Monarchs of Great Britain & the British Empire (Part Three) 1707-2011

Under the Georgian Era, the British Empire flourished. Britain's traditional enemy, France, under the dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte, tried to launch an invasion of the isles but Horatio Nelson, the greatest Admiral of all time, destroyed the Franco/Spanish fleet, albiet at the cost of his own life. The Duke of Wellington defeated Bonaparte on the fields of Waterloo, ending an era of war and marking the beginning of Pax Britannia, an century where Britain became the world's superpower, dwarfing every other nation in terms of military and economic might. The empire became the largest in history, where the sun never set, a realm that covered 26% of the Earth's land. Queen Victoria, currently the longest reigning British Monarch, came to represent the spectacular wealth and dominance of her nation across the globe.

However, Victoria's death marked the end of Pax Britannia- soon, the world was plunged into the bloodiest war of all time, and Britain was left economically crippled. Instead of recovering, the great depression struck and Britain was no longer the richest country in the world.

The country declared war on Nazi Germany with her ally France in 1939. France quickly fell to German Blitzkreig, and Hitler turned his attention to Britain. Through the courage of the RAF, the Luftwaffe was defeated and Hitler could no longer attempt an invasion of Britain. When he invaded Russia, Britain gained the first of her two powerful allies. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour brought America into the war, and unable to cope with huge losses on the eastern front along with invasion from the west, Germany lost the war. Britain emerged victorious, but her powers were exhausted considerably. The radical new government lead by Clement Attlee quickly granted India independance from the empire, the beginning of the end of the colonial era. Under Elizabeth II, Britain is no longer a super power, but remains the 5th largest economy in the world, the fourth largest military budget, and a key proponant of democracy, free speech and free trade, values echoed in the commonwealth of nations.

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[inTHEwrongGENERATION]

Amazing video

[TheLiberalKnight]

@inTHEwrongGENERATION Thank you!

[inTHEwrongGENERATION]

@TheLiberalKnight British pride its just too bad our country is going to the dumps

[TheLiberalKnight]

@inTHEwrongGENERATION I think we are suffering from post-empire depression, like France, but we don't realise it. What we need is something to boost our prestige and make us proud again.

[inTHEwrongGENERATION]

@TheLiberalKnight Same we need to be more proud of our nation I am14 and the stuff we learn in history does not express how amazing our nation is children need to learn how great once and still are that will get people's pride back and Britain's needs something to celebrate