Map: Where the Brits never invaded

[lordroel]

Map: Where the Brits never invaded

The United Kingdom may once have had an empire on which the sun never set – but did you know its true global reach was far more extensive than maps would suggest.

Throughout the ages, the United Kingdom has invaded almost 90 per cent of the world’s countries.

The map below shows the world in red, this is the extent of the British Empire in 1915.



Compare it to this map below which shows almost 193 current member states and two observer state (Holy See and State of Palestine) who are members of the United Nations in the present day, as you can see the British have, at some point in history, invaded and established a military presence in 171 of them.



Here are the members of a exclusive club which you can only become a member of if you have not been invaded by the British over its long existence: 

Andorra
Belarus
Bolivia
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo, Republic of
Guatemala
Ivory Coast
Kyrgyzstan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Mali
Marshall Islands
Monaco
Mongolia
Paraguay
Sao Tome and Principe
Sweden
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Vatican City

[stevep]

Well that means we still have work to do.

Seriously that's an impressive array of states although not sure when we ever invaded some of those countries - such as several in Latin America e.g. Peru, Ecuador et.. Others, such as Argentina for instance there was a brief inclusion in what's now Argentina when it was still a Spanish colony, along with other places like the Philippines.

Rather odd to see Uzbekistan there, especially with territories to the south in the untouched category?

[lordroel]

May 27, 2017 13:42:03 GMT stevep said:

Rather odd to see Uzbekistan there, especially with territories to the south in the untouched category?

You would assume with British India located near by the British in some kind of form had send troops there before ore after Uzbekistan became part of the Russian Empire.

[stevep]

May 27, 2017 13:50:24 GMT lordroel said:

May 27, 2017 13:42:03 GMT stevep said:

Rather odd to see Uzbekistan there, especially with territories to the south in the untouched category?

You would assume with British India located near by the British in some kind of form had send troops there before ore after Uzbekistan became part of the Russian Empire.

  I don't think they did it before it became part of the Russian empire but possibly during the civil war/late WWI period when the western powers were seeking to influence events in Russia.  Although how they did it without going through Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan I don't know.  Believe there was a flotilla operating on the Caspian during this period so it might have been a brief landing on the coast along there.

[lordroel]

May 27, 2017 14:13:21 GMT stevep said:

May 27, 2017 13:50:24 GMT lordroel said:

You would assume with British India located near by the British in some kind of form had send troops there before ore after Uzbekistan became part of the Russian Empire.

  I don't think they did it before it became part of the Russian empire but possibly during the civil war/late WWI period when the western powers were seeking to influence events in Russia.  Although how they did it without going through Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan I don't know.  Believe there was a flotilla operating on the Caspian during this period so it might have been a brief landing on the coast along there.

Did you know that France holds the unfortunate record for having endured the most British invasions of all countries that have been invaded by the British, not surprising seeing their past relationship both countries had with each other.

Also it seems that the United Kingdom during the Russian Revolution, a British military mission in Russia was approximately 50 miles from the Mongolian border, so the United Kingdom almost had invaded Mongolia but not close.

[stevep]

May 27, 2017 14:23:24 GMT lordroel said:

May 27, 2017 14:13:21 GMT stevep said:

  I don't think they did it before it became part of the Russian empire but possibly during the civil war/late WWI period when the western powers were seeking to influence events in Russia.  Although how they did it without going through Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan I don't know.  Believe there was a flotilla operating on the Caspian during this period so it might have been a brief landing on the coast along there.

Did you know that France holds the unfortunate record for having endured the most British invasions of all countries that have been invaded by the British, not surprising seeing their past relationship both countries had with each other.

Also it seems that the United Kingdom during the Russian Revolution, a British military mission in Russia was approximately 50 miles from the Mongolian border, so the United Kingdom almost had invaded Mongolia but not close.

  The 1st definitely makes sense and depending on what you define as 'invasion' then the reverse would also be true.  Only possible exception might be if a lot of the Danish raids in the Viking area counted then they might have exceeded the French in attacks on Britain.  Mind you do you mean British or English as Britain strictly speaking only existed from 1801?

  Interesting on the military mission.  Presumably something operating along the Trans-Siberian, possibly alongside the Japanese and Americans?  Seems more likely than something through China or Central Asia.

  Plus have we actually invaded S Korea? I know we took part in United Nations Operations against N Korea after its invasion of the south in 1950 but not aware of any actual invasion or even raid against the south?

[lordroel]

May 27, 2017 17:35:57 GMT stevep said:

  Plus have we actually invaded S Korea? I know we took part in United Nations Operations against N Korea after its invasion of the south in 1950 but not aware of any actual invasion or even raid against the south?

So far i have manged to find only the French (French campaign against Korea of 1866) who where the only European country to have fought the Koreans before the United Nations Operations against N Korea, thus the British involvement in the Korean War is according to the map considered a invasion.

[stevep]

May 27, 2017 19:39:45 GMT lordroel said:

May 27, 2017 17:35:57 GMT stevep said:

  Plus have we actually invaded S Korea? I know we took part in United Nations Operations against N Korea after its invasion of the south in 1950 but not aware of any actual invasion or even raid against the south?

So far i have manged to find only the French (French campaign against Korea of 1866) who where the only European country to have fought the Koreans before the United Nations Operations against N Korea, thus the British involvement in the Korean War is according to the map considered a invasion.

  That does seem rather excessive as we were there in support of the government to help them against the communist invasion.  In that case you could probably also include some of the micro states such as Luxembourg and the Vatican as we took part in the liberation of those states in WWII.

 

[lordroel]

May 28, 2017 10:24:33 GMT stevep said:

May 27, 2017 19:39:45 GMT lordroel said:

So far i have manged to find only the French (French campaign against Korea of 1866) who where the only European country to have fought the Koreans before the United Nations Operations against N Korea, thus the British involvement in the Korean War is according to the map considered a invasion.

  That does seem rather excessive as we were there in support of the government to help them against the communist invasion.  In that case you could probably also include some of the micro states such as Luxembourg and the Vatican as we took part in the liberation of those states in WWII.

 

What i have found regarding the map the conditions in which the map says the British invaded are:

- an full-on invasion.

- some sort of military presence in the territory – however transitory – either through force, the threat of force, negotiation or payment.

- incursions by British pirates, privateers or armed explorers have also been included, provided they were operating with the approval of their government.

Also here is a more detail explanation about some of the countries that where never invaded by the British:

1. Andorra (sovereignty restored by British victory against France in the Spanish Peninsular War in 1813 but technically not invaded).

2. Belarus (part of Russian Empire invaded by Britain in 1918-1920 but technically not invaded).

3. Central African Republic .

4. Kyrgyzstan (part of Russian Empire invaded by Britain in 1918-1920 but technically not invaded).

5. Marshall Islands.

6. Mongolia.

7. Tajikistan (part of Russian Empire invaded by Britain in 1918-1920) but technically not invaded).

8. Uzbekistan (part of Russian Empire invaded by Britain in 1918-1920 but technically not invaded),

9. Vatican City.

10. Sao Tome and Principe.

Also there seems to be that 13 countries must be added to the “British invaded list”, with a 14th addition being the UK itself on account of genocidal attacks of the English Establishment on Anglo-Saxons, and thence the Welsh and Scots after 1066:

1. Bolivia (1879-1884; British support for and British sailors in the Chilean Navy in the Pacific War against Bolivia).

2. Burundi (1914-1918).

3. Chad (1940, Long Range Patrol reconnaissance to Tekro).

4. Guatemala (19th century onwards dispute over Belize ) .

5. Ivory Coast (1942-1943).

6. Liechtenstein (1945; British forces repatriated imprisoned German-collaborating Soviet soldiers from Liechtenstein to the USSR ).

7. Luxembourg (1918, 1944).

8. Mali (2013).

9. Monaco (1815).

10. Paraguay (1859, British Navy seized the Paraguayan warship Tacuari; Britain financed the disastrous 1865-1870 Triple Alliance War of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay against Paraguay in which the Paraguyan population was reduced from 525,000 pre-war to 221,000 ) .

11. Republic of Congo (1914-1916).

12. Sweden (1808 – The King of Sweden objected to 10,000 allied British troops making port at Gothenburg and these British forces subsequently left Sweden).

13. United Kingdom (genocidal attacks of the English Establishment on English Anglo-Saxons after the Norman Invasion of 1066; 13th century onward invasions of Wales and Scotland ).

[stevep]

Technically with Sweden the troops were sent while the country was an ally but the king at the time seems to have been somewhat deranged. The forces commander, General Moore did actually land but on hearing the demands of the king quickly realised the position was untenable.

With the UK then its definitely "genocidal attacks of the English Norman Establishment on English Anglo-Saxons after the Norman Invasion of 1066".  Similarly it was the Normans with their lust for land that bogged us down in the mess that was Ireland.

[lordroel]

May 28, 2017 10:45:53 GMT stevep said:

Technically with Sweden the troops were sent while the country was an ally but the king at the time seems to have been somewhat deranged. The forces commander, General Moore did actually land but on hearing the demands of the king quickly realised the position was untenable.

Are you talking about Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.

[stevep]

May 28, 2017 10:50:42 GMT lordroel said:

May 28, 2017 10:45:53 GMT stevep said:

Technically with Sweden the troops were sent while the country was an ally but the king at the time seems to have been somewhat deranged. The forces commander, General Moore did actually land but on hearing the demands of the king quickly realised the position was untenable.

Are you talking about Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.

  That's the one.  It doesn't mention anything about the British involvement in 1808 and there's only a brief mention on Sir John Moore's page or for 1808.  However in English sources its generally mentioned that troops are sent to aid Sweden but the king proves so irrational that they never actually land IIRC and Sir John actually flees to avoid imprisonment.

  Just about finished read a book, Beating Napoleon, by David Andress and this is what it says about the incident on P167

""British attempts to support their ally went almost farcically awry.  Naval forces managed to head off a French invasion from Denmark but there was no way of getting sufficient support in place to prevent the rout of the Swedes from Finland, which fell permanently under Russian control.  A force of 12,000 British troops sent to Sweden as a near token defence achieved nothing.  Their commander, Sir John Moore, refused to accede to madcap schemes cooked up by the Swedish King Gustavus and furious disputes ended with him fleeing back aboard ship ahead of an arrest warrant.  The troops themselves never even stepped ashore."

[lordroel]

May 28, 2017 11:00:31 GMT stevep said:

May 28, 2017 10:50:42 GMT lordroel said:

Are you talking about Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.

  That's the one.  It doesn't mention anything about the British involvement in 1808 and there's only a brief mention on Sir John Moore's page or for 1808.  However in English sources its generally mentioned that troops are sent to aid Sweden but the king proves so irrational that they never actually land IIRC and Sir John actually flees to avoid imprisonment.

Found some more information about some countries that where invaded as according to the conduction's set up by the map.

-Afghanistan - An 1838 attempt at regime change by a 21,000 person British army, among other events.

-Albania - Royal Navy captured a French corvette on the Albanian coast in 1809. British troops landed in Albania in 1915 to help the Serbian army evacuate. In 1918, the Second Battle of Durazzo. Others.

-Algeria - The British navy battled the Barbary Corsairs, based in Algeria, in 1682. Britain attacked Algeria in 1816, attempting to end the slave trade. In 1942, Operation Torch.

-Andorra - some British airmen used Andorra as an escape route from France (does that count as a invasion).

[stevep]

May 28, 2017 11:05:11 GMT lordroel said:

May 28, 2017 11:00:31 GMT stevep said:

  That's the one.  It doesn't mention anything about the British involvement in 1808 and there's only a brief mention on Sir John Moore's page or for 1808.  However in English sources its generally mentioned that troops are sent to aid Sweden but the king proves so irrational that they never actually land IIRC and Sir John actually flees to avoid imprisonment.

Found some more information about some countries that where invaded as according to the conduction's set up by the map.

-Afghanistan - An 1838 attempt at regime change by a 21,000 person British army, among other events.

-Albania - Royal Navy captured a French corvette on the Albanian coast in 1809. British troops landed in Albania in 1915 to help the Serbian army evacuate. In 1918, the Second Battle of Durazzo. Others.

-Algeria - The British navy battled the Barbary Corsairs, based in Algeria, in 1682. Britain attacked Algeria in 1816, attempting to end the slave trade. In 1942, Operation Torch.

-Andorra - some British airmen used Andorra as an escape route from France (does that count as a invasion).

  Agree with Afghanistan and Algeria.  Find the Albania case a bit iffy and the Andorran one I would declare void.  They weren't in uniform or trying to attack the country.  Not sure what happened in 1813/14 when British and allied troops drove the French from Spain and invaded southern France as just possibly that might count.

  Note I have added additional info to my previous post on Sweden.

[lordroel]

May 28, 2017 11:15:33 GMT stevep said:

May 28, 2017 11:05:11 GMT lordroel said:

Found some more information about some countries that where invaded as according to the conduction's set up by the map.

-Afghanistan - An 1838 attempt at regime change by a 21,000 person British army, among other events.

-Albania - Royal Navy captured a French corvette on the Albanian coast in 1809. British troops landed in Albania in 1915 to help the Serbian army evacuate. In 1918, the Second Battle of Durazzo. Others.

-Algeria - The British navy battled the Barbary Corsairs, based in Algeria, in 1682. Britain attacked Algeria in 1816, attempting to end the slave trade. In 1942, Operation Torch.

-Andorra - some British airmen used Andorra as an escape route from France (does that count as a invasion).

  Agree with Afghanistan and Algeria.  Find the Albania case a bit iffy and the Andorran one I would declare void.  They weren't in uniform or trying to attack the country.  Not sure what happened in 1813/14 when British and allied troops drove the French from Spain and invaded southern France as just possibly that might count.

  Note I have added additional info to my previous post on Sweden.

So we can remove Andorra from the list due the servicemen (mostly likely belonging to the RAF and Army) where in civilian clothes when the transited the country towards their final journey which was neutral Spain.