| Tango01 | 19 Jul 2019 9:21 p.m. PST |
…. LED BY AN ESTABLISHMENT HATE FIGURE? "The Battle of Waterloo will be celebrated with a national memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark its bicentenary on Thursday – and while descendants of those who fought there will be among the VIP guests, they have been warned that it will not be "triumphalist". Nonetheless, it has to be said, the Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon and the Bonapartists at a little ridge near the hamlet of Mont St Jean, 11 miles south of Brussels, was so complete that "Waterloo" has become synonymous with a crushing defeat. But, it must also be added, that is not how it looked in the spring of 1815. Radical MPs such as Sam Whitbread, son of the brewer, were appalled at the prospect of Britain being dragged into another costly war against Napoleon. The Commons were just as divided as during the debates before the Iraq war in 2003. Whitbread and other Radical MPs accused Wellington of going to war for regime change – just as the anti-war MPs accused Tony Blair over Saddam Hussein…"
Main page
link Amicalement
Armand |
| 42flanker | 20 Jul 2019 2:15 a.m. PST |
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| Tango01 | 20 Jul 2019 11:59 a.m. PST |
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| Jeffers | 20 Jul 2019 2:10 p.m. PST |
The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself. Altogether now…. |
| Whirlwind | 20 Jul 2019 7:55 p.m. PST |
No. I mean, even on the article's own terms, it fails. It doesn't prove, or even seriously assert, that the Waterloo Campaign was particularly unpopular or divisive in Britain at the time. It doesn't establish that Wellington was unpopular in 1815 or even that unpopular later on. It seems that the author is confusing his own politics for the popular will. |
| 42flanker | 20 Jul 2019 9:09 p.m. PST |
The writer also manages to pass comments that are in quick succession, sexist, ageist and fattist, which coming from the Independent is a bit rich. We can allow them 'classist' |
| Tango01 | 21 Jul 2019 3:38 p.m. PST |
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| dibble | 21 Jul 2019 3:55 p.m. PST |
As with today's politics, all it is is yet another whinge by a pro-EU, anti-British Stockholm induced diatriber. |
| Nine pound round | 21 Jul 2019 7:18 p.m. PST |
"The smack of firm government"- nice, and straight out of "House of Cards," just in case you missed the politics of it. Wellington was never as successful as a politician as he was as a soldier. But for all his innate conservatism, he did usher in some tremendous changes- Catholic Emancipation, and convincing the Lords to let the Reform Bill pass in 1832. He deserves better… |
| Whirlwind | 21 Jul 2019 10:37 p.m. PST |
As with today's politics, all it is is yet another whinge by a pro-EU, anti-British Stockholm induced diatriber. A bit political perhaps? |
| Murvihill | 22 Jul 2019 4:35 a.m. PST |
I don't know about the rest of you but I'd like to see ONE DAY without a Waterloo-related post. I mean, it wasn't the biggest battle of the era (Leipzig), the most important (Borodino), the most tactically interesting (Arcola) or either general's greatest triumph (Austerlitz and Assaye). Can't we talk about something else? |
| 42flanker | 22 Jul 2019 10:26 a.m. PST |
"Well, if you knows of a better 'ole, go to it."
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| Tango01 | 22 Jul 2019 12:17 p.m. PST |
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| Last Hussar | 24 Jul 2019 3:51 a.m. PST |
You don't have to read them. |
| Nine pound round | 24 Jul 2019 4:58 a.m. PST |
It's none of those things- but it was the most decisive. Which is probably why it gets discussed so much. |
Gunfreak  | 24 Jul 2019 9:35 a.m. PST |
It was the biggest battle the British took part in, it was the biggest cavalry charge the British had, it faced Napoleon, it ended the war for good.
It has a lot of English sources.
Britain was the sole superpower for the next 100ish years spreading, the names associated with the battle, aswell as the Anglo centric view of the battle. And even today and even on a forum populated by hardcore napoleonic people Waterloo still dominates. |
| Gazzola | 01 Aug 2019 6:24 a.m. PST |
The author is saying a lot of things that British flag wavers do not want to hear – anything negative that might challenge their 'rosy' image of Britain. And those pathetically trying to hide the truth by insulting the author is just typical of some people. People do not have to be pro-EU or anti-British to highlight anything negative about Britain. In fact, those admiring Napoleonic Britain should be disgusted in the way their heroes were treated, once they were no longer needed of course. Great a general as he was, Wellington did become very unpopular later, hence the nickname 'Iron Duke' because of the metal shutters he was forced to place over his windows. And I'm pretty sure those breaking the windows were not throwing objects for Welly to sign and return. LOL I also believe there was opposition to another campaign, possibly because of the financial side. The country was suffering and there were riots. Plus, of course, Wellington had to convince the British government to pay their allies before they would actually take a step against Napoleon. In terms of the battle, it was a decisive battle that lead to the end of Napoleon's career. It was an allied Marengo, so to speak, where one ally came to the rescue of another in the nick of time. I have always found it a very interesting action and a campaign full of what ifs etc. Like any battle, I suppose, it could have gone either way and history may well have been changed and different to what we know. It will always be interesting as far as I am concerned. |
