日志
The British Have Invaded 90 Percent of the Countries on Earth
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About author Stuart Laycock - Wikipedia
The book attempts to catalogue every country Britain has ever invaded or made an incursion into, whether they were part of the British Empire or suffered a briefer attack, were threatened, or forced to negotiate. Incursions by privateers, private explorers, etc, are also listed. The earliest mentioned invasion was in 197 AD, when Clodius Albinus took many British soldiers across the English Channel to attack Gaul, being defeated at Lyon. 90% of the world's countries have suffered British attack at some point in their history, with only 22 spared. France is the nearest rival to Britain's record.
The book was attacked by Richard Seymour in the Guardian for trivialising the suffering caused by imperialism. Although the book claims not to be pro or anti empire, Seymour accused it of "moral ambivalence" and "empire nostalgia". Seymour also criticised it for its unhistorical elements, including invasions long before the existence of Britain as a nation, but praised it for showing how British power went far beyond the overt machinery of empire to include economic and other forces.
Other books
Laycock has also written books on late-Roman Britain: Britannia - The Failed State and Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain. Warlords advances the theory that the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England was a takeover by a warrior elite. With Miles Russell, he wrote UnRoman Britain, which claims that Britain was not significantly influenced by Roman occupation. Laycock's first book of poetry, Zone:Poems from the Bosnian War, drew on his experiences as an aid worker.
Book on amazon.ca
All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To
Hardcover – Nov 1 2012
British have invaded nine out of ten countries - so look out Luxembourg
Britain has invaded all but 22 countries in the world in its long and colourful history, new research has found.
Every schoolboy used to know that at the height of the empire, almost a quarter of the atlas was coloured pink, showing the extent of British rule.
But that oft recited fact dramatically understates the remarkable global reach achieved by this country.
A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 per cent of the countries around the globe.
The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only 22 which have never experienced an invasion by the British.
Among this select group of nations are far-off destinations such as Guatemala, Tajikistan and the Marshall Islands, as well some slightly closer to home, such as Luxembourg.
The analysis is contained in a new book, All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To.
Stuart Laycock, the author, has worked his way around the globe, through each country alphabetically, researching its history to establish whether, at any point, they have experienced an incursion by Britain.
Only a comparatively small proportion of the total in Mr Laycock's list of invaded states actually formed an official part of the empire.
The remainder have been included because the British were found to have achieved 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.
So, many countries which once formed part of the Spanish empire and seem to have little historical connection with the UK, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador and El Salvador, make the list because of the repeated raids they suffered from state-sanctioned British sailors.
Among some of the perhaps surprising entries on the list are:
* Cuba, where in 1741, a force under Admiral Edward Vernon stormed ashore at Guantánamo Bay. He renamed it Cumberland Bay, before being forced to withdraw in the face of hostile locals and an outbreak of disease among his men. Twenty one years later, Havana and a large part of the island fell to the British after a bloody siege, only to be handed back to the Spanish in 1763, along with another unlikely British possession, the Philippines, in exchange for Florida and Minorca.
*Iceland, invaded in 1940 by the British after the neutral nation refused to enter the war on the Allies side. The invasion force, of 745 marines, met with strong protest from the Iceland government, but no resistance.
* Vietnam, which has experienced repeated incursions by the British since the seventeenth century. The most recent – from 1945 to 1946 – saw the British fight a campaign for control of the country against communists, in a war that has been overshadowed by later conflicts involving first the French and then Americans.
It is thought to be the first time such a list has been compiled.
Mr Laycock, who has previously published books on Roman history, began the unusual quest after being asked by his 11-year-old son, Frederick, how many countries the British had invaded.
After almost two years of research he said he was shocked by the answer. "I was absolutely staggered when I reached the total. I like to think I have a relatively good general knowledge. But there are places where it hadn't occurred to me that these things had ever happened. It shocked me.
"Other countries could write similar books – but they would be much shorter. I don't think anyone could match this, although the Americans had a later start and have been working hard on it in the twentieth century."
The only other nation which has achieved anything approaching the British total, Mr Laycock said, is France – which also holds the unfortunate record for having endured the most British invasions. "I realise people may argue with some of my reasons, but it is intended to prompt debate," he added.
He believes the actual figure may well be higher and is inviting the public to get in touch to provide evidence of other invasions.
In the case of Mongolia, for instance – one of the 22 nations "not invaded", according to the book – he believes it possible that there could have been a British invasion, but could find no direct proof.
The country was caught up in the turmoil following the Russian Revolution, in which the British and other powers intervened. Mr Laycock found evidence of a British military mission in Russia approximately 50 miles from the Mongolian border, but could not establish whether it got any closer.
The research lists countries based on their current national boundaries and names. Many of the invasions took place when these did not apply.
The research covered the 192 other UN member states as well as the Vatican City and Kosovo, which are not member states, but are recognised by the UK government as independent states.
The earliest invasion launched from these islands was an incursion into Gaul – now France – at the end of the second century. Clodius Albinus led an army, thought to include many Britons, across the Channel in an attempt to seize the imperial throne. The force was defeated in 197 at Lyon.
Mr Laycock added: "On one level, for the British, it is quite amazing and quite humbling, that this is all part of our history, but clearly there are parts of our history that we are less proud of. The book is not intended as any kind of moral judgement on our history or our empire. It is meant as a light-hearted bit of fun."
The countries never invaded by the British:
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
英国侵略过地球上90%的国家：哪些国家未被染指？
2017年07月30日 11:45:33
来源：光明网 作者：佚名
核心提示：英国历史学家斯图尔特·莱科克（StuartLaycock）的一项研究发现，在不同时期，英国曾侵略了地球上几乎90%的国家。莱科克分析了世界上大约200个国家的历史，并根据史料确定哪些国家曾经被英国入侵。他从中发现，只有22个国家未被英国染指。
1889年的英国阅舰式 资料图
本文摘自：光明网，作者：佚名，原题为：《揭秘：英国曾侵略过地球上几乎90%的国家》
英国历史学家斯图尔特·莱科克（StuartLaycock）的一项研究发现，在不同时期，英国曾侵略了地球上几乎90%的国家。莱科克分析了世界上大约200个国家的历史，并根据史料确定哪些国家曾经被英国入侵。他从中发现，只有22个国家未被英国染指。在大英帝国大肆扩张版图的过程中得以保全的国家往往远离英国本土，比如太平洋上的马绍尔群岛，但也有像卢森堡这样的“窝边草”。莱科克的研究成果见于他的新书《英国侵略过的国家》（AlltheCountriesWe'veEverInvaded:AndtheFewWeNeverGotRoundTo）在日不落帝国时期，英国没有入侵过的22个国家是：欧洲的安道尔、白俄罗斯、列支敦士登、卢森堡、摩纳哥、瑞典、梵蒂冈，拉丁美洲的玻利维亚、危地马拉、巴拉圭，非洲的布隆迪、中非共和国、乍得、刚果共和国、科特迪瓦、马里、圣多美和普林西比民主共和国，亚洲的吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、蒙古，太平洋上的马绍尔群岛。
英国最早侵略的是高卢地区，位于今天的法国北部。公元2世纪，罗马帝国不列颠总督克劳迪乌斯·阿尔比努斯（ClodiusAlbinus）带领军队越过英吉利海峡，入侵高卢地区，但在197年兵败里昂。
英国侵略过的国家中，只有一小部分后来作为英联邦国家为人熟知。事实上，英国曾通过军事胁迫、谈判或交易手段，在更广阔的地区实行过军事进驻，尽管有些历时短暂。另外，英国政府批准的海盗、私掠船只和武装探险家的活动其实也是侵略行为。因此，很多曾经的西班牙殖民地，比如哥斯达黎加、厄瓜多尔和萨尔瓦多等，尽管看似与英国关系不大，但它们曾多次被英国水手入侵。
一些被英国侵略过的国家着实令人意想不到。1741年，英国海军上将弗农（AdmiralEdwardVernon）进攻古巴关塔那摩湾，并把此处重新命名为坎伯兰湾。不久，由于当地人的反抗和军队中疾病蔓延，弗农被迫撤退。1940年，冰岛因为坚持中立、拒绝加入盟军而遭到英国入侵。越南自17世纪以来不断遭到英国侵略，最近的一次是在1945年到1946年，英国试图打击该国的共产主义力量，但由于后来法国和美国先后入侵越南的历史更受瞩目，英国的入侵行动反而被遮蔽。
莱科克认为，英国侵略过的国家或许更多，但现在还缺乏可以确证的史料。比如蒙古，作者相信英国可能也曾在此有过军事行动。莱科克掌握的材料显示，俄国在十月革命后遭到英国等国的干涉，当时在距离蒙古俄罗斯边境大约50英里处，英军有过一次军事行动。因此，很难论断英国后来是否直接踏足蒙古。
有趣的是，英国人对这项新的研究结果深感惊讶，难以相信英国在历史上曾拥有过如此广大的势力范围。
