How Do They Teach the American Revolution in Britain?

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Sources:
jur.byu.edu/?p=14424 (Journal of undergraduate research, Brigham Young University)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educati...
www.aqa.org.uk/resources/hist...
www.aqa.org.uk/resources/hist...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Adv...
allthingsliberty.com/2013/10/...
Fagerstrom, D. (1954). Scottish Opinion and the American Revolution. The William and Mary Quarterly, 11(2), 252-275
www.theguardian.com/politics/...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/71st_Re...
theeducatorsroom.com/using-ha...

[@TodayIFoundOut]

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[@Brythnoth_of_the_Void]

If only Boudicca hadn’t released those rabbits. If she hadn’t she might have won.

[@vitalspark6288]

52nd State? I've heard 51st before, but 52nd?! Who's number 51?

[@deborahpell3869]

So why do you call places (common wealth)

[@vitalspark6288]

@@deborahpell3869 The term "Commonwealth" basically just means a political community founded for the public good. It's kind of similar to the original meaning of "republic" which just means "thing of the public". There's various US States that call themselves commonwealths - Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Massachusetts. A few countries have "commonwealth" in their full official names, like the Commonwealth of Australia. And there's also two large international political organizations that use the name - the Commonwealth of Independent States, which comprises most of the former USSR, and the Commonwealth of Nations, which comprises most of the former British Empire. (The Commonwealth of Nations does have a fairly inclusive membership policy though, and will accept countries which were never part of the British Empire, such as Mozambique and Rwanda.)

[@deborahpell3869]

@@vitalspark6288 Never knew that, thank you very much.

[@nroke1684]

The UK is the world’s largest supplier of independence days.

[@johnree6106]

That would be rome

[@nroke1684]

@@johnree6106 Rome is *the Mediterranean’s* largest supplier of independence days, The UK is the *world’s*

[@johnree6106]

@@nroke1684 England won it's independence from Rome

[@nroke1684]

@@johnree6106 England isn’t the UK. It’s part of the UK.

[@johnree6106]

@@nroke1684 To be fair he was talking about the british empire, so I assume you were also and also Rome basically conquered most of the UK countries but honestly I probably only know a few countries in the UK.

[@secretmilo]

UK: Who are you? US: We declared independence and revolted against your tyranny! UK: Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

[@samueleveleigh2767]

US: we have lots of natural resources... UK: i want to say... Jamaica? US: we're the democracy guys? UK: greece is thst you, so sorry must have been drunk that decade... US: who the fuck is Greece

[@andrewolson5471]

This comment is underrated by a lot.

[@adamnelson4428]

USA: You spent £20million and 7 years fighting a literal world war To protect us And a 10 year war To suppress our rebellion Which cost almost as much U.K.: ohhhhh Canada how are you mate?

[@lawrencemiller7442]

@@adamnelson4428 hahaha 🤣🤣🤣.

[@theshlauf]

I've heard it best as "The sun never sets on countries that celebrate the day they told the British Empire to fuck off."

[@williammccoy9854]

For Americans, it was the single most important date in the history of our nation. For the British, it was Tuesday...

[@herambhasabnis6949]

😂😂😂

[@sabrinalanning1925]

Chewsday

[@ladyprudence6]

They like to say that but they fought 7 years to keep the colonies, they fought long and hard. 25,000 British soldiers died -that's a lot. And we fought them again in 1812.

[@captainbean3114]

I grew up in London, and was actually taught in decent detail about the revolution. The big difference between my American schooling and my person experience in the UK was that my British history-lessons bounced all over the globe. We learned about Egypt, Greece, China, Rome, England, Germany, France, and yes, America. We didn’t cover it in great detail, but I don’t recall their being much beating-around-the-bush. It was pretty much “king George was rebelled against for taxation and religious persecution”. Because that was all true lol.

[@XXXTENTAClON227]

Yup, I’m in the same boat but in reverse; the USA first then England later. The USA taught it like the biggest underdog victory ever and an emphasis on battle, meanwhile England was like “Did you know ancient Egyptians would weigh their hearts on scales against a feather?”

[@armand9404]

It was parliament that has always had the authority to raise taxation, not the king. That is the key error Americans learn from taking the declaration of independence at face value and not as a partisan document. The king had no power to second guess the authority of the elected government of the day.

[@kayzeaza]

@@armand9404 the king had significant control over parliament. He approved of the Prime Minister. If George wanted to stop the taxes he could just have parliament nominate a new one

[@milkduds1001]

My American schooling bounced all over the world as well. We learned about everything from Ancient Greece to modern day. Even learned about the history of Korea, China, and Japan. Thing is, as I’m sure you know, the US is 50 sovereign states with different curriculums that’s determined by the local governments. Some schools are better than others.

[@armand9404]

@@kayzeaza that's not correct. The king followed the policy of his government. That has been true since the civil war. The last king to attempt that was executed for treason.

[@justsomeperson5110]

When your first wife leaves you, maybe it's her, maybe it's you. When your fourth wife leaves you, it's probably you? When your 62nd wife leaves you... Yeah. It's you. It's definitely you.

[@bland2467]

@@RedWither04 okay imperialist.

[@Willy_Tepes]

What about when you get kicked out of 110 countries?

[@frankk1319]

@@RedWither04 1

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@RedWither04 It started with India and was far from peaceful. After GB got humiliated by Gandhi they had little choice but to let their subjects go. When someone successfully paints you as the tyrant, you lose a lot of authority and legitimacy. Being a part of the Commonwealth is mainly a financial issue.

[@tiberiussempronious6252]

Great comment...

[@metalman7825]

Americans fighting for independence:”go ahead, try to take our muskets” Irish fighting for independence:”go ahead, try to start your car”

[@joeslater3682]

This comment didnt get enough attention hahaha

[@bonjovi2792]

That, that was good 😂😂

[@Zeuwamakanuwadiegwu]

👀🔥🔥🔥

[@TheAcolyte01]

Dark

[@sheadoherty7434]

Oof

[@walsh451]

I'm British. The way I look at it is, the American Revolution is a massive part of Americas hundreds of years of history, and a relatively small part of Britain's thousands of years of history

[@jyy9624]

Except Americans were the same until 1776 and then they went on to 2.0

[@wrestlinginfodude2644]

Not 2.0 just a second version of europians

[@jyy9624]

@@wrestlinginfodude2644 yes their saviors

[@Watankatanka]

Interesting way of looking at it) Greetings from KC!

[@zombiemom6701]

Very true.

[@mikekeefer4365]

I have British friends who have very little knowledge of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. When they have visited the US I have taken them to several battlefields and monuments. They say they have never heard of these battles. They tell me that the British have fought so many wars that it is difficult to keep them straight. I am a huge history buff, so when I have visited Great Britain, my friends have taken me to Blenheim Palace, Trafalgar Square, and the HMS Victory, to name just a few places. I find British history very fascinating.

[@PerspectivePossibilities]

Most Americans barely know jack shit about our own history, let alone any other countries 🤣

[@CautionCU]

As an American, I can confirm we are disappointed that we are not trapped in your thoughts forever.

[@KoachOfGaal]

Can confirm.

[@isziahs5951]

On the contrary, we’re usually trapped in yours 😂

[@therose1277]

@@isziahs5951 Agreed! I'm an Anglophile! ♡

[@Chromegrillz]

British loosing 13 colonies was little lose. British empire was far bigger than 13 colonies.

[@wewinallday6]

@@Chromegrillz ya but we was the uk down fall

[@AcmeWingbaby]

So, basically... “For you it was the most important day in your life. For me, it was Tuesday.”

[@sonorasgirl]

“Legendary fight with shia labeouf! Normal Tuesday night, for Shia Labeouf”

[@yakadoodledongywongy8718]

Lol the greatest line in hollywood history from such a bad movie.

[@pigz250]

i think you mean chewsday

[@poglifeactual7936]

I mean Britain is responsible for over 40 independence days, sooo.

[@christophersine84]

Seems fair

[@matlabninja]

My ex-mother-in-law is British, and described her education on the American Revolution as "Ungrateful colonists were'nt worth the effort to keep in line."

[@thetraveler2224]

Knowing what all the acts(and how they affected people)did and how the colonists were treated it really sounds like abuse.

[@haroldinio8327]

Simply put, British history is substantially longer then American history and so British schools can't give the same level as detail on the American Revolution as America can

[@tonyyoung2509]

I once stayed in a house that was built before Sir Walter Raleigh (Roanoke Island) was born. Yep British history is "relatively" older ;-)

[@PluralOfSillyGoose]

More importantly the US fought far fewer external wars than the British did and so most of our focus goes onto the few major conflicts we did participate in

[@samkf250]

“History started on July 4th 1776, anything that happened before then was an accident.” - Ron Swanson.

[@SquishyUnit69]

Nice

[@Dr_Alan_Grant]

Nice

[@LongdownConker]

Ye but it didn't tho lol 😂

[@Dr_Alan_Grant]

@@LongdownConker Another job well done, Captain Obvious!

[@LongdownConker]

@@Dr_Alan_Grant OK u got me there lol, but it is a rather pig headed statement lol 😂

[@ViscidBeltUSA]

Unlike many countries that got independence from Great Britain, the American independence was unique. It was literally Englishmen vs the descendants of Englishmen living in a new continent. The American Colonists literally revolted against the country of their ancestry.

[@zerolimitsoffroad6346]

Very good point. I dont think he mentioned that.

[@OneTrueScotsman]

There are unique things about every revolution. There's just too much British history to focus on one nation's independence. For instance, the high school I attended is older than the US. And the home I live in now was built before Shakespeare and Newton were born. And that's still recent in British history.

[@Leviathan56]

It was also very unique as it had incredible battles and was a untrained army to the biggest empire in the world.

[@Leviathan56]

@@eaglethehulk8539 what does that have to do with anything

[@James-kd6kf]

To further complicate it, many of the colonists fighting for independence still viewed themselves as British. It's like when you move out and your parents keep saying "As long as your living under my roof".

[@juliapigworthy]

I think the British view American independence the way parents privately admire their kids when they decide they've had enough of mum and dad's house rules and move out to build a future on their own terms.

[@thesultanofsaltines921]

I am an American and a bit of a history buff. Many years ago a friend of mine and I went to Cowpens South Carolina to see the famous Revolutionary War battlefield there. We didn't even realize till we arrived there that it was the anniversary of the battle and was quite an affair. There was a contingent of elderly British gentlemen that flew all the way from Great Britain to take part in the anniversary and to pay their respects to the British dead from the battle. They had uniforms on and were obviously British military veterans themselves, they even had a group of bagpipe players with them. I was always impressed with that, they were such charming old fellows to have a meet and greet with but you really had to admire their love of country and dedication, and how they came so far to a place even most Americans don't know much of anything about to pay their respects in rural South Carolina. The American Revolution is as much British history as it is American. Not long before hostilities broke out most of the Colonists considered themselves loyalists to the Crown. That war was a very complicated one from a political stand point. Perhaps it is a bit of an over simplification to say that when it started you had roughly 1/3 of the Colonists were pro independence where as another 1/3 remained loyal to the Crown and yet the other 1/3 really didn't give a shit either way but as the war dragged on the majority of that last 1/3 had to pick a side eventually. It became a combination of a Revolution a world war a rebellion and a civil war all in one and it was nasty. But even the most ardent of the seperatists that took up arms against the British in that conflict often considered themselves loyal to the crown at one point. This is why it is as much British history as it is American history as much as anything and I would argue that perhaps this is a possible reason why American Independence from Great Britain is often passed over in British history classes.

[@runiccurse990]

respect to those british soldiers, never forgetting the sacrifice of their fellow soldiers

[@chrisbailey7550]

The American Revolution is very relevant to British history, not least because of the intellectual and conceptual legacy. The Americans took a pre-existing language of liberty, previously largely restricted to cutting edge Enlightenment thinkers, and made it the creed of an entire people (to which Americans pay homage to this very day) and of course this immediately affected British political thought, even amongst those who considered themselves to be above raw democracy. The thing is, that so many things really matter. British kids have enough time to do a core curriculum, followed by a variety of optional subjects. If, after 14, they choose to continue taking History, then their teachers provide more in-depth teaching about a variety of subjects chosen by the teacher. Thus, a British kid could have the US revolution taught to them over a few minutes, or, by chance, in-depth over the course of a few months. Alternatively, the in-depth teaching might be about Weimer Germany, the Nazi's, the Soviet Union, British social history (in one given period), Vietnam, the Cold War (early or late), the Space Race, the Great Depression in the US, Roosevelt, the US Westward Expansion, the US Civil War, the French Revolution, the Russians under Peter the Great, the 30 Years War, the Wars of Religion, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Wars of the Roses, the Industrial Revolution, or British domestic politics in any given period.

[@thesultanofsaltines921]

@@chrisbailey7550 That is very interesting and enlightening. Thank you for sharing how history is taught in the UK. I was not much of a student in my youth, to be honest I was a knuckle head that cut class a lot napped with my head on the desk and when not napping I was a class clown. I just had a rotten attitude towards school and a lot of things back then. I recall way back then hearing how in Germany they did things similar to how you laid out history classes in the UK. I always thought that sounded so marvelous! The idea of being able to somewhat more or less customize your education after a certain point to suit your needs and interests. Sadly we don't do it that way in the US, or at least we didn't in my day. I always thought perhaps I may have had a little more interest in my education back then if we had done things more that way here. I had little to no interest in history till I got into my teens really. I went to a military school for a year which is I'm Camden South Carolina which by US standards is quite a historical town. The battle of Camden during the Revolution was fought there, you Brits embarrassed us good in that one lol. All of my teachers were Cold War era military officers and vets. It was very interesting learning about the Vietnam War and Korean War from teachers who actually were veterans of those conflicts. The school it's self had an airfield on the back side and I learned that during WWII the British RAF used the campus and airfield to train pilots because as you know the skies over Britain were rather dangerous at the time. It is through experiences outside of a class room u believe you learn far more of history. History becomes alive that way as opposed to just learning dates and names and places so you can get your multiple choice answers right on a mid term exam the way history is taught here. The people who lived through those events just become much more real to you which makes the history all the more fascinating outside of the class room. I have never crossed "the Pond" to see the other side of it even though my ancestors come from all over the British Isles. One thing I have learned from other Americans who have done that is if we are not careful we begin to realize this country isn't that old and by comparison we don't have as much history to tell. I have heard Brits who have come here and learn our history say they find US history more interesting because so much of what you learn about here didn't happen so long ago lol. But it is all very interesting, oddly enough the parts we seem to find so interesting are the ones we should be glad we didn't have to live through. As I have heard it said "what makes for the best of history makes for the worst of current events".

[@chrisbailey7550]

@@thesultanofsaltines921 Yes, after a few decades of quite happy current affairs, we're now living through history! We had the 2008 crash, the lost years, the too-sharp political division of 2015-20 and then a pandemic and now a great inflation. In the UK, we're about to have a great recession! We're living through history, again. It's an odd sensation. I hate to think about the kids in 200 years time, being forced to learn this stuff.

[@thesultanofsaltines921]

@@chrisbailey7550 Yes, I was 16 years old when the build up to the 1991 Gulf War was taking place. Of course as always the news media sensationalized everything "50,000 casualties on the first day!" and I was dumb enough to believe it at the time. I tried to join the Marine Corps and was told "finish high school first and come back in a few years kid!" lol. I thought that was going to be the last great War and was foolish enough to want to go fight in it. Things have been a lot more interesting since 1991 than I anticipated and far more interesting in more recent times than I would like. A lot of people here think we are headed towards a civil war these days. It does seem bleak admittedly but I remind people that the last one could have been prevented had people back then had just listened to voices of reason instead of rabble rousing hot heads with their own agendas on both sides. I am affraid that seems to be a recurring theme through out history. "Hard times make hard men and hard men make softer times. Soft times make soft men who make hard times.".

[@jlsgarage872]

Americans in the late 1700s: hey England can we have less taxes and freedom? England: yeah, from our cold dead hands Americans: *your terms are acceptable*

[@ltlbuddha]

Going to guess you are American. In reality, the proximate cause* was expecting the colonies to pay the bill they incurred in triggering the French and Indian war. Rather than pay, the colonies rebelled. *There are other causes as well. For instance, the colonists were angry that the crown wouldn't let them steal more native land.

[@Zlittlepenguin]

@@ltlbuddha the funny thing is that the colonists weren’t even being taxed as much as Britain was taxing it’s own citizens. In fact, America almost failed because they didn’t really want to be taxed AT ALL. They created the articles of confederation which had a weak central government, and anytime said government asked if the states could pitch in to help fund the WAR FOR LITERAL INDEPENDENCE, the states collectively said, “nah we’re okay.” The government had to print so much money as a result, to the point where George Washington resorted to looting his own lands in order to feed his army lol.

[@georgea5991]

@@ltlbuddha The main cause wasn't necessarily taxes. It was taxation _without representation_ . No seats in Parliament, and thus no voice, ultimately resulted in rebellion. In fact, many people who would go on to be popular founding fathers of the US really wanted reconciliation with GB, and a seat at the table as British subjects. BTW, up to the actual Declaration of Independence, "wars triggered" and "stolen land" was started, and supported, by GB as there was no US. EDIT: a comma

[@georgea5991]

@UCYXYLGatV3aPR7ZFo4vb0wg Being subjects to, but not full citizens of, a government so distant only makes it seem more so. It was indeed objective; there were no seats in parliament set aside for colonists. Colonists were dictated to, and expected to follow, regulations and taxes they could take no direct part in. The Amendments listed in the Bill of Rights highlight this, as these were safeguards against what GB did, so they wouldn't happen again. If you disagree, then simply think about _why_ seats weren't granted to colonists to shut up their very accurate and successful "marketing slogan".

[@gilbertotoledo1421]

@@georgea5991 but they were represented. The colonial representative to the crown was *gasp* Benjamin Franklin. If I remember correctly he had an audience with the king who wanted to know the state of the colonies as well as any grievances and Franklin said everything was cool in the colonies. He then returned to America and promptly proceeded to scheme against the crown. Which is why the revolution caught the crown off guard, they had just asked the representative and he said had said that everything was fine.

[@kpounders7437]

As an American, I'd love to hear a Today I Found Out about Brexit.

[@stevefox3763]

in short, us, the British people want it and dont regret it one bit but in the media here and all around the world its portrayed as the worst mistake ever made!

[@TeslaHaxz]

@@stevefox3763 yeah, based on the British people i watch that seems accurate

[@jonarific8504]

I'd say it's the definition of a wedge issue. The vote went 52/48. It's consistently been assessed by experts as having various negative consequences and is still unresolved in relation to the final deal or lack thereof with the EU with some suggestion they're waiting on the US election result with the presumption Trump will support a US trade deal compared with Biden.

[@nataliealphonse4634]

@@stevefox3763 so you the people as in the slightly bigger than 50% of the even smaller percentage of citizens of the larger country that actually voted? Cool thanks for your input that helped a lot

[@stevefox3763]

@@nataliealphonse4634 we voted to leave, no matter why twisted way you want to play it, period. it was a democratic vote and thats that.

[@l_fieldy6635]

"The UK sees American independence as a lucky escape" - Al Murray, a man with a big brain, I recommend you watch his comedy!

[@dbzfanexwarbrady]

"seperated by a common language, and a gaint fucking ocean thank christ"

[@dylanmurphy9389]

Only reason we lost is because we were fighting fellow brits 😅

[@l_fieldy6635]

@@dylanmurphy9389 True true, 🧠

[@TheCrystonian]

This has been both a great video overall and an informative one. It is interesting to see what other nations teach historically about my home country. It does make sense for a country as old as the UK that something minor as a revolution and separation would be a footnote.

[@billr3654]

My funniest anecdote as an American about this is when a co-worker of mine once asked our boss how he planned on celebrating Independence Day. He was English. After an awkward silence, I reminded my co-worker that English people probably don't celebrate that day.

[@ADrunkCrayfish]

I made kinda the same mistake once, except I asked a Jew what he was doing for Christmas.

[@vampyr2936]

And on that day, a man died...

[@Labyrinth6000]

Just put a picture of George Washington on his door and watch as he shake his fist in anger at him

[@paulchapman1677]

@@Labyrinth6000 He was probably thinking that George Washington was from an English family and served in the Royal Navy.....WTF

[@Cheesy.Weezy.6053]

They curl up with their cup of tea and cry in their rooms while making fun of modern American politics in their ex wives cloths

[@GusCraft460]

British history is just so much longer than American history that they can’t focus on any one subject for very long.

[@AusyG]

Interesting then, that I once met a gentleman who seemed to know more about America than many Americans do. He had also been to every state except Alaska and Hawaii

[@orangefox3285]

@@AusyG I feel like if you’ve been to every state but Hawaii and Alaska, your means and intelligence is a bit higher than an average stereotype of an American.

[@piterpraker3399]

@@orangefox3285 American culture is dependent on state/region. We're way bigger than a neighborhood.

[@backtoshellac6459]

@@AusyG Damn son, I'm an American and I've only been to 4

[@neuralwarp]

USA : founded 1776 UK : founded 1801

[@JonnyBefull]

I'm British but studied at university in the US for a year. I once got asked by an American in an American history class "how does it feel that we beat you?". I replied with "how does it feel to be saved by the French?".

[@jeanrodriguez2078]

Especially the prussian! Also, that sounds weird to me considering that he didn't participate in the war

[@sutty8526]

Exactly and the Spanish helped them with supplies.

[@_________.]

Typical british. Cant handle a loss so you have to play revisionist historian.

[@Karlach_]

The French didn't help us in the Revolution until we had already beat you by ourselves a few times. The French didn't want to help us if we couldn't prove we had potential first. Also, the US returned the favor in WW2 and helped liberate their country from German control. The debt is paid

[@user-sf4il5kd5k]

Weird, because in the 1940's, without the United States, ya'll woulda been eating schnitzel, drinking warm beer, and speaking German.....

[@elainechubb971]

I am in my 80s and learned history mainly in a British grammar school (a "secondary" or age 11+ school roughly corresponding to junior high + high school in America) back in the 1950s. We had a curriculum based on wide stretches of time: year 1 was the ancient world (particularly Greece and Rome); 2 was the Middle Ages (to late 15th Century); 3 was the Tudors through the Stuarts; 4 was the Hanoverians and Victoria, roughly 1700 to 1901; 5 was European history 1815-1914. (After that wasn't old enough to be historic!) A big emphasis on wars, government,, technological advancement. You can see that the American Revolution (which we called the War of American Independence) had to fight for lesson time during year 4 with such topics as important to an English/British child as: two Jacobite revolutions; the development of the United Kingdom; the development of a constitutional monarchy with power passing to Parliament; various long wars in Europe and elsewhere in the world, such as the Seven Years War,; the Industrial Revolution; the French Revolution, which led to the wars with the Revolutionary Government of France and then the Napoleonic Wars; a lot of scientific advances; the Crimean War and the Boer War (and various domestic turmoil, such as the Chartist movement, that never quite rose to the level of revolution or even revolt); exploration of the world and the acquisition of lands for a growing empire (Canada, India, parts of Africa, Hong Kong, several West Indies islands, etc.); And social topics such as the rise or urbanization, the fight for Catholic emancipation, the abolition of slavery, the expansion of education, and setting minimum ages for children working in factories and down the coal mines somehow had to be fitted in too! And we didn't have a daily history lesson; we worked on a seven-day calendar in order to fit in all the subjects (English, Latin, French, math, science, history, geography, art, music, religious instruction [Old Testament and New], gym, outdoor sports ... I think we got a history lesson three or four times in that seven-day span. What I remember about what I learned about the American Revolution was that the British were mostly to blame for the outcome by not taking it seriously enough. (Well, it coincided with a period of war or almost war with France, Spain, etc.) The British didn't believe this little squabble with the uppity colonials would amount to anything much. One anecdote I remember--it came with a moral lesson, of course--was that at a particularly critical point, there was an important memorandum needing speedy attention sitting on the desk of a senior government official, I think to do with army movements or essential supplies. The bureaucrat went off for the weekend (probably a long weekend) without dealing with the matter, and the delay proved crucial. I have no idea whether this was historical fact, but it was sure impressed on us that you did your work before indulging in the luxury of leisure! Given the length and complexity of the history of England and the U.K., plus fitting in "Western civ." and a good bit of at least Western European history, plus some of the history of the British Empire countries, I'm guessing that the American Revolution got about as much time as could be allocated. In roughly the same time period, the Napoleonic Wars were far more crucial to the survival of Britain as an independent country than was the American Revolution. The development of steam power and the growth of the mechanized textile industry and the railways, the coal and iron industries, the slow progress toward universal literacy, all had more effect on the country (not to mention the world) than the loss of some colonies--which were being in effect replaced by Australia and New Zealand and other colonies--that cost a lot of money and resources to protect and administer. The costs might be offset by raw material imports, such as tobacco and cotton, but it wasn't a simple matter of the home country just plundering the colonies. And I don't think that in the late 18th century the ideas of freedom/liberty and no taxation without representation resonated back in Britain, where the bulk of the population couldn't vote and the nobility, upper class, and upper middle class were pretty firmly in charge. Maybe a myopic view, but an understandable one.

[@JohnDoe-wt9ek]

The irony being that everything during and after WWI directly affects you, the world, and how things are playing in this world as we speak... History isn't history just because its "old". (Its not a jab at you.)

[@elainechubb971]

@@JohnDoe-wt9ek You are so right! It's part of my life, sure. My grandparents (maternal) were married in the summer of 1914, after the assassination of the Austrian Archduke by the Serbian revolutionaries, but before Britain got pulled into the war. My grandmother told me how she found herself standing quite alone on the lawn of her parents' back garden, where the reception was held, because everyone was busy talking about the coming war and ignoring the bride! My grandfather, who was very interested in history and was born in the 1880s, once told me that there were probably veterans of the Battle of Waterloo still alive when he was born, since drummer boys were enlisted sometimes in their early teens.. So three long lifetimes from the Battle of Waterloo to now. The novelist and poet Robert Graves (fought in WW I) "met" the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne when he (Graves) was being wheeled in his pram in a London park and Swinburne passed by and admired the baby, Swinburne as a child had met Dr. Samuel Johnson, and he in turn had been taken as a child to Queen Anne, to be touched by her in the hope it would cure his scrofula (known as the king's evil, or in Anne's case, the queen's evil, I suppose). On the other end of the chain, I attended an event in London in the early 1960s called "Songs of Love and War," at which Graves recited some of his poetry and sang "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire," an anti-war song of the trenches in WW I. So four long or longish lives to take us back to the last of the Stuarts. That's more than three centuries. So history to me is practically yesterday, and certainly the events of my childhood seem like history. Time is very flexible. My grandfather was born before the airplane, before automobiles became everyday possessions, before most advances in medicine. My grandmother's home was gaslit. My father was born before radio, and the Titanic. My mother was born during WW I, before women got the vote in England I was born before the polio vaccine, nuclear bombs, the computer. I worked with a woman only slightly older than I, who left school at the age of 14, then the legal school leaving age in England. An enormous number of changes in really a blip in time in the history of the human race!...

[@jochakram2363]

@@elainechubb971 Wonderfully put. I love history and the people who are touched by it.

[@PluralOfSillyGoose]

Well the American Revolution doesn’t have to fight for time with the 7 Years’ War since The American Revolution was a consequence of it and French Revolution is linked to the American Revolution

[@LolUGotBusted]

A man walks into a -bar- pub in London and sees three portly women drinking. "Are you ladies from Scotland?" "It's Wales, you pidyn!" "I'm so sorry. Are you whales from Scotland?"

[@LolUGotBusted]

@GazB a Welsh insult, 'd!ck' iirc

[@dr.velious5411]

@@LolUGotBusted Thanks, I'm learning Welsh, guess I'll add that to my lexicon.

[@seby826]

🤣🤣🤣

[@stevenwoodward5923]

That was very politically incorrect, I love it.

[@josephtabar492]

👋😂👋

[@jorgeluz9560]

In short: "dude, we lost so many colonies over the years, it's kinda hard to keep track of all of them""

[@davidlarson242]

To you it was the most important day of your life. To me it was Tuesday.

[@Deepingmind]

Great street fighter reference lol

[@slicey9650]

But you forget about the most important one that turned into the biggest superpower in the world?

[@anna8389szczerba]

LOL love it

[@4realjacob637]

United States was not a typical colony. Americans were supposed to be a full British citizens. By the start of the war Americans were nearly a quarter of the British population.

[@chatchatchat915]

A piece I want to share is about 10 years ago when I was in middle school, we studied about WW2 about 10 minutes as it's only 2 pages in our history textbook.

[@taddersauce3672]

Surely not? What grade or year and country was it.

[@thedestiny326]

What?i had to do a whole powerpoint thats like 50 pages and is translated to my countrys secondary language

[@lafleurR1ddl3]

I’m not surprised that it’s not a major focus in Britain. You’ve got thousands of years of history to cover. P.S. thanks Britain for the Magna Carta

[@SnekVonSlonk]

English history isn't particularly a major focus either, at least when I was at school. We studied European history as a whole, with history of other cultures from further away occasionally looked at. American history isn't really mentioned at all because it's not particularly interesting or relevant aside from being on the long list of countries that used to be under the British Empire.

[@igoldenfreeza6687]

"We don't angrily shake out fist at a picture of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin" I didn't think you did but the fact you brought it up makes me think otherwise

[@garyfrost7838]

Then you are imagining things. He raised the question--and answered it--only because Americans asked him about how the British regard the American Revolution. I am a U.S.-based historian who knows many many British historians, and this video is absolutely accurate, although it politely neglected to mention that many Americans today exaggerate the relative importance of their Revolution on the world stage in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There were other events more immediately important to Europeans then.

[@CDEgas-sz9jz]

@@garyfrost7838 r/woosh

[@gebhardleberechtvonblueche1204]

@@garyfrost7838 golly gee what was that gust of wind?

[@Klaaism]

Yesss run dirt in my face harder...

[@MaestroAlvis]

Alright class, raise your arm as if you've just following through on a smashing bowl in you game of kriket. Timmy, a bit higher there, that's a boy. Now, clench your fist. Finally sway your fist gently and recite the passage from page 70 of your copy book. "Damn you, Yankees".

[@dudepool7530]

As an American, it never dawned on me how little of the revolution would be covered, simply because of how much history the UK has. Thanks for the eye opener!

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

Frankly nothing gets that much coverage anyway, probably learn more about any event in history from a half hour documentary on TV then at school, most of its just a exercise in writing and research to answer specific questions that are swiftly forgotten.

[@lindatisue733]

My Swedish students learn very little, basically it was some that happened during the Seven Years war, one could argue that was the first world war.

[@Zach-ku6eu]

That's the back half of the public classroom for you there.

[@BarryTGash]

What Simon is talking about is compulsory primary and secondary education (6-16 years old). At college (16-18 or senior high school for you chaps), it may be possible to specialise in a certain area of history and learn more about it. At University it is most certainly possible to specialise even further.

[@englishcountrylife3805]

It’s because the Americans kicked us out.

[@jonnmedds]

We (brits) have that much history to cover in school that the American Revolution was only briefly covered. It certainly wasn't in my History exam for GCSE. To be fair, 4th July doesn’t really mean all that much to us, just another day.

[@philipmorgan6048]

Yes, it was a Tuesday and nothing much happened.

[@jonnmedds]

@@philipmorgan6048 didn’t even know it was a Tuesday, means nothing to us brits lol

[@ladyprudence6]

You felt it years later. 1783.

[@steveTGO]

I am American, but, it's easy to understand that gaining your independence the one and only time you did so in history is monumentally more notable than relinquishing one of a numerous Nations relinquished. I believe we are taught the history of the Revolution fairly accurately, because we by no means see achieving our independence as an event where we just beat down and defeated the British military. Americans are fully aware that we had a lot of help from France and more importantly, we know that the British could have defeated the Colonies if they would have really wanted to put everything they had into it. There is an old saying, "The sun never sets in Great Britain", this is because Great Britain has controlled virtually the entire planet at different times throughout history. In addition, I almost see the Revolutionary War more as a Civil War than a Revolutionary War, because we were virtually all British fighting one another, this is why we are still like brothers.

[@KingFancyson]

Well said

[@BigMikeMcBastard]

The US founding is unfortunately very mythologized, to the point that "the Constitution" is venerated as an almost holy artefact that is of course perfect and untouchable (apart from all those dozens of times it was amended). A great deal of the problems America faces is because it is saddled with fairy tales about the perfection of its founding and the opinions of its slave-owning founders.

[@MrQuakeroat]

"The sun never sets in Great Britain" is not an old saying, or a new saying, or any saying at all.

[@KingFancyson]

@@MrQuakeroat Yeah the saying is "the sun never sets on the british empire" but they're a yank who repects the true nature of the american revolution so cut them some slack

[@MrQuakeroat]

@@KingFancyson Haha, yes, OK you're right. But I'm a pedant; don't I get any slack?

[@benlozier3290]

I’m impressed you got 11 minutes out of, “We don’t.”

[@-Extra_Lives]

I'm impressed you posted such a useless comment

[@callummanuel6175]

@@-Extra_Lives I’m surprised I have aids

[@CasualNotice]

To be fair, he only got six minutes out of it. The other four were an ad.

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

@@-Extra_Lives W

[@duncanbrown4184]

@@-Extra_Lives way to get ratioed!

[@julianhermanubis6800]

Britain loses most of a continent, slightly larger than Australia: "It's just a flesh wound!" France: "You're a loony."

[@theashenhunter8361]

Then france proceeds to sell us the other half of the continent.

[@wpjohn91]

The american Colonies were quite small at the time.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

@@wpjohn91 Well, the American colonies consisted of everything from the Appalachian Mountains over to the sea, so an area much larger than Britain already. And Britain didn't control all of Australia at that time, either.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

@@theashenhunter8361 Hurrah for France! And Thomas Jefferson for coughing up the cash and having French buddies.

[@elic1356]

Canada exists.

[@ricashbringer9866]

I try to recall the history I was taught in public school in the US. My education was from 1978 to 1991. I was taught the period of exploration that led to the voyage of Christopher Columbus and the colonization that followed. I was taught the progress of the 13 colonies, the French and Indian War, the Revolution, and the history of the United States up through WWII, and the Civil Rights movement. The Korean War, and Vietnam War were less taught as they were towards the end of the school year, but we had plenty of people around with first hand knowledge of those conflicts like our parents and grandparents. In my later years of school we would be taught the ancient to medieval periods of the Mediterranean and Europe, so we learned about Ancient Egypt, Rome, Carthage, Greece. We would be taught a good amount of the history of Great Britain up until the modern era, largely due to our historical heritage.

[@samsmith9232]

I really enjoy this series

[@themysticaldrone4517]

France Spain and Poland: "I DON'T CARE IF I WIN! I JUST WANT ENGLAND TO LOSE!"

[@abigailw7146]

Switzerland: …mmm yes… “war”..

[@Dogisdogisdog]

@@abigailw7146 they dont even know what war is lol

[@astro6009]

@@Dogisdogisdog On the contrary, Switzerland managed to come out on top of all recent major conflicts by maintaining neutrality. While the surrounding nations warred, Switzerland grew rich and remained unscarred. Switzerland is aware of war, and so avoids it.

[@SweetBrazyN]

True loool they ducked themselves so hard for trying to ruin our fun lol

[@themysticaldrone4517]

@@astro6009 I mean when you rig your own country to explode to deny an enemy's advance, and you don't have the resources to help a war machine, yeah you're kinda left alone And given your only resource is the world banks, which if you taken them, is basically declaring war on the world at once

[@usernameed]

“We had colonies over there, now we don’t. Moving on...”

[@nomdeplume5446]

More like: “We had colonies over there, now we just have Canada. Moving on...”

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

@@nomdeplume5446 canada is a better country, they aren't always shooting each other and rioting. Sorry but thats how we view America, violence, racism and out of control consumerism.

[@unnecessarilyepic1107]

@@GreatSageSunWukong never have I been so offended by somthing I 100% agree with.

[@TheJMBon]

@@GreatSageSunWukong As a US citizen, you are 100% correct but where I grew up, we saw Canadians as snooty individuals happy to benefit from US trade and protection. Since moving to FL, the canadians I have interacted with reinforced that belief. Some of the rudest people I have ever heard were snow birds from Ontario.

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

@@TheJMBon all my relatives are lovely, mostly from Toronto and the north west territories, maybe its just you and your upbringing? I tell you what most British people can't tell the difference between Canadian and American accent but you can certainly tell on attitude, Canadians are more like us, perhaps its all down to perception but you lot seem arrogant and in your face to us. Did you know smiling is seen as disingenuous in Russia, thats why they never do it, makes you look like your upto something, different strokes for different folks

[@btetschner]

Very interesting, thank you for the video.

[@Halal_Lettuce]

I remember I was sat in our history class, and do note that the teacher teaching us was practically everyone’s favourite and was a very fun teacher. We were on the topic of crime and punishment in the UK, and about transportation, on how the British Empire sent criminals to certain colonies, like Australia, and the Thirteen Colonies. He described these colonies as “the useless colonies” (as a joke of course), and when he learnt that people actually wrote that in their notes, he then said to write “USA” in brackets afterwords.

[@SlyFireVR]

Look at Simon, actually calling Japan out on it's war crimes

[@paddington1670]

Unit 731

[@damianmontesinos8908]

?

[@OMEGA521]

@@damianmontesinos8908 ??

[@badbilly7499]

Nanjing

[@TheJaminator128]

"War crimes" is such a stupid concept lmao. It's a freaking war; do you expect to be given coffee and cookies? Anything should go in pursuit of victory.

[@safespacebear]

"a handful of terrorist.." , oh dear, "Honey go grab the muskets and saddle the horses"

[@Rydonittelo]

I cant remember ever getting this at school, it's not really thought about

[@toddwilk9465]

I enjoyed the explanation of UK, etc. More than the title topic. Thanks 👍

[@JoeBLOWFHB]

As an American I'm proud to say our country was founded on tax evasive and gun ownership along with a healthy disdain for stamps and tea!

[@blueduck9409]

Funny how history repeats its self, no?

[@chrisb.7787]

And our postal system is bankrupt. Texas greated Biden with guns, and we're trillions of dollars in debt.

[@JoeBLOWFHB]

@@chrisb.7787 Just as the Founding Fathers intended!

[@adamlynch9153]

It was a 2% tax too 😂

[@JoeBLOWFHB]

@@adamlynch9153 EXACTLY....What were they trying to build a Space Shuttle and a moonbase or something? Look... if I'm giving up my hard earned cash I want some representation! I bet if they had put some tasteful nude drawings on those stamps they would have sold themselves.

[@neverlandonearth77]

America: “Freedom! We shall teach our kids and grandkids all about this great day of freedom!” Britain: “Oh, look. Another colony is gone. Better write this off on our taxes as a loss”.

[@scollyb]

It was a tax gain, at least in the short term. Britain stopped having to pay to defend the US but trade was almost unaffected.

[@randomeastasian347]

And yet the British is still crying about it and act like they don’t care. When they’re actually still pissed off about it 😂😂😂👏🏻

[@razier5299]

@@randomeastasian347 Eh I doubt anyone in UK, other then some older people, really care about the American's revolt. Most people I've seen who have talked about America seem to actually respect us and most people here respect the UK now.

[@smirkitrovfrownitrov5808]

@@razier5299 older people probably respect the Us more than any other considering they could’ve fought along side them in WW2, or were at least alive for most of the Cold War. Most British people who are salty about it are probably young teenagers who don’t know how the world works yet

[@spwicks1980]

@@smirkitrovfrownitrov5808 Literally no one in the UK cares we lost the American colony. We dont mope about the streets wo dering what could have been. The older generation's respect for the yanks though is true. The USA did save Europe's arse twice from the Germans though the second time around it was in their interest to join in come the finish regardless as Hitler would have set his sights on America once he had nuclear technology.

[@dave_goldcrest]

This is true in my experience. We learned a lot about the French and Russian Revolutions when studying history at school and college, but almost nothing about the American Revolution, except briefly as an example which had inspired the French. As an undergraduate student doing a history module on revolutions, the American Revolution was only mentioned in passing.

[@pompey333]

Simon is truly an expert at flawlessly including sponsership into the video.

[@NIN10DOXD]

To be fair, we just skip some American History here in America too, but for other reasons. *cough* The Philippines War *cough*

[@stje233]

what happened during that war I know it was for independence but that's all I know

[@haraecca8251]

The Philippine-American War,[11] also referred to as the Filipino-American War, the Philippine War, the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency[12][13] (Filipino: Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano; Spanish: Guerra filipino-estadounidense), was an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States that lasted from February 4, 1899 to July 2, 1902.[1] While Filipino nationalists viewed the conflict as a continuation of the struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution, the U.S. government regarded it as an insurrection.[14] The conflict arose when the First Philippine Republic objected to the terms of the Treaty of Paris under which the United States took possession of the Philippines from Spain, ending the Spanish-American War.[15] - copied from Wikipedia

[@UnknownGamer40464]

Learned it in college at least

[@cassiewebb1920]

@@stje233 World War 1 had little to nothing to do with the US. The US was simply in a state where the majority of people were ready for the country to be a world power rather than focused on themselves as they had been for the majority of the past century. The reason we don't learn much about it is because we were only allies who went to help out... It has little if anything to do with American histories outside of it's outcomes.

[@stje233]

@@cassiewebb1920 ok but what does ww1 have to do with any of this?

[@AV57]

I’m an American historian who particularly enjoys English history, perhaps because it’s easy to understand the source material as an Anglophone. From time to time I get lost in trying to narrate the whole history of Britannia in a punctuated style. Britain seems to always be in the middle of some hugely epic and consequential debate, war, discovery, invention, or experiment. It’s really hard to say when an event should be ignored in order to focus on the most important British history. My hats off to whoever is being given the task of making the curriculum. It’s an impossible task.

[@angelgjr1999]

Interesting. I personally find the Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) history more interesting. I guess everybody has interests in their own ancestral past.

[@AV57]

@@angelgjr1999, well, I don’t consider myself a British descendant. My paternal grandparents were from Poland and my maternal grandparents were from Sweden and they both emigrated around 1900. I’ve been trying to research Poland and Sweden more than Britain, but largely due to a lack of translations, it’s much harder to get Polish and Swedish history literature than to get British history in America.

[@angelgjr1999]

@@AV57 Interesting. We Poland and Spanish are brothers who defended Europe for 1000 years from Arabic invasion. Greetings brother. I suggest you research your history it may be very interesting. Polish fought against Hitler and Stalin too.

[@Yawbus1976]

The best description of that period of time, from the Empires perspective is...... 'America rebelled, India yelled Squirrel'.

[@paulodingle2142]

The opposite for me I find American history fascinating though it’s true what he says it’s just a tiny part of the history of the UK. It’s seen more as cousins got a bit rowdy and left.

[@SoManyRandomRamblings]

I always looked at the relationship like a family relationship.....kids rebel against their parents (after dealing with abuse) and go off on their own. Then once they have spent some time being independent.... they eventually realize they enjoy being friends with their parent and now everyone gets along.

[@liam7664]

In Canada our education system focuses more on the loyalists who came to settle in modern day Canada. Also we don’t celebrate our independence day (statute of Westminster) rather we celebrate Canada day which commemorates the unification of British North American colonies into one, which is Canada. Full independence was achieved in 1982, however.

[@hankw69]

I was stationed in Great Britain during the late 80's. One day a Jamaican in my unit raised his coffee and stated that this was Jamaican Independence day and the British had left his home island some ten years earlier. I asked how well things had gone for his country since their break with England. He said, "Went straight to Hell, man. Jamaicans can't run anything." I laughed and raised my can of pop, joined in the toast.

[@annmariebusu9924]

Things were good in the late 80s in Jamaica, he should see Jamaica now. Nearly all the colonized countries in that area and most areas are struggling whether English, French or Spanish based. Only Canada is doing ok.

[@samueleveleigh2767]

@@annmariebusu9924 because alot of the colonies were designed from the get go to be somewhat dependant on their home country to ensure loyalty. Once they got independence they didnt anticipate all of the added costs. Like a 16yr old getting a part time job, flipping off their parents only to find that while they can barely pay rent they cant afford any other bills

[@fuckfannyfiddlefart]

Why would you celebrate the alleged failing of an independent county? You should be sad and for the best for others as you would want the best for ourselves not to be the imperial dominion of others!

[@hankw69]

@@fuckfannyfiddlefart I was toasting their independence.

[@jeromematthews392]

@@hankw69 I'M Jamaican. Its true! EVERYTHING WENT TO SHIT AFTER THE 80s! Corruption and Nepotism ruined the economy.

[@agsilverradio2225]

As an American, I think the way Brittain teaches their history, seems to make perfect sense for the British. Focus on the fine details your own history first, and the USA should do the same for ours.

[@huntsman4283]

yup

[@simongrefstad7410]

How does Americans get taught history?

[@Dm-dw3tr]

@@simongrefstad7410 I dunno about anyone else, but growing up for me, it was always split into "world history" and "American history".

[@veemie8148]

@@simongrefstad7410 When I was in 5th grade (year six) I was taught some basic history and information about my local state (Minnesota). In the 6th grade (year 7) we were taught about a couple of ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In 7th grade (year 8) we learned world geography along with social studies. In freshman year (10th year) we had a class about demographics, major cultures, and religions. In sophomore year (11th year) we learned broad strokes world history. Neolithic period to 1490s for one half of the year, and up to the end of WW2 in the other half. In Junior year (12th year) we got taught American history which was more detailed. Late 1600s to 1918 for one half of the year. The other half of the year went up to the 1990s. I went to fairly well off suburban public schools. American education varies wildly by state and local area. I graduated in 2020 btw.

[@jesusisoursavior2076]

@@veemie8148 yeah, it's gotten to the point to where I know way more about the world, then our own country. I'm a junior, and should be taking American history this year. If I don't, then this will be my 4th year in a row learning world history.

[@owlnyc666]

Nice explanation on difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom.

[@garryt6356]

I am English and can confirm your assessment is 100% correct. The American Revolution was barely mentioned. Focus was on the areas you stated, plus men and women obtaining the vote.

[@danielseelye6005]

So basically Britain is the M. Bison to our Chun-Li? _The day you left us was the Greatest Day of your little lives. For us, it was Tuesday._

[@Tarotb]

Actually, it was a Thursday :P

[@danielseelye6005]

@@Tarotb My apologies :-D

[@theenzoferrari458]

So chun-li, what about chum Lee? Wont pawn stars reign Supreme?

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

You are probably not far off, America had like one revolution and civil war, we've been at that kind of thing for thousands of years so just having a revolution or civil war doesn't make you special unless they particularly rocked the boat in ways still felt today worldwide and I don't think anyone thinks thats happened, its not like America vastly changed like when Russia turned communist, same shit different government all the rules etc still based on what went before all very European in the way things are done, apple didn't move far from the tree.

[@TonySpike]

I have been basically telling my american freinds this for years lol

[@lonewanderer3603]

"If Americans don't own kettles, how do they make tea?" "They throw it in the ocean." Always loved that one.

[@CompletelyNewguy]

Something I learned recently about that, It was a bigger a deal than most would expect actually. Tea was money, and that was a lot of money they just threw in the ocean. In today's currency that shipment was worth at least 1.5 million dollars.

[@angelgjr1999]

@@CompletelyNewguy Yeah many details are looked over. Like how the Americans dressed as “Indians” to put the blame on them. America didn’t want independence just because of taxes. America wanted independence to expand west of the Appalachian mountains. The UK had treaties with the natives so the crown didn’t allow for colonists to go into native Americans territory. I love history. :)

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

As my (English) mother always said about iced tea: "these Americans have been drinking cold tea since they threw it in Boston Harbor, so of course you can't expect them to know how to make a _proper_ cup of it."

[@piperar2014]

@@angelgjr1999 There would have been westward expansion regardless, the question being how fast. It's not like Canada west of Lake Huron is populated and governed by natives today. In 1670 former indentured servants staged a rebellion in Virginia. At the time settlement was only allowed in coastal lowlands. Then the French and Indian War/Seven Year war moved the frontier west. I think the settlement of the Ohio Valley was inevitable even if the War of Independence was lost, but it might have been delayed a decade or two. Wonder what would have happened if in the early 1770s the colonies were offered seats in Parliament.

[@rachaelsdaddontdrink]

@@piperar2014 I agree with both of you. The Anglo-American colonists had been squeezed between the coastal areas and the Appalachian Mountains to the west. Frontiersmen had scouted into Ohio and Kentucky already... There was an expanding population that needed to... Well... Expand!

[@DaedalianAbilon]

so many Americans are so butt hurt from this & always try to make a big deal out of it when the UK don't care

[@Gagegehris]

The circumstances surrounding the rebellion are so weird, the Americans didn’t like getting taxed by the monarchy, however the British went bankrupt defending the colonies from the French. And now Full Circle hundreds of years later the taxes are 1,000% worse than what they were

[@blueberrypanquakes]

Daven: OK, time to research how the British teach the American Revolution... Simon: No need. I have this, actually.

[@ericvacca551]

The first time Simon actually knew something and wasn't reading a script thinking " I have no idea what they are talking about."

[@blueberrypanquakes]

Ooh somebody better get Simon some burn cream...oh never mind, he's used to the heat. He's the Boi With the Blaze(TM)!

[@EllBell-wj1ye]

Unite Ireland

[@pohldriver]

I think we've found Daven's personal account.

[@oldmech619]

I asked a Brit if they celebrated 4th July in England. He said Yes, but the Brits call it Thanksgiving Day.

[@NorroTaku]

"it's only covered briefly and them we go on to cover more important topics like *ourselves* "

[@degenerate7505]

to be fair that's every country, including here in America. hence why most history classes are named "US History" here. of course we also have world history but that is more a broad overview of human history.

[@aiodensghost8645]

@@degenerate7505 and US History is split into 2 years in most school systems (which got me since in the high school I went to before transferring)

[@MultiKool13]

@@aiodensghost8645 yeah, you usually learn early American history all the way up to about the end of slavery (maybe a little after) around 7th grade and then it picks up right where you left off all the way to modern day around 11th grade

[@matthewclark7885]

We Americans do the same with anything dealing with this non-important countries in europe

[@chickenmadness1732]

It's not even covered at all lol. I only vaguely heard of it on the internet after a while. Always got confused when Americans made jokes about 'boston tea party' after hearing my accent and I had to google it lol.

[@thesloith6212]

In Scotland we never specifically did a subject on the American revolution, but there was modern studies topic for the US in general where we learned about the American Dream, how Congress works, their political parties and we did some stuff relating to the American Civil War. In Scotland, we did the Russian Revolution and the Scottish wars of Independence and probably like the rest of britain, a million ww1 and 2 subjects. My history teacher once told us about his German friend who was like "when are you Brits going to get over ww2?" I think the real question is how do they teach it in say Canada? Probably one of the better sources for a non biased account of the Revolution

[@DrBuzz0]

What is more surprising to me is that there is not a greater focus on the conquest of the Americas as part of British history, which, of course, ended in the American Revolution for the US, but the UK simply had a huge stake in the Americas. They expended great resources to establish colonies and explore the Americas, eventually settling the areas we now know as New England and beyond clashing with the Dutch and French in the process and fighting the French and Indian War. After the American war of independence, the UK continued to have a huge presence in the Dominion of Canada.

[@ladyprudence6]

And the fact that the British helped introduce slave trade into the colonies.

[@huntergray3985]

Someone said that the American War of Independence was: "A victory of British soldiers under a British general against German soldiers under a German king."

[@CarsGettingHurt]

I've read something relating to this before... but can you elaborate?

[@Zach-ku6eu]

Who is the 'someone'? They were clearly an idiot without any literary credence. If it was you, then my point still stands.

[@huntergray3985]

@@CarsGettingHurt Unfortunately I can't find who said this and the original quote was probably "English soldiers under an English general." It refers to the fact that most " American patriots" thought of themselves, to begin with, as Englishmen (or Britons) whose "God-given English rights" were being trampled on by a tyrannical monarch (shades of the English Civil War.) Such things as Paul Revere shouting "The British are coming" would have made no sense to people who thought of themselves as British (the poem was written by Longfellow over 75 years after the event.) George Washington certainly thought of himself as, and referred to himself as, an Englishman. Further, much of the lead up to the war was the assertion of rights won by the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution (1688) and Bill of Rights, as well as older rights such as those claimed by Magna Carta (1215), still a central document in both American and British law. On the other hand, King George III was still considered a German even though he was born in England and spoke English as his native tongue (unlike George I and II.) There were fears that he was trying to impose tyrannical rule as practiced in the German states. This, of course, was made worse by the use of many thousands of German mercenaries in the American Colonies. You can see that even though the quote is humorous there is truth in it.

[@huntergray3985]

@@Zach-ku6eu Unfortunately I can't find who said this and the original quote was probably "English soldiers under an English general." It refers to the fact that most " American patriots" thought of themselves, to begin with, as Englishmen (or Britons) whose "God given English rights" were being trampled on by a tyrannical monarch (shades of the English Civil War.) Such things as Paul Revere shouting "The British are coming" would have made no sense to people who thought of themselves as British (the poem was written by Longfellow over 75 years after the event.) George Washington certainly thought of himself as, and referred to himself as, an Englishman. Further, much of the lead up to the war was the assertion of rights won by the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution (1688) and Bill of Rights, as well as older rights such as those claimed by Magna Carta (1215), still a central document in both American and British law. On the other hand King George III was still considered a German even thought he was born in England and spoke English as his native tongue (unlike George I and II.) There were fears that he was trying to impose tyrannical rule as practised in the German states. This, of course, was made worse by the use of many thousands of German mercenaries in the American Colonies. You can see that even thought the quote is humorous there is truth in it.

[@krystalanders9942]

American independence is about British people who came to America and overthrown the British monarch- because of taxes. Then they became our forefathers and formed the U.S.

[@77Supafly777]

It’s like when a disgruntled ex says the break up was their idea.

[@tbishop4961]

Spot on ole chap

[@claymore7315]

@@tbishop4961 please never talk like that in the real world.. for your own safety.

[@anenglishprat1774]

@@claymore7315 blimey mate bugger me whose pissed in your cornflakes

[@simonpowell2559]

It's like when your adolescent kid slams doors and screams "I hate you, I hate you" at their mum and dad. One day when they grow up they will realise how stupid they looked. We gave them a bloody country, the ungrateful bastards.

[@dontchatbreeze]

@@claymore7315 in the real world dont get so easily triggered

[@michaelgrant7663]

Could you do a video about the rules of warfare during the 18th century? Like how the armies treated their enemy armies and the sportsmanship and honor while waging war?

[@michealdrake3421]

Yes, in my experience talking to brits online and occasionally in person, they generally say the same, that it's mentioned, but kind of glossed over, which makes sense. In the context of British history it was a pretty minor event, even at the time. The empire was just getting a lot more out of its other colonies, India in particular, and all of its investment in America was based on speculation about potential future payoffs. I've heard a lot of brits that do learn more about the Revolution say that they wish it was covered in more depth though, that knowing the full story filled in a lot of missing puzzle pieces in their knowledge of what they were taught about the time. For example, up until the 20th century, the founding of the United States was probably the LEAST consequential thing to happen because of the war, at least to world history. Leagues more impactful though was the French Revolution, and a strong argument can be made that had France not chosen to help the rebels, they could have pushed back their economic collapse by a few decades and sent European history in a completely different direction.

[@danh2716]

Possibly minor in British history, but massive in world history for all countries that now have democratically elected governments. Seeing as the Magna Carta was a great idea totally squandered. The American Experiment was proof of concept for all nations to move toward representative governments. Including Great Britain.

[@freneticness6927]

Is like the 1966 world cup. Englands only won one but germanys won 4.

[@justbecause3187]

As an Australian: So it was that the UK needed a new place to send their convicts and other undesirables. Yey for us! 😏

[@jrr832]

Yup

[@theconstitutionalconservat3957]

@GazB do ya mean the originals or the ones that came and killed them all then claimed that title? Just for clarification

[@PavchBavin]

Bad for the letter "r" though. You guys steal them from other words and then add them where they don't belong

[@MustacheDLuffy]

I don’t think undesirables were sent to America but America was seen as be8ng nothing but undesirables

[@theconstitutionalconservat3957]

@@MustacheDLuffy actually a lot of criminals were sent to North America and even pirates settled the areas to. Though most called themselves privateers.

[@jamielockdown]

Interesting. I was taught about The American War of Independence in detail in Ireland as part of the Junior Cert (~GCSE) history curriculum. It's seen as a direct inspiration for the French Revolution and by extension the Irish 1798 rebellion, which, despite failing, is hugely significant to the history of Irish republicanism. It seems odd to teach about the significance of the French Revolution without talking about the major domino that fell before it. Even purely in terms of European history, it's surely an important step in the gradual transition from monarchical power to democratic republics?

[@acemarvel1564]

The truth is often denied by those who fear rebellion

[@VivaCohen]

Correct!

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

Precisely. Started the "Age of Revolution". Im sure most modern Brits truly don't care but I'll bet the men in the past that had a hand in forming curriculum and writing history were bitter lmao. Not as relevant today but I'm sure you definitely wouldn't want to give your subjects any funny ideas.

[@meredith5879]

Yes, if it were up to me, English Civil War, American Revolution, French, Haitian, Russian would be taught as one continuous movement.

[@lordjayden4600]

@@chickenfishhybrid44 Honestly most British schools dont have this massive focus on the age of Revolution, so the focus is not needed on the American Revolution

[@earlewhitcher970]

Interesting subject, thanks for shedding some light of this question. FIRST - a query; what is the music playing in the background of this video? I paused several times thinking it was on my end. As an American of 3/4 English and 1/4 Scottish lineage that dates back to 1620 on this side of the "Pond", I found this particularly interesting. I am, however, curious as to the omission of what we call the War of 1812, which would seem to have been the "conclusion" of the War of Independence. Did the modern day comradery of the two countries gel after the conclusion of this second conflict? Also thank you for further mudding up the waters as to what the difference is between the UK, England and whatever - I did not understand it before and I understand it even less now - oh well. Now if you could explain why you drive on the "wrong" side of the road -

[@wcapewell3089]

They see that as a victory, we see that as a lucky bloody escape.

[@jacobwerman1008]

"We don't teach about the American Revolution because from our point of view it was basically just another tax write off."

[@draughtoflethe]

"England is just the part of the island that... is England." Best sentence in the video.

[@EEVOL]

It’s like the Island of Hawaii (also called The Big Island) is part of Hawaii.

[@noizeemama3697]

As an American I have often wondered what children in England were taught about history. You have such a long and rich history, where does one focus!

[@skycloud4802]

They can't. We have to jump from one topic to another very fast. Not only because of how much history the UK has had since the dark ages, nor even because of how much Europe has. Ancient Egypt, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and so much more. The world is so full of history that it's difficult to pause on one thing for too long.

[@EonServoXA]

@@skycloud4802 That’s interesting because here in the US, we’re pretty much only ever taught about the American Revolution and Civil War in any history class. It’s not a surprise that most American students hate history now

[@freneticness6927]

@@skycloud4802 The stone henge is as old as the pyramids. So its a long history.

[@skycloud4802]

@@freneticness6927 yes, I think Stonehenge was around 5000 years ago. Interestingly enough, I've heard that the United States has ancient neolithic sites, although I guess we'll never know much about them. Just goes to show that history is everywhere.

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@EonServoXA We were taught british history pre-revolution though, at least I was when I was a kid.

[@JasonFelminghamLee]

We were taught a little bit about the American War of Independence at my primary school (this would have been around 1981) I don't remember much about it though, just the bit about the Boston Tea Party and taxes, and it being the reason why Americans almost exclusively drink coffee. At secondary school we were taught a bit more about American history, again I don't remember much, except for the Pilgrim Fathers, the Mayflower and that Boston in the US, took its name from Boston, Lincolnshire in the UK.

[@angustaylor5204]

When I was in high school in England 15+ years ago we had a single lesson on the revolution and it focused on "Taxation without representation"; how it started and how both sides responded, if anything it gave me a huge respect for Thomas Paine.

[@anthonyoer4778]

Here in the US, Thomas Paine plays a key role as a founding father and then after the revolutionary war he simply fizzles out of our history... One must learn as to why on your own.

[@chrisb.7787]

Thomas Paine "I pity the fool".

[@brendacampbell2340]

I left England at 16 in 1966 and that's the way I remember being taught about the revolution. Then I came out to the States and was taught a totally different perspective. How greedy and oppressive the English were.

[@anthonyoer4778]

@@brendacampbell2340 history is a study of context. That being said the colonies were seen as an investment...and not just north American ones.

[@StoryTimeZE]

“Americans may be surprised to know that the UK doesn’t hold any grudge for leaving the great British empire, MAY IT REIGN FOREVER!” I died 😂

[@RobertMarshall]

The UK probably doesn't hold a grudge because they remember who saved their bacon in WWI and WWII (unlike the French! :-p)

[@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn]

@@RobertMarshall yeah, but the French are our OLDEST ally, as well as spain and the Netherlands, though we did fight Spain in the 1800s but lets forget about that

[@theubiquitouspotato]

Even Scotland is trying to leave it.

[@theubiquitouspotato]

@@RobertMarshall kicking your arse in 1812 helped soothe the wounds.

[@RobertMarshall]

@@theubiquitouspotato Acrually, nos scholars, European and American consider the War of 1812 a draw. Sure, you may have burnt the capital. But, you damn near lost Canada, not to mention that you did loose New Orleans..

[@themaddoctor5304]

Well it kind of makes sense that it's more of a footnote, and even in America there are other things that we don't focus on too much. When the Americans occupied the Philippines (thus leading to the Philippino revolution) which is hardly if ever talked about in history classes.

[@walchy07]

I'm a British teacher. We teach it at A Level (16-18 year olds), it's called "Birth of the USA" AQA.

[@renewahl8174]

Honestly I don’t even remember learning about it, our teacher just went, “Yeah, they didn’t like how much we taxed them so they left.” Edit: We do learn about the American revolution, but only in higher education. This was my eighth grade (?) teacher brushing it off. She’s a highly educated woman with great and in-depth knowledge of the history of the United States, we were just busy learning about the slave trade which, in my opinion at least, is far more relevant to the modern day and far more worthy of being taught to our youth.

[@firstlast189]

Either you or your teacher was stupid.

[@Fifa101Guy]

@@firstlast189 we have more than 300 years of history so it’s literally such a small moment for us

[@firstlast189]

@@Fifa101Guy I would say a moment you people would like to forget.

[@wuhoho4687]

@@firstlast189 you are whats wrong with Americans 🥰

[@firstlast189]

@@wuhoho4687 Lol. Of course you would say that.

[@thepokebw10]

It wasn't even taught at my school lol. I only found out about it through assassin's creed 3.

[@SERP3NTER]

Me too buddy, me too.

[@grassywings7095]

I just started playing assassin’s creed three and Jesus, parrying is broken

[@ineedmoreflavour1955]

Mate, this is basically almost identical to me. I'd heard of it vaguely before playing AC3, but that game was my main intro to it.

[@fireironthesecond2909]

I didn’t learn any UK history from UK schools, I only learned about Russia and China

[@parisedits5453]

@@blake4249 yeah The story is really poetic and good to me but the mechanics ruin a lot of gameplay and it’s just very frustrating to want to finish ( I eventually finished thanks to my sisters and KZbin lmao)

[@theophilos0910]

When I did my A-levels in England, I was known as ‘the Rebel Colonial’ - and the whole subject of the (1775-1783) American Revolution was casually referred-to as : ‘the unfortunate loss of our colonies in America’- and was heavilly downplayed by my teachers as ‘the inevitable loss of British territory in the Americas that had taken place under a mentally unstable & foreign King…’ which was not a little surprising to me having been raised in Hollywood CA until the age of 16 - then was shewn some sordid sketches & paintings done by ‘eyewitnesses’ to the savage Guerrilla-Tactics of ‘the Rebel Colonials’ - horrifically depicting the senseless slaughter of human life on both sides which American ‘high-school’ students are rarely if ever shown (or even mentioned) in American high-school textbooks - And if an American ever really wanted to see up close & personal or read about what it was really like back in say the freakishly cold winter of 1777/ 1778 (which hit northern Europe very hard as well) or the bloody raids of the British on civilian farmhouses in 1779/1780 you’d have to wait until you ‘went to college’ - to learn more about the wholesale slaughter on both sides of the conflict… When I spoke to a publisher of American history textbooks after my return stateside in the mid 1980s - I asked him : ‘Why do the American history textbooks leave so much of the facts of history out of their curricula such as what the American Revolution’ was REALLY like ? He merely shrugged his shoulders and said without blinking and said (rather too matter-of-factly for my liking) : ‘Ah, well, the sole purpose of writing history text-books for high-school students is NOT to impart historical facts - they are really only designed to produce ‘good-law-obeying-citizens’ -‘ And when I mentioned that his statements sounded more like ‘socio-political propaganda’ than ‘history’ he touched the side of one nostril & said, ‘We publishers never discuss that openly - and he who does see evidence of it, says nothing.’

[@Pit_Winder]

havent watched the video yet but i presume it's weird. because on one hand they're a revolution which they need to be quenched, but also now it's one of their greatest allies

[@mattdeblassmusic]

“Many of the other Irish counties decided to leave” that’s one way of putting it.

[@rosentrantz0]

Yes, it's Irish history glossed over in a video about how US history is glossed over. edit: I knew a retired Irish carpenter whose father was tied to a tree and beaten within an inch of his life. It was apparently an English practice to employ violent convicts as police in colonies.

[@glenngriffon8032]

"One way"? That's like the most british way of putting it. "Oh dear it seems that irish wish to leave." "Oh bother, we can't have that, we'll have to redesign the flag." That said I do like these little glimpses into other cultures. I love stuff like this. Seeing how to countries that were at one point enemies and how they get along and celebrate different aspects. Like how here in america Benedict Arnold is a reviled traitor and enemy to Washington while across the pond he's seen as a hero, a patriot and loyalist to the crown yet neither depiction is _entirely_ inaccurate depending on where you look from. Or like how in canada they teach in school about the war of 1812 where america tried to annex canada and take their land and over here we just flat out ignore it and when people bring it up go "Huh? What do you mean? Nah nothing happened. We're americans, we've never lost a war. We certainly wouldn't lose to canada of all people hahahaha. Nope. that didn't happen."

[@rwbimbie5854]

Irish youtube gal said Ireland has 5mil Irish but America has 30mil Irish

[@redlandz1977]

The British Understatement at its finest 😂

[@chrisb.7787]

@@glenngriffon8032 hay if we decide it wasn't a war it wasn't a war. 1812 was just a scuffle over some maple syrup and some native american tribes happens to get in the way. So of course we had to kill those trailers they wouldn't go to there reservation.

[@stevenqu3]

Simon: It's just a footnote, and they quickly move onto more interesting British history British History Teachers: Please memorize the names of every single monarch in British history

[@roberthudson1959]

There the same number of monarchs since 1066 as there have been presidents since 1789, so asking that the list be memorized isn't that big a deal.

[@garethbaus5471]

With all the repeats it shouldn't be that bad. Memorizing the names of the US presidents(which granted also had a few repeats) would be at least a comparable challenge.

[@custos3249]

Granted, we have weirdos who take pride in memorizing every president we've had as if it means something beyond increased chances of winning a game of trivial pursuit.

[@dcarbs2979]

@@garethbaus5471 There are only 10 Regnal names in English history. The names are easy. Now their regnal dates and some key events they presided over, were responsible for or influenced?....

[@danielbishop1863]

Maybe Warren Harding, Chester Arthur, and Rutherford Hayes are looking down on the weirdos and smiling that *somebody* remembers their names.

[@dabidibup]

“They started shooting at us, and they’re still shooting at each other”

[@corgismclean]

I'm not surprised they don't talk much about a defeat just like so many British never heard of the Drake's defeat, Cartagena's landing, the failed invasions of the River Plate viceroyalty, etc.

[@tig3662]

In an English primary school, we studied: The Stone Age to Iron Age The Romans Ancient Greece Anglo Saxons Vikings The Shang Dynasty of China World War 1 and World War 2 In an English secondary school we studied: The Normans The Tudors The Stuarts The Renaissance The Victorians Industrial Revolution Mughal India British Empire in-depth studies World War 1 and World War 2 20th Century America We also studied a lot of local history. There's so much history to teach we can't teach everything.

[@changito4625]

Why the shang dinasty?

[@Funkiy]

@@changito4625 Ikr

[@nox6948]

For gcses learnt about the american west. That was a great topic.

[@aesie1229]

Fr isn’t Britain one of the oldest countries

[@balloon7546]

We also learn the English civil war

[@JohnTarbox]

A story as often told by American President Abraham Lincoln: Ethan Allen returned to England after the war, and the British made fun of him. One day they put a picture of George Washington in an outhouse where Allen would be sure to see it. He used the outhouse but said nothing about the picture. Then the British asked him about it and Allen said it was a very appropriate place for an Englishman to hang the picture because “nothing will make an Englishman shit so quick as the sight of General Washington.”

[@amoscardoza5253]

Lol!

[@DukeDanseMacambre]

Only when they are out of ammo, there's a reason we never let that meat grinder be a general. ;)

[@hashtag415]

Good ole Honest Abe!😂

[@ytshortsaretrash]

oh yeah that's in the Lincoln movie

[@shawnsmith780]

Awesome. Both funny and makes a point.

[@robertmurphy6772]

Having studied the American Revolutionary War, I am left with the impression that Britain may well have been ambivalent about keeping its American Colonies. After all, they were greatly in debt after the Seven Year's War, and the cost of defending the Colonies from Indian raids and a possible attack by the French was a considerable drain on His Majesty's Treasury. Hence arbitrary, harsh taxation that led to the war.

[@mikeporten8174]

We kicked British ass in the Revolution! We weren’t terrorists! We wanted independence and we love Britain now!

[@CulturePhilter]

“Ireland decided to join up” I’m not Irish, but I suspect some Irish people might query your wording there.

[@forrestchase899]

Yeah, it was definitely was more a case of “England decided that Ireland would join”.

[@Tustin2121]

I mean it’s probably *technically* true, in that the English who had already invaded Ireland and subjugated it decided to join their land up, regardless of what the native populace living on said land wanted...

[@danielbishop1863]

"Yes, we would *love* to be part of the United Kingdom. Please don't shoot."

[@injunsun]

Yeah, he seemed a little light on Elizabeth I there... 🙄

[@rolypoly4920]

@@Tustin2121 Sort of reminds me of what happened in Hawaii tbh

[@samwilkinson2534]

As a Brit, I have learned more about the American Revolution from Hamilton than I have in school.

[@shrimpflea]

As an American so have I.

[@stevengordon3271]

Kind of like learning British history from Blackadder.

[@ADMICKEY]

Did you know that a guy from us landed on british soil in the american rev war?

[@iamaidansmith7542]

Yeah it’s an interesting topic neither sides we’re all right or all wrong

[@mistermaumau]

I learned more about British history from Doctor Who than I did in school

[@edwinholcombe2741]

As a born and raised Californian, we had to study the revolutionary war. It was all confusing to me as I had no idea of those places in a far away land. To me, it was an east coast thing and had little to do with California. Years later, I 10:54 drove from Massachussets to Georgia. All along the highways I saw turn off to places I heard of only in school history classes. It was amusing to see that those places actually still existed and were real communities to this day. The problem was I couldn't remember what history belonged to which place.

[@generalmccornflaxbo2547]

Ok. as an American, I've never heard the UK be called the 52 state?

[@REN3GADE1]

I’m still salty about 1812. I call rematch.

[@supercomputer0448]

They burn our white house we burn their country. YES REMATCH!

[@Dgero]

@@supercomputer0448 We need to wait for a year that ends as XX12 so we have 91 years to go

[@loosoh4891]

The only war that Canada fought against the US and won...

[@babayagaslobbedaknobba]

You guys wanna get together and go over there? We can start some shit and paint our faces red, white and blue, and walk around screaming "1812! 1812!" And start fights, and burn stuff.

[@Dgero]

@@babayagaslobbedaknobba They went for the White House, we go for the Queen herself

[@Leonidas656565]

Its sounds like a break-up. Like “I didn’t even like him that much anyway, he’s like every other guy ive dated” 😂

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

Then drunk dials asking for help anytime something go wrongs.

[@shawnj1966]

While downplaying the fact that he went on to be far more successful without them and was still forgiving enough to come to their rescue. How many exes would do that? LOL

[@ThereIsNoDog96]

@@shawnj1966 lol "come to their rescue"

[@diddlypoop4722]

@@ThereIsNoDog96 Post WW2, yeah.

[@jackattackmt]

@@ThereIsNoDog96 WW2 lend lease Britain couldn't have survived without it

[@Proud_Troll]

This video could have been 30 seconds long "American independence is not a major deal for Brits, because it didn't matter to them very much. The UK isn't hiding that history, it just isn't very important."