"Barbaric Brits" Topic

HairiYetie claims with a lot of truth that the British in history were not beyond moral reproach. Being British, and even worse English I am used to being vilified for what my forebears may or may not have done. Accordingly It may be worth recording that for most of the time that the dastardly crimes in question were being committed, my ancestors were mostly poverty stricken unskilled labourers who lived a downtrodden subsistence existence without any say whatsoever in the actions of the British government. This was the lot of the vast majority of the population. I merely ask therefore -Is it fair to condemn me and the majority of my countrymen (and women) merely for our nationality?- For my impression has been that this as been the theme of much of this thread.

grahambeyrout

I don't think anyone today should be vilified for what their ancestors did. And nor is it fair, as you state, to 'condemn me or the majority of my countrymen (and women) merely for our nationality'.

Unfortunately, there are those who want to make out that any negativity offered concerning the allies, and specifically the British, during the Napoleonic period, is an attack on British identity. It is not. It is to counter balance the constant negatively thrown out about Napoleon and the French, to show they were all basically the same and equally guilty.

And had I asked in my first post, which nation between Britain and France, had the most executions during the Napoleonic period, I feel sure that most people would have probably said France. That is why the article is interesting and why I posted it, because it shows the reality is opposite of what many people might perceive.

But all nations and leaders have been at fault and sadly, some people prefer it not to be mentioned if it concerns the British or allies. In response they often throw out silly accusations that you must hate Britain and the British, which is absurd.

And during the Napoleonic period, if not other historical periods, and probably even today, historical events and atrocities are usually instigated by governments, politicians and greedy uncaring businessmen. The ordinary people and soldiers then, and no doubt to a certain degree today, very rarely know the real reason behind their causes. They only knew what they were told or what they were allowed to know.

I think people need to accept that there is guilt on both sides. No one can justify the silly notion that one side is good and the other bad. Life, and history, is far too complex for such an easy excuse and way of reasoning.

HariYeti

When you use passages like

And yet, even by the 20th century standards of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, and the more recent events in the Balkans, Rwanda and Syria/Iraq, British misconduct pales somewhat.

And I absolutely agree that the extermination carried by the Nazis was deliberate and calculated, whereas I don't think that the British started were so "barbaric

And

But it does not take much imagination to see them behind closed doors in heavy leather sofas drinking brandy, smoking cigars and chuckling over their clever machinations to wipe out the Boer opposition once and for all.

The sly evocation is there for all to see.

I'll say no more because it seems that to say too much more might get me in trouble with the Kennel estate agent.

Paul :)

Certainly no bone for you, Paul … ;)

Ditto on saying no more.

Love you all.

Grahambeyrout, I don't support the "sins of the father" approach to history. As far as I am concerned every individual answers for his or her own actions. I said it throughout that I was merely trying to restore fair balance to the discussion around Napoleon's "barbarity".

Here's a little story …

During the second world war my family were working the fields in Malta when a Messerschmitt came down and strafed the workers. Nobody was hit, except the Messerschmitt itself which got jumped by a Hurricane or Spit and shot down a short distance away. My great aunt got to the crash scene just as the young Luftwaffe pilot exited the cockpit with a big grin on his face, no doubt relieved that he survived the surprise landing. She later claimed that that she had not intended to do what she did next but the grin on the pilot's face who a minute before had been trying to shoot up her defenceless family infuriated her. She swung her sickle and removed his head.

I am certainly not going to take the rap for that event, no matter how many DNA sequences I share with the woman!