I am not an expert on American history but my mate is very well read
He reckons the British treated the natives pretty well for the times and honoured their treaties and lands. The problem occurred when Americans broke the treaties hand over fist for commercial gain. The native Americans were brutally treated (unlike what you see in Hollywood westerns) and they retreated to Canada under British rule to escape the Americans. I am really sick of lefty liberals abusing my country yes everything we did in the past was not perfect but we did a lot of good many almost all the countries that left British rule retained their legal system and democractic systems including America. Britain along with America remains the number one destination for immigrants if we were really that evil I am struggling to understand why that it. In France immigrants for years camp by the channel trying to get into Britain if France and Europe and the EU is as wonderful as the lefties claim why don't they stop where they are ?
America treated the Natives poorly, 100%. I never argued that wasn't the case. I don't think England or America are even bad countries, although colonialism is definitely a black mark on both of their histories. Being critical of our past mistakes is how we avoid making them again. Colonialism wasn't even my larger point; it was a sidenote. The meat of the conversation, if you had bothered to read it was his haribrained conspiracy theory about England being controlled by the Germans. It only came up as a way to poke holes in his absurd logic.
Let's be clear though: almost every crime America committed as colonizers was learned honestly by the country that colonized us. African slavery was an English institution, and the cotton, rice, sugar, and indigo producing plantations made mother England and the colonists very rich. Even after the war, they continued to do so. The double dealing with the Natives was also learned honestly. Look up the Powhatan wars that occurred during British rule, the British conduct towards the natives during the 7 years war (the French and Indian war as we called the American front), or the hundreds of treaties the Canadian and US governments have ignored to seize their lands from everything to hunting grounds, timber, or oil. You did it, we did it, the Canadians did it, and to your credit, at least you lot have mostly stopped doing it. My country still keeps doing things like this, and I'm not particularity happy about it.
That isn't to say that the sum total of your country (or mine) is evil, or that my country is in any way less guilty than yours. No reasonable person thinks that. Quit being such a snowflake and getting all pissy just because someone brought up a part of your history you don't particularly like. That is not abuse, it's discussing facts. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite fond of your country and the shared history it has with mine. I spent years studying it, and it's what I went to Oxford to do.
English history is a fascinating tale, full of tragedy, triumph, betrayal, victory and failure. All histories worth noting have ugly parts. I'm just not interested in sugar-coating what went right or wrong for the sake of your fragile feelings.
