British Empire in a 1000 years
Discussion
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
You have to bare in mind the different times. The world in the 18th Century onwards was fast becoming very small, and movement was easy compared to Ancient times. Rome was fighting with its neighbour city states, that were no more than a few miles away for over a hundred years before slowly progressing accross Italy also, most ships just skirted the coastline, and wern't designed for vast overseas ventures.
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
That is up for debate.If you start at Augustus (27BC) and end at 476 AD, it's just over 500 years.
You could argue that the Holy Roman Empire (-1453) was a continuation , although I would disagree with that theory.
I think it is an interesting point, the time aspect. My issue is that as history gets closer to where we are now, the speed of change seems to hot up. Factoring this into an argument can be very tough as there isn't really a right answer.
chris watton said:
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
You have to bare in mind the different times. The world in the 18th Century onwards was fast becoming very small, and movement was easy compared to Ancient times. Rome was fighting with its neighbour city states, that were no more than a few miles away for over a hundred years before slowly progressing accross Italy also, most ships just skirted the coastline, and wern't designed for vast overseas ventures.Yet we consider their place in history as secure.
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
A air bit more than that, really. It depends what you see as the beginning of the Empire. Was it the North American colonies? Was it India, or Africa? It could be as far back as the early 1600's... So more like 300 ish years.Martial Arts Man said:
chris watton said:
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
You have to bare in mind the different times. The world in the 18th Century onwards was fast becoming very small, and movement was easy compared to Ancient times. Rome was fighting with its neighbour city states, that were no more than a few miles away for over a hundred years before slowly progressing accross Italy also, most ships just skirted the coastline, and wern't designed for vast overseas ventures.Yet we consider their place in history as secure.
350GT said:
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
A air bit more than that, really. It depends what you see as the beginning of the Empire. Was it the North American colonies? Was it India, or Africa? It could be as far back as the early 1600's... So more like 300 ish years.Spain was THE dominant European power at the time; it never fully recovered from the Armada catastrophe.
Funnily enough, it is has been suggested that the Spanish crown had borrowed so much money, from banks I might add, to fund the war that when the outcome was concluded, it was impossible to recover.
Remind you of anything?
chris watton said:
Martial Arts Man said:
chris watton said:
jammy_basturd said:
How long did Rome's empire last? Ours was what, about 100 years?
You have to bare in mind the different times. The world in the 18th Century onwards was fast becoming very small, and movement was easy compared to Ancient times. Rome was fighting with its neighbour city states, that were no more than a few miles away for over a hundred years before slowly progressing accross Italy also, most ships just skirted the coastline, and wern't designed for vast overseas ventures.Yet we consider their place in history as secure.
The Athenian Empires were very short lived as you say.
My point really was that although their timelines aren't that long and that in the modern sense, their empires rather small, we still remember and study them with vigour. Thereby nullifying any suggestion that Britain's empire was not of great enough length to qualify.
Would you say there is any merit to the argument that Rome and Greece are and should be studied together as one is a continuation and rebranding of the other?
Martial Arts Man said:
[Also we need to be clear that there were both Athenian and Macedonian Empires, perhaps even Spartan too (more dominian with those fellas).
The Athenian Empires were very short lived as you say.
My point really was that although their timelines aren't that long and that in the modern sense, their empires rather small, we still remember and study them with vigour. Thereby nullifying any suggestion that Britain's empire was not of great enough length to qualify.
Would you say there is any merit to the argument that Rome and Greece are and should be studied together as one is a continuation and rebranding of the other?
Absolutely, as I think their histories are inextricably linked – Italy (even modern day Southern France) was full of Greek colonies. Early Rome even adopted the Hoplite formations, so was already 'Hellenised' to some extent. (But the big difference was the political system, which allowed Rome to call on more resourses than any other Ancient nation, as Hannibal discovered...)The Athenian Empires were very short lived as you say.
My point really was that although their timelines aren't that long and that in the modern sense, their empires rather small, we still remember and study them with vigour. Thereby nullifying any suggestion that Britain's empire was not of great enough length to qualify.
Would you say there is any merit to the argument that Rome and Greece are and should be studied together as one is a continuation and rebranding of the other?
Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 31st March 13:48
Very interesting subject.
As mentioned, the other 'great' empires seemed to have been massively important yet their actual sphere's of influence very relatively small. I think of the 'classic' empires the Mongol empire of Ghengis Khan held the greatest area at it's peak.
I think the British Empire is unique in that it was the first global empire that stretched to every continent. It also changed those continents for good by introducing the technology of the industrial revolution.
As mentioned, the other 'great' empires seemed to have been massively important yet their actual sphere's of influence very relatively small. I think of the 'classic' empires the Mongol empire of Ghengis Khan held the greatest area at it's peak.
I think the British Empire is unique in that it was the first global empire that stretched to every continent. It also changed those continents for good by introducing the technology of the industrial revolution.
Asterix said:
Very interesting subject.
As mentioned, the other 'great' empires seemed to have been massively important yet their actual sphere's of influence very relatively small. I think of the 'classic' empires the Mongol empire of Ghengis Khan held the greatest area at it's peak.
I think the British Empire is unique in that it was the first global empire that stretched to every continent. It also changed those continents for good by introducing the technology of the industrial revolution.
The fist Industrial Empire?As mentioned, the other 'great' empires seemed to have been massively important yet their actual sphere's of influence very relatively small. I think of the 'classic' empires the Mongol empire of Ghengis Khan held the greatest area at it's peak.
I think the British Empire is unique in that it was the first global empire that stretched to every continent. It also changed those continents for good by introducing the technology of the industrial revolution.
Perhaps we will distinguish British from Classical in this way.
s2art said:
As it was the biggest Empire ever seen it surely will be in all the history books. Britain effectively created the modern world, including the concept of freedom and democracy. And, of course, made Cricket and Football global sports.
I think the Greek's would probably want a word about Democracy being an English concept.Asterix said:
s2art said:
As it was the biggest Empire ever seen it surely will be in all the history books. Britain effectively created the modern world, including the concept of freedom and democracy. And, of course, made Cricket and Football global sports.
I think the Greek's would probably want a word about Democracy being an English concept.Pure democracy.
Asterix said:
s2art said:
As it was the biggest Empire ever seen it surely will be in all the history books. Britain effectively created the modern world, including the concept of freedom and democracy. And, of course, made Cricket and Football global sports.
I think the Greek's would probably want a word about Democracy being an English concept.Asterix said:
s2art said:
As it was the biggest Empire ever seen it surely will be in all the history books. Britain effectively created the modern world, including the concept of freedom and democracy. And, of course, made Cricket and Football global sports.
I think the Greek's would probably want a word about Democracy being an English concept.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff