Why is Canada not part of the United States? Friendly Ending.

[JohnnyDos]

Canada is quite happy to be a neighbour to the united Sates of America and quite happy to continue to be independent as a country .At least around where I live in Windsor about the closest you could live without being an American.

 

[Sonovabich]

Canadian Deployment right down to Washington...erm no it was the British Army that deployed to Washington and set fire to the White House in August 1814.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-troops-set-fire-to-the-white-house

Edited March 27, 2017 by Sonovabich

[JohnnyDos]

I don't think we were Canada yet SOB,but you are right here.

[TheLastColdBeer]

You were still chartered under HBC. Money is what drove the empire, and the states became unprofitable.

[RobMc]

Funnily enough only last night I watched a programme on HBC (Hudson Bay Company) you take these things with a pinch of salt ,but there can be little doubt they were pivotal in forming the nation. We lovingly practiced our favourite sport, killing Frenchmen (but with bullets not bows), and building forts everywhere until we ruled, at that period we ruled most of the world and were thinly stretched hence USA independence eventually. I suspect there is truth in what Last Cold Beer said we were earning that much from the Eastern Empire that it wasn't worth pursuing the States and making them knuckle under. Much the same nowadays with oil, we'll interfere with any interruption in the flow and ignore worse countries without oil, times don't change.

[TheLastColdBeer]

Wars are expensive, just as expensive then as now. We didn't stand a chance against the Crown, until Spain, Holland, and France decided the time was ripe to get involved. Britain's campaign in the south got tangled, and the cost of maintaining an army in the field escalated. The States simply weren't worth the trouble, especially if we could be dealt with later. The French revolution, Napoleonic wars, and the Irish Union all took up vast amounts of capital & resources. 1812 cemented the fact the states were too costly, and the Empire went on to vast prosperity without us. Folks forget how wealthy Great Britain became under Victoria, and the industrial revolution.

[RobMc]

We haven't changed, we still like fighting, as much as our socialists and liberals try, and they do, our belligerence shines through, I think I read once that of all the (old) countries in the world theres only two we've never fought against. Our wealth under Victoria was immense, and were it not for two world wars we may have been the dominant nation into this Century, we're all looking forward to the next one Lol, it's too quiet.

[TheLastColdBeer]

Didn't Gladstone say something to the effect that England was weathy in spite of the Empire? The Boers and that little mix-up in South Africa was a wake up that not all was rosey during the Crown's Imperial adventure. 

[Sonovabich]

3 hours ago, TheLastColdBeer said:

Didn't Gladstone say something to the effect that England was weathy in spite of the Empire? The Boers and that little mix-up in South Africa was a wake up that not all was rosey during the Crown's Imperial adventure. 

Well i always say beware of over confidence and in South Africa with the Boers and the Zulu wars we were really over confident, i think we had the best Army in the world at the time but being over confident cost us some arse kickings by the Boers (who actually taught us a new way to fight and also made us aware that wearing Red uniforms was not a good idea against crackshot farmers) and the Zulus who inflicted on us our biggest ever defeat against a native army at Isandlwana where we had a 1000 men massacred, though in fairness there was 20,000 Zulus lol.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Sonovabich

[RobMc]

I think the real test of overconfidence in your own abilities and strength must go to Afghanistan, not one of the invaders has managed as far as I know, both in ancient and modern history, just watched Restreppo, a very sobering experience and a reminder of limitations politicians fail to grasp, look how many nations it's taking to defeat Islamic State. We may be the biggest, we may have the best technology but that does not guarantee you'll win, we tend to believe our own 'hype'. If you get the chance, talk to someone who's actually been in a recent war zone and fought, I have recently and it's a very different perspective to what we are told. As Beers said a bunch of farmers, who could shoot, almost defeated the best army in the world, we needed to invent concentration camps to demoralise them. America had Vietnam, we had Northern ireland both recent, neither of us won there did we, albeit for differing reasons but we lost, we have great troops but politicians stifle them, and are even jailing them for killing people (true). The ultimate farce was surely during the Northern Irish troubles when armed soldiers on duty at army barracks were not issued bullets for their guns, with inevitable consequences, let us hope the person issuing those orders sleeps soundly eh? They should be hung for treason. America and the UK have fought together for over 100 years, in our news today we have reaffirmed our commitment to this and abandoned Europe. Your new President very astutely has realised that Europe depends on us for defence but does not pay the cost, especially Germany, since the Second World War the States and UK have maintained the biggest armies and paid for them to be stationed in Europe against a Russian invasion, who are the fools - we are? The basic rule of fighting - win whatever it takes, forget that and you lose, then it's too late! Any of you out there actually in the services in Iraq/Afghanistan, what are your thoughts.