Since the whole world speaks English and no bugger outside France and North Africa speaks French then you'll speak English sunshine. France lost the cultural war about two hundred yeras ago.

[@kzaanimefan4836]

@@ilikelampshades6 yeah you guys even made a country (USA) that also has many different accents

[@alanparker9608]

as half French half British it makes me happy to see these two old rival nations being together in the fearful moments 🇬🇧🇫🇷

[@ghostmcdoom4994]

However ONLY in the fearful Moments.

[@ProjectEkerTest33]

@@ghostmcdoom4994 Your true friends are the ones who are there for you when the chips are down. France and UK are the best frenemies ever

[@Captain_FAIL]

The only reason them being together is this exact fearful moment

[@WizzardJC]

Honestly?, i am half Irish Half English, but i have a LOT of French Ancestors, even my Surname is an English Translation of a French name, and i am Pretty good at French so i would be able to communicate fine, i would like this to happen even though it is very unlikely, plus we could finally Beat the German Economy, Lets face it that is the only way we are going to beat them Financially, And Just think of our Combined Revenue from Tourism! , Love To France from Northern Ireland! ❤❤❤

[@WizzardJC]

@@ProjectEkerTest33 Yep i agree with this wholeheartedly

[@genericusername4316]

From Agincourt, To Waterloo Poiters and then Anjou The Roses War, The Hundred Years Through battlefields of blood and tears

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Fucking poetry mate

[@chiaraburattini]

@Chris George Pretty sure it's "Europa" by Globus

[@jeffbenton6183]

@Univac Germany is more leader of Europe than France.

[@Valencetheshireman927]

@Univac-😂😂😂😂😂Keep on dreaming !

[@Itachi951000]

Hilarious how Anglo-Saxons only remember english victories. "Agincourt to Waterloo" lol

[@cerebrummaximus3762]

England: Let's play-fight! France: Ok Germany: Can I play-fight too? France and England: *Overly Dramatic music*

[@andknuckles101]

only germany didnt just want to play fight

[@jackwilliambeavan4182]

'Franco-British Union' - I prefer Frangland, personally.

[@NyalBurns]

Britance

[@lukesalazar9283]

I like these ideas

[@Ekvitarius]

Englance

[@nutpeg6915]

Or britanniance..

[@JMM33RanMA]

How about Ferengia [homage to Star Trek]? Side note: Ferengi means French or French people in both Persian and Turkish, though in Turkish it is used to mean "The French Disease," that is STD or MST--maladie sexuellement transmissible.

[@dusanbrankov5533]

1:08, honestly, dat empire would be beautiful tho. Absolutely Giant.

[@dallascopp4798]

It would have been thicc

[@krazyrobotkid7936]

Me: Say it Say it Say it Say it SAY IT SAY IT. History matters: JAMES BYZENET Me: YESSSSSSSSSSS

[@tinko2349]

I'm going crazy, WHO IS THIS VERY WEALTHY JAMES BYZANET?

[@sammybeaver9130]

Imagine how powerful the franco-British empire would have been...

[@chrisa3661]

0% chance it would work. Too much passive between us. brexit proved that English people can't even disolve a little bit in something 100 times smoother than a brutal union. And as a Frenchman i would never accept London as my capital for exemple, the queen or king would never be familiar to me etc. thing that are very important for both of our people are too unfamiliar for each others.

[@konstantinopoulos33]

Eh. The two of us combined had a fraction of the military and economic power of the US by the end of WW2. The size of the combined empire would have been colossally more than any other, though.

[@XXXTENTAClON227]

@@konstantinopoulos33 and in turn could’ve provided immense leverage over other superpowers

[@user-ju4ts8tx9m]

China joins, can?

[@CityLover117]

@@konstantinopoulos33 If they merged what are the odds US annexes Canada just to gain size lol

[@T.GLongstaff]

I love how Joan of arc is like I can’t even right now.

[@jasonmartin4775]

Well, she couldn't.

[@Uppernorwood976]

I love the smell of burning Frenchwoman in the morning

[@blackpowderuser373]

"This isn't just a marriage of convenience to beat Germany" Suuuuureeee. XD

[@adzboyzz845]

Could you imagine a unified Britain and France with all their colonies combined.

[@austrakaiser4793]

They would be able to fight the world numerous times and still come out on top.

[@wheatyes2104]

Worlds biggest empire

[@writerconsidered]

Bad Idea. They totally wouldn't abuse that and try conquer the world.

[@benjipoth]

This video is so British, it almost turned my blood to tea.

[@z8eee]

well yeah the video is kinda British... since its literally about britain/france

[@jayp9622]

@@z8eee u on smn? it’s obviously about the han dynasty

[@Pasteurpipette]

Would also mention Louis VIII of France, who was crowned king of England in London in 1216.

[@lennydale92]

Was that the same monarch that was harassed by Wilikin of the weald and ended his ambitions in England?

[@ByzantineCapitalManagement]

Wasn't it Philip II Augustus who was ruling at that time? 1165-1223

[@Pasteurpipette]

@@ByzantineCapitalManagement yes, but his son and heir was invited to depose John of England. When John died, Louis gave up and went home to inherit the French throne. Had he been successful in England, he would have united both countries under his rule.

[@ce1834]

And Henry VI of England was crowned King of France I think - its like inbred family feud 😂

[@fredbarker9201]

Shows just how terrible John was when we preferred a french prince to come and be king. They then swiftly kicked out Louis for johns son Henry IIi

[@Waldzkrieger]

Ok, but *who is James Byzanet?*

[@kennethbutler3727]

A god

[@nutpeg6915]

Your Nigerian prince with that money.

[@morganrobinson8042]

He's like Kaiser Soze.

[@emperorkarlfranzrulerofthe2826]

Your mom

[@lennydale92]

What is a Quebecois (Quebecan?) Opinion of the potential French-British union?

[@internuf5754]

Angevin empire gang

[@keepout3553]

Anglois people don't stand alone, support from Italy

[@cebonvieuxjack]

Britain : **finds a stick** France : **finds another stick** Britain : **hits France on the head, then laugh** France : **hits back and laugh** 700 years later : Germany : **comes in, with an iron shovel** France and UK : **looks at Germany** Germany : **knocks the fuck out of France** France and UK : **stop fighting themselves then turn on Germany for not being sport.**

[@delta2372]

So we gonna ignore WW1 and that France didn't get knocked out

[@kristianbaturiano3780]

Pretty sure France getting knocked out refers to the Franco-Prussian War.

[@The_Universal_Friend]

Eh but they didn’t go attacking them

[@str2010]

USA and Russia: Aight, lemme get my shotgun

[@cebonvieuxjack]

@@delta2372 I'm referring to 1870.

[@seeyouchump]

1:08 "dat empire though" should be number one

[@Omegan101]

To be fair, England has always had a tsundere relationship with France.

[@patrickpower2215]

wtf does that mean ?

[@skt0456]

@@patrickpower2215 you do not want to know believe me

[@OneAngrehCat]

@@patrickpower2215 Faking hate to hide how much you love the other party. To be fair, most of the english speaking world is tsundere towards France.

[@ambrozy277]

@@flutterwind7686 LOL

[@tgc5663]

@Raiyyan Siddiqui You know what... I'm going to rat myself out. **fruk for life**

[@connorhenderson2297]

“We were on the verge of greatness, we were this close”

[@danzig2347]

Finaly someone mentions how the Franco-british union was proposed after the Suez crisis... I swear people only talk about the one during WWII.

[@howtoappearincompletely9739]

Yes, the post-Suez proposal was completely unknown to me before I watched this video.

[@oreroundpvp896]

It's a very interesting concept considering that to this day Britain and France are very equal in terms of economic and military power meaning that the Union would not be dominated by either nation which isn't usually the case with these unions.

[@imRiiisq]

OreRound PvP that’s true but for nowadays, back then even if it’s a pain in the ass to admit It, British empire was more powerful than ours

[@zefflin1451]

*"And let's be real it's would break apart 5 minutes after it was formed"* So true.

[@santi0501]

This is literally the fastest I've ever clicked on a video.

[@6038am]

5 mins after the war, that is a bit optemistic. 1 sec is more likely.

[@sephikong8323]

I'd say even before the war was even ended. Merging France and Britain was probably one of the worst ideas ever. I can guarantee that suddenly the amount of people in France who'd support the Vichy regime would have gone up since it was supposed to regain the northern territories upon the end of the war so the north wasn't annexed whereas the Franco British union would have at least in theory made it permanent which would have been an unacceptable thing for most people and certainly would have led many to rebel against it, with Vichy being a very strong proponent and the other would have been militias that would have shot allies just as much as they would have shot germans. This plan was a terrible idea, and the British definitely wouldn't have taken it kindly either with probably a bigger push from the public to make a ceasefire with Germany so that they could keep France and not have the political balance of their country shift suddenly. Personally I think that it would probably have resulted in an even tougher situation for the allies if it happened, it's only conjecture but I don't see it being a good thing for the allies at all

[@gerdforster883]

@@sephikong8323 Vut there wouldn't really have been a Vichy regime. The whole idea was to keep France from signing an armistice and keep as many french soldiers in the war. Germany would have had to conquer the whole of France (which she would in all probability have done), but the french fleet and a much larger chunk of the french army would have stayed in the war. Also, the Franco-British Union would have had control over the french colonies. So even if a collaborationist regime would have been set up, it would have lacked all legitimacy, just like the Quisling regime in Norway. One of the reasons Petain had any authority was that he was the legitimate head of the french government when the armistice was signed. Germany would have had to station even mord troops in France, stretching the Wehrmacht's limited manpower even thinner. Militarily, it was a sound plan.

[@oscars4608]

I think the Franco British Union could’ve been an insanely potent superpower, I need to do this in hoi4

[@SmokeyD_]

I’d love to see how this would have collapsed. This is like the Yugoslavia of Western Europe

[@nutpeg6915]

If it went down with like "the franko british wars", the regions would be in shambles..

[@jacoblinde7486]

I think most lawmakers undertood that the union would have only been a temporary measure for the war, and that after Germany was put back in its place they would separate again.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Well if it’s a devolved as I think it would be, Queen Elizabeth II would have to renounce her title as Queen of France and the Union would dissolve into the status quo ante bellum. Pretty peaceful honestly

[@Puckosar]

I really don't think the french and british people would have THAT much animosity against each other. I have hard time seeing british soldiers carrying out genocide against the french or vice versa. More likely they would just split like czechoslovakia, maybe with a few skirmishes here or there.

[@Superpole11]

@@Puckosar obviously you dont know either of them...

[@Thunderlord_Tozn]

I love these animations so much. The little details can be absolutely hilarious

[@sviatoslavs.1305]

Fun fact: if you (as UK) do actually this scenario and the French player agrees, you can go on the desperate defence just like that. Yes, I have HOI4 flashbacks right now.

[@museisbliss1174]

During the cold war, France is actually cited to have been the UK's closest ally, especially around the Falklands time

[@user-wh8mb7tm2g]

Laughs in Exocet

[@thundabolt7867]

I am decently sure the uk's closest ally is the USA But in europe its france

[@56Seeker]

You are insane

[@littlemeow124]

Closest European ally that's still relevant in the national stage (sorry Portugal), yes. But I think the US and UK are closer to each other than they are of France

[@lokensicarius9347]

France and England = Greatest an perhapss longest love/hate relationship in history.

[@kirbi4266]

Hate. Really. Only. Hate :)

[@BaguetteGamingOfficial]

@@kirbi4266 No , love too , when we fought together in the great war,

[@kirbi4266]

@@BaguetteGamingOfficial I don't talk about 2 war in history but I talk about all the history. France and England were often in war

[@Gabriy29460]

@@kirbi4266 Only 2 wars ? 😂 Hmm.. the whole history is not only about these 2 wars 🤔 Just check your sources mate

[@olsenfernandes3634]

The relationship of UK and France is exactly the same as Siblings. Always fighting with each other but stands up for each other if anyone else gets involved.

[@atuberofthepoo6606]

France and Britain haven't exactly been friends throughout history Me: ya don't say!?

[@juliandavidarcerodriguez5400]

Your videos are freaking awesome ! Thanks man we love History !

[@jokhard8137]

I really like the background images in the outros. Recognizing them by their source art is a real treat.

[@taqiyasir8086]

in the end it was the French that influence Britain more, from the 1066 invasion of William the conqueror and the English language being heavily influenced by French.

[@roms4154]

if england had won the Hundred Years War the union would have been made ! but story didn't want it !

[@robertevbayekha6639]

@@roms4154 more like French didn’t want it

[@CeruleanSword]

Yet here you are typing your words on the internet which exists because of Britain and living in the modern world which exists because of Britain. I think we know who influenced who.

[@genalynnesanjuan5788]

@@roms4154 england would just become french doe

[@cpp3221]

@@CeruleanSword Without France, the USA which invented the internet wouldn't have existed. Sooooo....

[@Dont-Watch-My-Vids-U-Regret-it]

UK: wanna unify? France: *hell no!*

[@Steve-zc9ht]

Instead they chose Germany lol

[@sharkwolf7788]

Absolutely, totally unaware of any of this . Great video

[@schneiderwebb2303]

Love the channel man. Learned so much from you, and was inspired to seek out other sources on particular subjects. Anyways have a great day!

[@WizzardJC]

also, 1:04 if that Empire ain't giving you Imperial wood somethings wrong lol Edit: also i never really thought about it till now but just look at how much of Africa they would control together, Mon Dieu!

[@elpresidente2066]

Last time I was this early, France and England were still one nation.

[@kevinhartmemes3821]

I’m getting Angevin vibes

[@theskepticalwhaler4946]

But they were nev... Oh.

[@NYorksElcapitan]

I'm from York where Constantine was proclaimed Emperor and christndom was formed God bless all Europeans

[@Rynewulf]

@Ragnar And you've got the Angevins as well. The English monarchs didn't give up the French fluer de lie for centuries, because they still wanted to own it

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

@Ragnar Postumus lives!!!

[@ArGeeAye]

thank you for videos during these times. :)

[@timothychivers7324]

I’ve have always wondered about this thankyou for your explanation on it

[@rhinoareaction7587]

When UK proposed to France to merge in 1940, a french député said "better be a nazi province", 1 week later the Armistice was signed. As a Frenchman, this is just making me laughing my ass off. Even allies we keep on hating each others XD

[@electroskates2434]

Yea and we had the most powerful empires in the world 😂

[@dabbasw31]

To be fair: In 1940 Nazi Germany did not plan to annex or "unify with" France (except for Alsace-Lorraine or Alsace-Moselle or whatever-tu-veux-call-it; it was not even that important for Hitler to begin with). They just wanted to keep France out of WWII.

[@TheAnon03]

2:10 Worth mentioning that the invasion of Egypt and the retaking of the Suez Canal wasn't a failure, actually it went very well and the Egyptian army was more or less swept aside. It was the international politics and PR that caused it to fail.

[@andreysilva8418]

Thats a known fact, the problem was France and Brittain had to respect US and USSR, unlike in the past

[@hamzehshashaa2659]

Really good short video! Never thought about it!

[@Kanohoro]

I remember suggesting this one time a while ago. Regardless of whether or not this is specifically because of my request, I still appreciate it!

[@dainn0668]

Last time I was early, William the conqueror was still king

[@samrevlej9331]

@Supernova Cinnamon No they weren't, not any more than other provinces nominally under the rule of the king of the Franks. Royal power in Frankia was very limited since the 9th century and the weakening of the Carolingians, so feudal lords were very independent. In fact, Normans were probably closer to the culture in the royal domain (today's Île-de-France around Paris), the OG Frankish/French culture, than Occitania or Aquitaine, which spoke different languages in the southern langue d'oc family than the northern langue d'oïl family. Scandinavians had minimal impact on the culture in what was the March of Neustria, and rapidly assimilated into Frankish culture. With the affirmation of royal power in the 13th century, Normandy was among the first domains to be reconquered by French kings, so whatever local particularisms there were weren't as developped as the ones in Brittany or Alsace-Lorraine later on.

[@irvingunnuth8260]

"France and England have never been unified in history" Me, an intellectual: *Roman Empire* Edit: Yes I am aware that both of these countries didn't exist until the middle ages

[@Valencetheshireman927]

Technically yes and technically no since England and France didn’t exist at the time .

[@aperson22222]

Neither France nor England existed back then. You might as well say that the US and Canada used to be one country because the territory of the Iroquois Confederation once straddled what is now the border between the two.

[@superbananas7792]

1066? 100 year war kinda?

[@betrthnu3413]

@@superbananas7792 Normans came from Norway.

[@lucianoammannati6299]

@@betrthnu3413 no norwegian is just noblesse of normandie (rollo the walker) livers of normandie is french. they spok french not old norse in normandie

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!!!

[@gambers20001]

Loved the bonus part at the end

[@carjack9974]

Crisis: *happens * Britain and France: we must merge

[@bobing1752]

The most important part of the Constitution is, of course: article 4th: "Dat empire, though."

[@redwind5150]

Your channel makes qaurintin feel easier, huge thanks to the channel!

[@bartholomewroberts151]

Always great vids 👍👍

[@alanparker9608]

according to Wikipedia: "according to a Japanese research firm, over 40% of the world’s inventions and discoveries were made in the UK, followed by France with 24% of the world’s inventions and discoveries made in France and followed by the US with 20%"

[@kingslushie1018]

Alan Parker damn, that’s really interesting!

[@aconcernedcitizen6056]

Superior cultures 💪

[@Spongebrain97]

No Germany, Italy, China, or Greece??

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

@@Spongebrain97 I mean presuming it's post industrial revolution and before WWII it sounds about right, then germany would probably be most of the remaining 15%

[@lennydale92]

French-British and American initiative is the best

[@DaveMiller6042]

1:38 The Franco-British-Norwegian-Danish-Polish-Dutch-Czech-Belgian-Luxembourger union

[@kirbi4266]

Wich countries should units ? Liberty Prime : Yes

[@Slame57]

Realized you never did a 2020 Q&A you should do one

[@samrevlej9331]

I (a French person) saw the thumbnail. I almost had a stroke. And this should answer precisely why *that* abomination did not occur.

[@rubenlarochelle1881]

1940?!? 1956?!? No idea that happened so recently! Wow, thanks to this great channel for bringing these incredible historical facts to us...

[@chrisdelagarza8048]

FUN FACT::::: NOOOOO

[@thefricking5407]

No

[@aleksandarvil5718]

French _'NO'_

[@androzani]

Non

[@chrisdelagarza8048]

@The Fricking SOON

[@chrisdelagarza8048]

@Aleksandar Vil SOON

[@pegauracheii]

This is an EXTRAORDINARY video!!!

[@someonenew439]

Love the end credit thing. Bring it back

[@louiscallahan3720]

"Dat empire, though"

[@thomascatty379]

Louis Callahan he’s right, that’s beautiful

[@appleslover]

The British empire alone was way bigger (at its territorial peak in 1921).

[@tlaloc6885]

@@appleslover still more land if they unified

[@cratarata2278]

@@tlaloc6885 can you imagine British empire and french empire both combined when they were at their peak now that would be one juiced up empire.

[@Viviiii]

Ok clearly I would have loved to have Queen Elisabeth the 2nd as the queen of France

[@manooxi327]

I like your input at the end

[@urs5911]

Hey! What happened to the English and British 10 min history series? Stoll waiting for #21 ;) I Love your work! Keep it up! :D

[@semipenguin]

The whole right side, left side driving thing, is enough to be a deal breaker.

[@Guitaristmalakian]

The two worst enemies making the greatest warrior.. this is basically Goku and Vegeta fusionning with potala

[@tgc5663]

dw, Liz is immortal anyways so she doesn't have to worry about those pesky revolutionaries

[@johnscanlan9335]

Who's the guy doing the voiceover for all these fantastic History Matters videos? He definitely has star quality!

[@McRocket]

I knew nothing of this before. Thank you. ☮

[@ericcarson4513]

This was the first time i've stayed past the credits, didn't know he did after credit scenes.

[@andknuckles101]

I honestly think, if done right, this could be genuinely beneficial towards both countries

[@wilkosgaming9224]

Indeed, the industry and military potential is insane, that and if you added both empires at their territorial peak, even more potential if you uplifted everywhere

[@greenbutter3190]

Stable video👍

[@teymurbunde763]

How does it come that you did upload a video so close to another so sudden after you uploaded once a week only. do you have time now because you need to work less due to quarantene? or do you just want to upload more now? just wanna know :)

[@serred9452]

England to France: Would you rather be Englishmen? France: No! France to England: Would you rather be Frenchmen? England: No! US to France & England: How about American? France & England: NO!!!!!

[@Twigs1836]

I know it's anatomically accurate, but seeing those children with big eyes unsettles me.

[@nutpeg6915]

He has seen some shit man..

[@Cjnw]

They are cats

[@jonathanjeffrymulyana4390]

What children?

[@yungastolfo1772]

2 uploads in a week? Christmas come early!

[@johntuite8718]

2 vids in 2 days this is better than any national-economic union.

[@xenotypos]

A shame you didn't mention the "Angevin empire" (a name created by historians for the collection territories ruled by the Plantagenet dynasty, by personal unions): it was almost the unification of the two, the closest ever. Sure the throne of France was outside of it, the most of the french kingdom was effectively ruled by the Plantagenet dynasty (from france too, but originally a local lord), in Angers, which also happened to be the kings of England. In general, France's leading cast and England's leading cast were really difficult to be considered as "separate", for a part it was more or less the same people. I don't understand why it's not mentioned. For me it was the ultimate example of all.

[@NathanDudani]

For me too

[@Alistana]

The currency should be: Pound + Franc Frand

[@joelthomastr]

Surely Panc As in, laughing all the way to the

[@evandavid2816]

Well, calling it the 'Pranc' would be too much of a gift to headline writers, yes? ('Joke currency' gags and all that...?).

[@alwinstock8795]

Does this mean that there would be baguettes dipped into tea

[@karlmachnow4961]

Will you do a long video on the Khmer Rouge? I'd find this interesting as it is a lesser-known and badly covered topic.