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The Origins of the English Empire

For this narrative of history to make any sense to a reader unfamiliar with the history of England, it is first necessary to set the stage for the titanic events that would lead to the birth of the British Empire and its hegemony in the 19th century.

To begin with, we must first look at the geographical positioning of England in Western and Northern Europe, with England and France approximately 23 miles or 37 km apart across the English Channel.

According to the geopolitical analysis Peter Zeihen, half of the United Kingdom, England, Wales, and Scotland, more than half of the land is useless due to the mountainous terrain, mainly in Scotland and Wales.

During the medieval ages, this was even worse, with East Anglia’s primary swamplands and the north of England being disconnected due to swamps and rivers, which made that piece of territory hard to control from Winchester and London during the period of England’s Anglo-Saxon and first Norman came within the Conqueror.

This history is significant to understand the context of how England, predominantly England, transformed itself from a backwater into a power at its height in 1922.

It was the largest empire the world had ever seen, covering around a quarter of Earth’s land surface and ruling over 458 million people.

The Historian David Starkey stated that “the British Empire is just England with add-ons.” The statement may be inflammatory for the Scots and the Welsh, but this statement has a significant truth.

Certain nations are destined to fail due to the limitations of geography.

This argument is supported by thinkers such as Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography, and Peter Zeilhen, author of The End of the World is Just the Beginning, who use geography to demonstrate the limitations and advantages of different global powers.

The geographical limitations of Scotland and Wales led to them being eventually conquered or incorporated peacefully, in the case of the Scots with the Act of Union 1707 and the Edwardian conquest of Wales in the late 13th century.

The origin development of the English Empire was born from the failure, conquest, and dynastic politics, starting with the Anglo-Saxon/Old English being conquered by William the Conqueror in 1066 CE.

Unfortunately, modern-day people often forget that William II, Duke of Normandy, had a substantial holding in northern France. Before his invasion in 1066 CE, three years previously, he conquered Maine, which lands were controlled by Angevin Count of Anjou.

It’s also necessary to point out that in northern France, the Dukes of Normandy and Dukes of Brittany, Counts of Anjou and Flanders, and finally, the kings of the Franks were engaged in campaigns of dominance to gain control or hegemony of northern France.

For this history, the most important fact is that from the 1050s CE, starting with King Henri I, King of the Franks, and Duke William II of Normandy, until the ending of the Hundred Years War in 1453 CE, the kingdoms or accurately the dynasties of Normandy-Plantagenet ruled England from 1066 VCE to 1485 CE and the Capet Kings and Valois Kings of France fought wars over control various touches and even the crown of France for over 500 years.

The English crown had, multiple times, controlled more lands in France than the King of France.

Still, over a series of conflicts and the defeat of the English during the Hundred Years War from 1337 CE to 1453 CE, the English were reduced to control in the city and port of Calais possession from 1347 CE to 1558 CE.

The Origins of the English Empire

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Ukraine War: How the West is Helping Ukraine

policeman walking near tanks

It can be stated without a doubt that Ukrainians would have already lost their war of independence from 2014 present-day without assistance from the NATO alliance and nations that are part of the Western world.

The Western world can be divided into two categories.

The world order created after World War II incorporated the United States of America and parts of Western and Central Europe; South Korea and other nations joined the United States in its fight against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The Cold War lasted from 1945 until the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 in the final fall of the Soviet state in 1990.

The nations that make up the West are not a united nation-state or coalition of countries like the European Union, which is an economic union with some political elements.

The Western nations tend to be liberal democracies and value human rights, and are liberals or neoconservatives when it comes to economics. The eminent historian David Starkey put forward the other definition of the West, where he sees the West as an Anglo-American entity and that liberalism and democracy primarily come from Anglo-Saxon cultural legacy.

In his polite way, he puts forward an argument that the West is fundamentally English built upon legacies of the Anglo-Saxons and the Magna Carter created in the 13th century, which began democracy in the form of landholder and protection of property.

This article will not discuss the origins of the Western world or what constitutes the Western world. Still, it’s essential that you, the reader are aware that the Western world and its traditions are not limited to North America or Europe.

There exist around the world. This is why even though the Soviet Union and China are not European nations, they were influenced by European economic theories in the form of Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto.

The political and economic thought dominating the planet and different legal and financial systems come from primarily Western traditions.

The world’s legal systems are the English common law, and Roman law, the only real legal systems in use on the planet, according to the lawyer and writer Helen Dale.

close up photo of wooden jigsaw map  Ukraine War
Photo by Anthony Beck on Pexels.com

Statistics

The war in Ukraine still has a long way to go, even with the recent coup against Vladimir Putin by the Wagner Group leader Prigozhin Yevgeny, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital.

Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to avoid going out.

The situation now appears to be under temporary control, with Prigozhin Yevgeny going into exile to Belarus, which the Putin regime has bought off.

The Russians still have plenty of manpower to keep the war going, with 830,000 active personnel and 500,000 reservists certified in the Russian military.

With the Ukraine war being waged by the military on Ukrainian soil, the Ukrainian economy, infrastructure and lands will be destroyed and ruined by the back-and-forth of military activity between the Russian Federation and the army of Ukraine. With this being the case, Western nations still provide Ukrainian support during their conflict against the invading Russians.

Here are the resources Ukrainians are given to survive the Russian onslaught from January 2022 to January 2023.

The United States has provided $46.56 million, the United Kingdom 5.13 billion, Poland 2.55 million, Germany 2.47 billion, and other 1.35 billion, the Netherlands 0.90 billion, Italy 0.69 billion, France 0.69 billion, Norway 0.62 billion, Denmark 0.59 billion, in terms of currency these financial estimates are all in American dollars, and this is only paid from between January 2022 to January 2023.

These estates may vary due to the fog of war, and different statistics available due to what constitutes aid can vary for different metrics.

entrance to residential building devastated by explosion  Ukraine War
Photo by Алесь Усцінаў on Pexels.com

Non-governmental Organisations, Smaller Nations and Donations

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are the nations that spent the most on their national GDP to support Ukrainians in their fight against the Russian Federation because they know if the Russians win, they may be the next target.

Furthermore, Eastern European nations, due to their occupation and control by the Soviet Union lasting from 1945 to 1989, have a natural fear and hatred towards Russia because there is the fear of them re-occupying their nations and taking their freedoms of self-determination.

As for non-governmental organisations, Elon Musk’s Space X company has provided Starling since late fitment Ukrainians so they can access the Internet.

The Philip Morris company has provided 500,000 packets of cigarettes, and Amazon has pledged $550 million in tech equipment to Ukraine.

The American outdoors company gives Ukraine 1 million rounds of small calibre ammunition.

Regarding donations from other nations, honourable mentions are the Czech Republic $71 million, Taiwan $33 million and South Korea $3 million.

The Russian Federation and the Chinese People’s Republic of China have not expected or been prepared for how the Western world is united and is providing resources to the Ukrainian government and how individuals and companies donate financially to help keep the Ukrainians fighting.

Nations with dictators don’t know how to react to or understand how individuals at scale can change the world, and that’s what is happening during the Ukraine war.

Ordinary people are playing their small part in fighting tyranny and hopefully see Ukraine win the War.

amazon concrete building during night time  Ukraine War
Photo by Joshua Brown on Pexels.com

Sources

Politico Kyiv says Big Oil should pay to rebuild Ukraine’s shattered infrastructure link

Reuters U.S. arms exports up 49% in fiscal 2022 link

Foreign Policy Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust link

Responsible Statecraft Ukraine War is great for the portfolio, as defence stocks enjoy a banner year link

The Guardian They’re lobbying for Ukraine pro bono – and making millions from arms firms link

Forbes More than a million Ukrainians in uniform provide the defense of the country – Reznikov link

The Infographics Show The Daily Cost of War in Ukraine for Russia link  

US State Department U.S. Security Cooperation with Ukraine link  

Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry Are we becoming Pagan? – Helen Dale | Maiden Mother Matriarch 19 link

Reuters Rebel Russian mercenaries turn back short of Moscow ‘to avoid bloodshed’ link

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Donate To Ukraine Links

United24 link

Come Back Alive link  

Nova Ukraine link

Razom link

The $1K Project for Ukraine link

Hospitallers link