Fun fact: napoleon is how we got canned goods… in the war that napoleon’s troops starved in he inspired his people back home to invent a way to stop this…. Some years later a man in France had made the first recipe for canning food
One of my favourite skits from him is where he has a large blow up globe and goes around throwing shade at loads of countries. Calls Portugal the "Unsolved Rubik cube of Europe.. couldn't get those last two sqaures"
That whole routine is genius. Whenever someone brings up the subject of Venice I always have to think to myself "in any other country (aside from Italy), a flooded city that stank of sh*t would be regarded as a disaster."
As a Canadian I heard about the War of 1812, but really it was Britain saving this territory from being taken over while they were still fighting the French. Yes Canadians but without England (and the Natives supporting us who got ROYALLY screwed) there may never have been an independent Canada
The US governments aims were to take the Canadian colonies, so they could trade them back for an end to impressionism, free access to trade in both England and France, and a return of seized American ships. The US got all these during the treaty of Ghent, without having to give anything up, therefore, technically the US won the war. However, the real reason why the British were willing to give the US these things is that they were no longer needed as Napoleon was a prisoner of England at the time negotiations started, so they no longer needed to do them. :) I am a Canadian to put this in perspective, and I wrote a paper in my Canadian history course in University on it. I got an A (2nd best grade after A+).
As a Canadian and a history nut, I often point out that Canada as a sovereign nation did not exist until 1867, and we were still mostly just an autonomous British colony that looked after all of our own affairs and were allowed to raise our own military. There was no such thing as a Canadian military before that time, therefore it was indeed technically the British that burned down the White House.
@@oilersridersbluejays hey dude if you're a Canadian and a history nut, answer me this. Let's put aside what you just said, that there was no such thing as Canada during that war. Let's say we count the colony as Canada. Is there any actual evidence that Canadians, and not British, you know, from the Isles, burned down the White House? Because as far as I know, the ones that burned down the White House was a British regiment, stationed at Gibraltar before the war, commanded by a British born and raised commander. So even without the asterisk of Canada wasn't a country back then, the Canadians didn't burn down the White House anyway did they?
Though he does say some mean things about it like, repelling scots, when a scot arrives there, thinks its england and f*** off back home... he did say that.
Really pleased you reviewed this sir, on the War of Independence, our education system takes a slightly different view: 1) Having won the Seven Years War/ French Indian War, the colonies didn't militarily need Britain anymore 2) The British expected the colonies to pay some of the costs of the war 3) The bulk of this wasn't levied through new taxes but by enforcing the old ones properly - new customs officials etc 4) The tax burden on the average British subject in the British Isles was heavier than on the colonials (for e.g. in the UK they were paying 'Window tax', a tax levied depending on how many windows there were in your house, because it's the King's light coming in through those windows dontcha know) 5) The number of people allowed to vote was miniscule even back in the mother country 6) One of the major grievances was the land treaty the British had signed with native americans, saying there's be no more settlements beyond the Appalachians. This gave the colonies a problem as it removed their societal 'safety valve' 7) Once the war started it was less 'America is too far away' and more 'France is right there' 8) The Revolutionaries like Samuel Adams, etc, created a confederation of states. It ended disastrously in Shay's Rebellion and a near civil war. Also, the British version of 'The Patriot' ends after half an hour. Everything after Gates' loss to Cornwallis is replaced by a short slideshow detailing the above points. Long story short - we teach it as 'The US helped France beat us in a war'. I mean... France? REALLY?! :D
Yes, that's always intrigued me that the British empire was the largest....interestingly, the Roman empire was nowhere near the biggest in history. but I think it was the longest lasting.
Feel free to explain as much as you want about the historical context! That's the reason I watch you, because you add more depth to all these videos and help create a deeper understanding of the topics.
To reiterate what others have said the ‘pub landlord’ is purely a character Al plays. He is an incredibly intelligent man, first at Oxford, comes from a very privileged background too. Interesting to see him interviewed etc as himself!
We in Britain also note that the Colonies needed the help of 3 European Countries to win their war of independence: France, Spain and the Netherlands. 😁
One of my FAVORITE comedy bits! (It's nice when you can LEARN as you laugh.) Honestly, if Public School History was taught like this (or even the somewhat entertaining way the History Channel USED to), I would have done MUCH better in History Class! Instead of being bored off my @$$ (like most of my classmates).
As a Canadian, I am not offended. As my father would say, "You can always tell an Englishman. Not much, but you can tell him".😄 As for the War of 1812, we were winning until the English showed up and made it a tie.
@@bobbell4461 I love scottish people too, my best mate was a scottish guy called Nelson in my 20s. I'm kinda sad that scottish people hate us but it is what it is
@@realburglazofficial2613 The British Commonwealth did not exist until 1931 and ceased to exist in 1949. It had replaced the British Empire and was succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations has member that were never part of the British Empire. From 1792 to 1815, the British were fighting the "Coalition Wars" in Europe and provided limited resources to Canadian defense. Despite this, Canadian militia and First Nation allies were able to capture Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Detroit and repel American advances at Queenston Heights and Fort York. It was only after the defeat of Napoleon that the British were able to mount an offence against the Americans in New Orleans. THEY LOST.
I really enjoyed that, every time I see somebody react to this video they are basically clueless, so to see someone like you who know his subject, was a breath of fresh air.
When we started the equivalent of freshman history, our first history lesson was going back to 1750 to find a year when Britain wasn't at war, I think it. was an important grounding to understand the history we were about to learn.
Al Murray, who read Modern History at Oxford, is well aware that many of these "defeats" require some mental gymnastics and some smudging of the definition of "defeat" in order to fit every country in there, but it's a fun exercise that is ultimately for his stand-up routine rather than any serious historical claim - though it is still fairly instructional in revealing the simple breadth of British Imperialism over the course of history. Personally I'd want to hear how he justifies Portugal and/or Brazil - though I'd guess he'd use the Canada rationale again - given Portugal have been fairly steadfast allies of Britain for centuries.
1:30 - As you say, there were many other examples of French defeats - Crecy and Poitiers, for example - but they were just prelimanary rounds before the final match at Azincourt (aka Agincourt).
Al Murray’s character as the Pub Landlord, decries his education and background. You are wrong to think he’s just memorised a pile of stuff. Murray is the only son of a lieutenant colonel in 131 (Parachute) Regiment, Royal Engineers. He is a descendant of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, his grandfather was the former British ambassador Sir Ralph Murray, was from Scottish aristocracy and married into the Kuenberg family, Imperial Court of the Holy Roman Empire. His patrilineal great-great-grandfather, George Murray, was Bishop of Rochester, while Sir Edward Leigh MP is his third cousin. Murray was educated at Bedford School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he read Modern History. With respect, Mr Terry, he probably has better history qualifications than you and he’s a shit load funnier.
What does suprpise me is that Burkina Faso was in fact not a german, but a french colony. But since the comedian confidently yelled out the wrong answer, everyone believed him.
If only the audience member who said the country had some more basic knowledge about that obscure country then we would have had a good heckle on our hands if you like.
@@Suprahampton That's a good thought to be honest, but I looked it up and the British and French fought their last war against each other in 1778. Burkina Faso however was only acquired as a french protectorate in 1896. In conclusion, the British did not win against the french when Burkina Faso was part of the french empire.
I was at this show. You can see me coughing at one point. This was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Al Murray had been nominated for the Perrier Award (at that time the top comedy award) four years in a row, winning it at the fourth attempt in 10 years later he decided to reprise all four shows over four consecutive days at the Roxy club (I don't remember now whether it was Assembly or Pleasance at the time). I went to all four. You can find the first one on RU-vid where he picks on me for wearing an RBS badge (I had gone straight from work that day). We were still recovering from the economic mess engendered by the collapse of RBS and other banks. Just remembering all four shows was itself impressive.
It only works in smaller venues where the audience is close enough to be heard. We used to have one near me that I hated arriving early at. The earlier you got there, the closer you were to the front and at least one of the comedians every time would pick on the front row. Occasionally they would call out to the audience for things like this, though. The downside is you do get people who feel they need to weigh in on things or drunks behaving badly. I recently saw Emo Phillips open for a Weird Al concert in a somewhat small venue and some woman in the front felt she needed to pontificate to him on public health.
OMG 8 Hours ago I was watching this video and was looking to see if you or Vlogging through History had seen this video and I was dissapointed that you hadn't. My Timing couldn't have been better.
It would be a lot darker if the United States was the subject. Britain went around beating up and absorbing places in the name of money and conquest. The U.S.A is very insidious about things. I would also say when most of the world considers us a major threat to global stability it's not a bad look. Here I'll give some examples, Mexico, on multiple occasions we goaded them into a conflict where we beat the shit out of them. The Mexican American war comes to mind first off but we've held Vera Cruz lots of times. Haiti, regularly sent the marines in there to controll the governemnt and have been hell bent on trying to controll them. The Philippines in 1900, we massacred people left and right, used concentration camps and had to go on killing sprees. Iraq in 2003. Lie your ass off in an illegal war to conquer and restructure Iraq an obedient puppet. Panama in 1990, they hassled our marines at the canal, we decided to overthrow the government because of cocaine being sent north. If we consider all the toppled governments and dicators we installed the list gets even more depressing.
@@henkhrtr2268 Here are some fun facts for you, specifics and data help. Stupid people, losers, and cretins just assert things because they're mad and have nothing to defend their position. If you have something to say, say it. Then be ready to defend your position.
That crowd didn't know the answer to every pub quiz question is the Federated States of Micronesia - he may have had an answer but for sure he'd have had to dig around. Al Murray demonstrating that an Oxford history degree isn't always wasted.
Quick note Canada at the time of the war of 1812-1814 was not a independent nation as such was still British so even if people get upset, it was legally and historically British
First I've watched from your channel lad, I'll have a squint through what you've posted as you seem a savvy chap. I'd recommend (if you haven't already, in which case my apologies) to watch two videos on RU-vid. First is The Fallen of WW2, 2nd is What it takes to Win The Victoria Cross. I don't have the funds for Patreon and the rest but I think you will find each fascinating if you haven't already seen. Be well, cheers from Scotland 🍻
It may have been pointed out below but he is also the great great great etc grandson of J E Thackeray - Author of vanity Fair - and yes it's a character as a 'pub landlord'. Nice vid. x
This was a show at the Edinburgh comedy festival to test out material for a tour, I forget the name of the tour but a lot of these countries are mentioned. He didn’t do the ‘name a country, we have defeated them’ bit, but he had a massive inflatable globe and commented on every single country on it which involved many of the jokes he made in this video.
Al Murray has a WW2 podcast with WW2 historian James Holland called we have ways of making you talk you should listen to some episodes of it and they just did their second WW2 festival a couple weeks ago
He has a degree from Oxford in history & speaks several languages, the character he plays on stage is called ‘ pub landlord’ based on an average UK pub landlord.👍🤣
Al Murray Read History at Oxford - this man could run rings around many scholars - his character in this comedy series is "The Pub Landlord" and he even has several working beer taps on stage.
the American "Revolution" is only called revolution in America. Not just Britain, but most other European nations consider it a war of Independence, even Poland, who had one of their national heroes "Kościuszko" fight in that war, consider it a war of independence. As far revolutions go, for most of us it includes some kind of militia movement, and major involvement of the simple folk in applying major changes into the politics of the country. Most commonly we relate the word revolution to France during the time of Maximilien Robespierre, Russia at the time of Lenin, and also Britain, during their industrial revolution.
Check out Al Murray - Nations of the World. As well as his stand up he also does some really good history shows not in the Pub Landlord character. Especially his road to Berlin series.
Al Murray is related to William Makepeace Thackeray, the Author of Vanity Fair, he is also a cousin of our ex prime minister David Cameroon, but we don't hold that against him lol.
He does similar stuff, “sending US Marines to fight in the desert”, also how we have “Greenwich Mean Time, not Paris Mean Time”, he references things which might not be understood in other countries not familiar with cricket. He also makes a glaring mistake saying that Admiral Lord Nelson fought the battle of Trafalgar aboard HMS Invincible, actually he was aboard HMS Victory.
In terms of one side calling a battle/war one thing and the other side calling it another, During the American Civil war, I read somewhere that the Confederacy would frequently refer to it as The War of Northern Aggression.
YOU NEED TO WATCH HOW THE WORLD ECONOMY WORKS BY AL, BRILLIANT FUNNY, HIS AMERICAN ACCENTS ARE REALY FUNNY, MUCH OF HIS STUFF SLIGHTLY TONGUE IN CHEEK BUT MOSTLY TRUE AND MAKES IT FUNNY AS WELL
He is actually doing a magic trick as well, in a way. Because everyone is yelling things out, he gets to choose which ones he answers. It's similar to the old magic trick where the assistant takes objects from the audience, and the magician guesses them while blindfolded, due to the wording the assistant uses. They have keywords for common things, and uncommon things, they simply don't get chosen for the trick, by the assistant. In the same way, he can choose which ones he answers, and as you may have noted, he has an "out" for every ally of Britain, which eliminates a lot of countries.
@@Tijuanabill umm most of what you said was about the use of assistants and i just said he needs none he knows history i now what you was saying and he did answer every one i take it you have not seen the full show if you have seen it let me know
He is also going to be a politician. He’s a very smart man. If you think he is to much he’s telling jokes. Being offensive is funny. But he does it in a way he gets everyone.
About the anglo-spanish war apparently nobody knows that in 1589 (a year after the spanish armada) England attacked northern Spain where the remnants of the armada were repaired with 150 ships (20 more than the spanish armada) and England was defeat. We could also talk about how 250 ships (with 27,000 - 30,000 military personnel) were defeat by 6 ships (with 3,000 - 4,000 soldiers)
It's important to understand he is playing a character, his character is a patriotic know it all pub landlord(someone who own/runs a pub). if you hear him misrepresent, manipulation or our right lie about history it's part of his character trying to make out britain is the best, never loses and does everything the right way. Also it may seem subtle to most non british but he is also making fun of Britain most of the time, if you listen carefully to some of his stuff he it making jokes about both whatever the topic is and Britain at the same time. He's very well educated in history, I believe he went to Oxford to study history but I'm not sure what exact qualifications he has.
The problem with the video is that they are very, very "liberal" with the meaning of the word "invaded" Countries that Great Britain liberated from German/Japanese/Italian control in the 1940's count as being "invaded" in this video.
Al Murray actually went to St. Edmund Hall, Oxford where he read (studied) Modern History. I wouldn't go up against him on history. He would probably know it already!
"The six principal colonies of German Africa, along with native kingdoms and polities, were the legal precedents of the modern states of Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo. Contemporary Chad, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo were also under the control of German Africa at various points during its existence."
Burkina Faso was a French Colony and during World War 2 when France Surrendered Burkina Faso become a German Protectorate hence why he said I refer to my previous answer after we defeated Germany in 1945...
If you haven’t already, you should check out a channel called “The Front”. They got a lot of interesting videos about military history, mostly WWII, on niche topics like why Japans war crimes were mostly ignored, top misconceptions of the German army, and other topics that you don’t always think about.
Al would know all this stuff as he read Modern History whilst at Oxford - so study hard at University, you CAN find a use for it in your chosen career.
The Pub Landlord is a bit like "Stephen Colbert"... not the current host of The Late Show, but the character he played on Comedy Central. He's the mockery of a traditional British conservative but Al Murray himself is more left leaning.
Are you familiar with the name William Makepeace Thackeray? Al Murray is a descendant of this fine gentleman. Al knows his stuff and he’s not to be underestimated 😊
There is a video showing how many countries We invaded and interveined militarily on youtube its a good watch. For those that do not know English then later British Empire is the largest in human history and at one point directly ruled over 60 percent of the worlds population/ Also as an FYI Exploration history and the history of our Empire is not taught in schools It comes up as a backdrop in the study of victorian era but is not a direct subject matter until you reach university levels of history or in American English college level of historic what you would term world history)
You're right about the American War of Independance, we're not taught much about it. I can't remember where I read this but basically, it's the most important moment in American history, to the British it was a Tuesday.
