The True History Of Freedom Never Taught In Schools | American Reacts 

I am a 72 yr old Yorkshireman. I rarely get emotional, especially about videos. However, you, as a young man, have impressed me with your willingness to learn, and just as importantly, understand the nuances of history. Many, many, people line up to criticise Britain and concentrate on the negative aspects of its history whilst ignoring the HUGE positive influences it has had on the world. I salute you, young man

I don't care about the hate we get I'm proud to be British and nothing will ever change that.

Slavery is as old as mankind, I've never taken it personally. Growing up as a black Briton I knew that slavery was common everywhere in the past and wasn't about colour but power. I saw movies like Spartacus and Moses and the Vikings and all the slaves were white. So I was never bothered by the idea that blacks were an inferior people because they had been enslaved. Unfortunately it suits some people to claim otherwise, they want tension between blacks and whites. It surprises me that hardly anybody talks about the middle Eastern slave trade, which existed long before and long after the Transatlantic slave trade. Why is that, many of these countries are super rich due to oil where are the cries for reparations. My dad came to the UK from a British Overseas Territory, he was born British so had the right to live in the mother country. As did many others from former British Territories all over the world. we are the new Britain's and we are proud of our heritage, white, black and inbetween.

For a tiny land, we sure pack a punch. Proud Brit 🇬🇧

Don't forget, in 1940 Britain was ALONE IN THE FRONT LINE, a few minutes flight time from German airfields. Facing imminent invasion, and bombing of its cities and sinking of its lifeline merchant ships. But Britain did not STAND alone. The peoples of what became the Commonwealth fought with Britain. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the great countries that were British India, Africans, Asians...and those who had escaped the carnage in Europe and especially the wonderful Poles and Czechs. Never forget, the (brilliant) head of 11 Group Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain was a Kiwi; and some of the most outstanding pilots were (wonderful) Poles. And over 20k of the troops landed on 6/6/44 were Canadian. These heroes - for they were - all fought for freedom - freedom, as the video explains, founded in what Britain had given to the world. They would not have done that, had they not seen Britain as the mother of freedom? Seen Britain as a country worth fighting for freedom alongside. Freedom, including how it voluntarily gave up its empire unique in history, was Britain's legacy to the world.

Something not often talked about is that we gave the world common law.

"The air of England has long been too pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it." James Mansfield

Your genuine love for the British contributions to history are heartwarming. I, like most adult Brits, payed for the ending of slavery. Never was money better spent. You'll always be welcome in England, cousin.

Somebody should show this to Don Lemon of CNN

Thank you for this video, im so proud of our little country, and grateful to all of the commonwealth countries. We wont be bullied, and have a deep sense of doing whats right. As Churchill said, we will never surrender.

You are a very impressive young man. I am a 79 year old Brit, and am always interested in learning more. I believe it to be true that we in Britain have that spirit, to see freedom and democracy spread to all nations, but for some it will involve fighting for the priviledge. We had our fight many centuries ago, but countries like Russia and China, and its people - they have not yet found that courage, that spirit within their DNA to finally awaken. Sheffield South Yorkshire.

You have to also remember, the everyday man in the British streets did not themselves benefit from the slave trade. It was the mostly middle and upper class that benefited from this appalling trade.

Yet people still like to knock Great Britain 🇬🇧, well guess what, we don't give a stuff.😊

RIP Charles Acland, a young officer and local hero in Selworthy, Somerset, who served on a Royal Naval Ship intercepting slavers. He died of African Fever off the coast of Benin. A plaque in his honour is found in the Church of All Saints in Selworthy.

The £20m in todays money is about £300Bn or $380Bn USD The last payment was made in 2015, so every UK tax payer that paid taxes up until 2015, has paid towards this loan, to free slaves from their slave owners in South Africa and the Caribbean Islands

I am a 73 year old Brit and there are some things I have learnt from this topic. Britain will always fight for freedom. If not, you need to be a historian as you are great at it.

I've watched yours and other reactions to british history, and nobody has delved so deep into it, and appreciated it so much. History is crazy, and once you start learning, you can't stop. Britain has a lot to be proud of, equally a lot to be not proud of to put it lightly. But i think the world is a much better place having Our Mother England in it.

I came across your video by chance and am glad I did. Thank you for reminding this British person that we take so much for granted and that history is complex. It seems unfashionable these days to be proud of British history, but there is a lot to be grateful for and proud too. Good as well as bad should be remembered, taught, discussed and kept in context.

What a wonderful you man . Nice to see someone prepared to learn about history and not just bashing Brits like lots of young people seem to enjoy.

Even though that speech Churchill made was 84 years ago Neal , it still makes me swell with pride . Proud to be British , and the the people that criticise our beautiful country and its history can get stuffed . 🇬🇧🇬🇧

Remember, the American colonists & revolutionaries were British, they fought for traditional British rights, in the traditional British way. In the end they set up a Government system which was a copy of the British.

I have never known/seen the detail given in this video.. Love your reaction to it, but I have to admit I am a Brit and I remember days of the war, so I am biased! Have to admit one major memory of the war was how on the screaming signal, the whole family went to the shelter dug into our back-garden; once there it was realised we hadn't brought the tea. Horror! Nobody was supposed to leave and return to the house when a bombing raid had been announced, but my grandmother insisted she was going back to the house to get it. Despite other protesting, she went back and got the tea. I don't remember any details after that, but it was just a bump in the calm that the adults managed to keep around us kids. Lord bless them all. Thanks for the detail of the video for giving even more than raising my memory!

The sad thing is British children are not taught our history. Today they are taught only the bad bits.Thank you for these lessons to show the good and bad of our long history.

Where a certain law isn't covered by the US constitution, the Supreme Court refers back to English Common Law to make it's rulings.

Obviously I can't take any personal credit for what the British people did in the 1800s, just as I can't accept blame for what they did before that... But the moral conquest against slavery is the thing that makes me most proud to be British.

Dismantling the slave trade was truly an epic achievement of the British empire. Though it took far too long for the United States to follow in the course of freedom the efforts of the fledgling US navy and marines in breaking the hold of the Barbary pirates on the Mediterranean should not be forgotten.

A point i made to an American before,freedom of speech, (common law right dating from before 1189), codified in1688. No taxation without representation (magna carta) Right of trial by peers. English law 12century

One thing that irks me is pictures show king signing the Charter. It was NEVER signed gust the great seal attached to it. One of only two laws of the land. The other being the Declaration of People Rights. Both still FULLY LEGAL today but they try to con you.

Now you know Neal why the USA has one of the 4 original Magna Carta copies lodged in the Lincoln Memorial in DC. The USA was founded on British values and 1776 really represented a change from a monarchy to an elected President and not much else at that point.

You have so impressed me with your knowledge of world history... Most are unaware that historically for the small Continent of white European people.. Our people were enslaved far more than any other people... I refuse to be ashamed of my ancestors...

I always find it humorous when an American notices that USA was founded by Brits and ex-Brits. Even those pilgrims were of British descent, travelling from country to country and finally to America to preserve their religious beliefs. You're a good guy Neal.

You sir , love watching this . I just love seeing, watching, people who learn something new . Education is so important, in all its facets . Give people power that no one can beat . 😊

I’ve been watching all of your videos on Britain. It’s been fascinating watching you go from yeah but the British did lots of horrible things. To a deep respect and admiration. The smile on your face as you listen to all the information is wonderful. Thank you Sir. If you ever decide to visit this great country I would love to buy you a pint and show you round. 🥰🇬🇧

That made me very proud of our people, I was born during the war and rationing didn't end until 1954 by the way!

America was founded by British lawyers, they instituted British laws that would benifits them as a seperate nation far removed from European powers, just as Britain did earlier

Thank you for your respectful responses to some of the British history that has never been adequately taught in British schools ... We are indeed a tiny island but possess gigantic heart & courage in adversity, times of war, conflict & downright injustice, whether towards a single individual or an entire country - makes no difference. It should NEVER make a difference. You have to fight for freedom, then fight like bloody hell to keep that freedom. Go well, be safe & keep doing what you're doing young man 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇲❤️💚❤️

Another great one. Just did a bit of LIGHT research (only checked a couple of different sites). But the cost of that £20 million compensation today would be, £4,107,600,000.00. So a little under £4.2 Billion!

20:20 - SLAVERY COMPENSATION ACT - The British government borrowed £20 million to compensate slave owners, which amounted to a massive 40 percent of the Treasury’s annual income or about 5 percent of British GDP. The loan was one of the largest in history. £20 million in 1833 is worth £2.4 billion in today's prices.

Yes, one thing the English/British are VERY good at is...REFORM! 'Revolution', on the other hand, is something we tend to be rather suspicious of...

You should watch Know your Ally Britain, if you haven’t already. It was made for American troops to watch.. it’s an interesting watch💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

According to the Bank of England's historical inflation calculator, £20 million in 1834 would be worth £2,179 million today. I think that's roughly £21.8 billion.

This was a wonderful video to react to. I am very grateful to you for highlighting what, if we are not careful today, we could easily lose tomorrow. Generations have been born into these freedoms and rarely thought about their worth or how hard fought they were - simply because they have 'always' been 'there'. The West is now facing an enormous challenge from an alien culture and, if we don't decide to stand firm, then we will lose everything we know and love - especially all the freedoms and way of life we take for granted today.

I feel that it needs to be pointed out that the Magna Carta was just for England. It was signed around the time that England was trying to take control of Wales (which wasn’t even a united country at the time) but hundreds of years before any sort of official unification of the countries that make up the landmass of Great Britain. Charles I was the second son of James VI of Scotland who unified the crowns when he inherited the English crown on the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 but the Act of Union between Scotland and England to creat the political union we now know as the UK didn’t happen until 1707. As for the references to the British Legal System, to this day there are three legal systems used in the UK. One for England and Wales, one for Scotland and one for Northern Ireland. So there is no British Legal System but there are British Legal Systems. Though William the Conqueror may have created laws to prevent the English (not the British, just the English) from being slaves, there was no issues with the feudal system which ensured that everyone wasn’t created equal but that there was a class system which is still in play to this day in some ways. It seems to be quite difficult for many (including many of us in the UK) to remember that not every bit of British History that is taught, is actually the history of all of either Britain or the UK. The £20,000,000 cost of abolishing slavery in 1834 is roughly £2,178,985,799.48 (GBP) or $2,765,258,044.37 (USD) as of 20:30 GMT on the 24th of June 2024.

Nice to see a reaction to something we grew up knowing without thought, and the fact that it surprises people today is pretty sad. Magna Carta had a profound influence on the US Constitution, Individual Liberty, Trial by Jury, Protection Against Excessive Fines and Punishments, Taxation Without Representation, Due Process: where ideal laid down. Remember most of the American revolutionaries came from the UK. As to WW2 Hitler did not have to conquer Britain - he offered peace, and survival of the Empire - his goal was always to the East and to Russia. Britain could well have accepted the offer - and really is an interesting "what if". Love it as always.

I like to think that the world we have today especially here in the west is thanks to the partnership and Brotherhood between us Brits and our American brothers. It's the world's most important alliance.

Almost half of everything invented, nigh on every freedom principle and a majority of innovation, came from this little craggy rock. We've ruled the world, we've emancipated half of it. We've revolutionised almost everything. Saved billions of lives in the process. Overachievers.

Before America became a nation, American's were British. The founding Father's were British subjects, with British ideals. In fact the first seven American Presidents, were British subjects at one point, American's today are unaware. Paul Revere, April 18, 1775 Shouting from town to town, "The British are coming" Probably never happened, because it would have made no sense. Everyone was British. Maybe, "The Red coats are coming". I do believe, that George Washington fought in the British Army against the French. He knew how the British thought. Gave him a hands up. KorkytheKat UK

For a small island we have tried our best to be the best humans we could be at the time.

Shout out to you brother for educating yourself, don’t worry that you can’t yet speak eloquently, you think eloquently and can understand complex thought and that is far more important. as a British person I do find it saddening that most don’t understand their own history and most of Europe dislike us for some reason, we have a “special relationship” with America and I believe we do with the American people but not with the political class it would seem, we appear to be seen as Americas dog to those people, good enough to go to war as partners and die but can we have a free trade agreement as partners…..NO

I will forever have huge respect for the Polish for their efforts during the Second World War. They actually cracked the first Enigma and gave us the details. The free polish were absolutely instrumental in the Battle of Britain. Their pilots should be better remembered and respected. Just a note to America, despite what your films claim, you didn’t salvage an Enigma machine off a submarine. Not only that but you didn’t crack enigma. Plus all of that was largely trumped by the cracking of Lorenz which was used by the higher command. The reason you didn’t know that is because Stalin captured several Lorenz machines and still believed it was uncrackable. He used the machines and we could read every single word. That’s why it stayed secret.

People believed his speech where he said something along the line of Britain stands alone facing the might of Nazi Germany. Britain never stood alone not for one day. There were Canadians French Poles Dutch just to name a few countries helping to fight. Then there were the Canadians fighting the Battle of the Atlantic to bring well needed supplies along with the US when they were not formally involved in the war

It’s such a change & a pleasure to see you listening to the truth , don’t get me wrong what happened was horrible but I’m proud that we in the British community put a stop to as fa😢as we could but it a pity it is still happening in some places and yet no one especially the black community are not standing up to it but are still engaged it blaming the uk that helped all and brought it to mosts attention how inhumane this trade was - Africa made more by selling their own and alleged still does - 😢

That seperation of powers thing is why Charles 1st was beheaded he wanted to be an absolute monarch, and it cost him the Kingdom and his head. We then toyed with Republicanism led by a man called Cromwell, and discovered that the major problem with Republicanism is that you can end up being led by a ruthless madmad like Cromwell, who tried to pass his position onto his son. He too lost his head at the hands of the people, who then asked the son of Charles 1st (Charles 2nd) to ascend to the throne, and that reinstated the seperation of powers into our system.

What a video young man, I’m English and learned quite a bit about my own country. It’s really good to see how people that’s not British interested, and with enthusiasm. Thanks for the interesting video

He wasn't trying to conquer normandy ,he was a Norman ( Northman).

There's a small piece of the US that overlooks the site of the signing of the Magna Carta. Have a look at the JFK memorial in England.

King John was King of England and Magna Carta is an English document (in fact more than ine docunent as it was revised). These ideas came about before the personal or legal Acts of Union with Wales, Scotland or Ireland and later just Northern Ireland after Irelands independence from the union.

Sweet reaction big fella👍🙂

The debt of £20m from the 1800s translated to £1.8bn by the time we paid it back in 2015 and that wouldn’t include the interest on the loans Britain took out to free the slaves in the empire. Money well spent I say 🙂

Great to see someone taking a balanced view of history. Unfortunately a lot of people do not understand history and just ask Britain for reparations for past mistakes. Britain was is not perfect however it is amazing how negative some people are of the UK as they do not take the time like you to learn the real truth about World History. Great to see someone such as yourself learning the facts before going online and voicing their opinions.

The USA has never, in practice, had an "Independent Judiciary", only in theory. Elected judges and the government appointment of the Supreme Court ensure that the judiciary is inherently political, unlike in the UK.

The man in the inset @8:26 is Dr David Starkey. For a deep dive into British history, particularly constitutional history, he's the man. He's also an excellent debater with several woke scalps on his belt (including this legendary and hilarious take down of feminist gobshite and professional victim Laurie Penny: watch?v=oj9dA6E3fJw). I think you'd enjoy most of his work, both historical and political. He's a gay man, which normally wouldn't be relevant, but having lived as such through a time when he saw friends imprisoned for their preferences he doesn't take any crap from people whining about their faux 'victimhood', and he was raised by a working class single mother yet has a plummy accent that draws people into dismissing him as a privileged elitist - at their peril. Add the caustic wit and vicious tongue of an elderly gay man and you have... well, you really have to see it.

As I see it, Canada immediately offered its fighting force within the week of Britain declaring war on Germany. Those from Europe relocated to Britain as fighting forces after their own country fell to the Germans. For example, when the Germans invaded Poland their air force relocated to British soil. Also, General DeGaulle of France organised his Free French from Britain via his BBC broadcasts.

"As for slaves and bondmen, we have none; nay, such is the privilege of our country by the especial grace of God and bounty of our princes, that if any come hither from other realms, so soon as they set foot on land they become as free in condition as their masters, whereby all note of servile bondage is utterly removed from them." William Harrison 'Description of England' 1577

10:30 WRONG!!! James II was Charles II's Brother, not his Son. Charles II had no legitimate issue. Nor did James II so when he was forced out William and Mary from Holland, who were Protestant, were asked to become the new Monarchs in what became known as "The Glorious Revolution".

Love you mate ❤

King John was not the despot you portray... His brother Richard the "Lionheart"hardly stepped foot in England...He was too busy seeking glory.. His Crusades bancrupted the Country... John was left taking all the flak...

Here in Australia we often brag that we never had the slave trade here but that claim is complete bullshit. We had convicts and those convicts were slaves in every way. If someone works for and enriches another without being paid, it can only be called what it is and that is SLAVERY ! So yes, we did have slaves in Australia, we just called them "Indentured Servants " !

The separation of powers, based on the British model, was a cornerstone of the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights. The politicisation of the judiciary that has resulted from selection by US political parties of senior roles in justice and enforcement has resulted in the erosion of this aspect of checks and balances. We now have a situation where the opposition in Congress accuses the incumbent of weaponising government departments against members of the opposition. While decrying this as unconstitutional, the opposition has clearly stated that they will not only NOT REVERSE this trend (assuming it is real rather than a political ploy of propaganda) but that they will adopt it as a means of suppressing the current Administration the next time that Administration finds itself in opposition. By such means, every political enemy of the USA has found itself in the clutches of an insane absolute dictator far more dangerous than the difference in politics would imply. Authoritarian governments quickly become absolute dictatorships, often with expansionist policies that threaten everyone's freedom. If this sounds like a Trumpian dystopia, well, this is the trajectory America is on.

I appreciate your thirst for knowledge.

The one thing that politicians hate is pressure.

According to an inflation calculator online, £20m in 1808 equates to purchasing power today of £2,214,275,423.90 , so over 2.2 billion pounds.

Dude you know the men who wrote the us constitution were mostly british or american born british right? 😂 of course it sounds similar 😂😂😂😂

I never recommend watching a film for actual historical facts, but a great film about the bare basics of the English Parliament is a 1970 film called CROMWELL

The bottom line is that this is all peoples or countries, people within those countries have been oppressed. It is how you deal with it. I just happened to be a British CELT born in Wales and we’ve had a few run ins with the English going back hundreds of years, but we have more castles in Wales for its size than anywhere else in the world that shows you we fight back, but eventually you have to do some sort of deal?🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

Countries colonized by the UK have without known exception prospered economically and socially where as the same cannot be said for other European empires. I would be pleased to hear of any dissenting opinion and learn from it.

Perhaps the true reason for the War of independence should be told, it had less to do with taxation and more to do with the abolition of slavery. Although slavery had not been seen in England for hundreds of years, there was a growing movement to end slavery in britains colonies in the Americas and Caribbean. The vast majority of colonists were English or of English stock and had an inherent dislike of slavery, whereas the colonists would rebel against having to pay tax, they would not take up arms to protect those wealthy and influential slave owners, such as George Washington and many of the so called founding fathers. It is often forgotten the Washington and his wife doubled their ownership of slaves after the war of Independence. As far as the colonial slave owners were concerned, the writing was on the wall, Britain would ban slavery and that would destroy their plantations.

I put a posting on here but I think it;s disappeared. If it hasn't you've got two similar postings! It was not the British Government that initiated the abolition of slavery but groups of people all over the country. Britain made millions of pounds off the backs of slaves, e.g. American was a British colony until American independence as well as many other colonies. So, many rich families in Britain had already amassed huge wealth through it. British people should not overlook this before they become self righteous about abolishing slavery. We were implicated for many years and out government resisted change for many years. William Wilberforce is regarded as the champion of anti-slavery, his house in Hull is now a museum but he was not alone. Many groups formed to campaign against slavery and these invited ex-slaves to address large meetings in order to enlighten people about what slavery meant for those being subjected to it. Many women not just men were active anti-slavery campaigners. During this time the Wedgwood factory produced anti-slavery items, such as the, now iconic, "Am not I a man and a Brother" plate. Eventually the campaigning led to the abolition of slavery in the British colonies. However, the British Government paid the ex-slave owners huge amounts in compensation when slavery ceased but did not compensate those who had been enslaved. This is, quite rightly, still a bone of contention in the ex-colonies where slavery occurred. Recently, in 2023, the Trevelyan family, who owned slaves in Grenada, have apologised to that country and have paid some compensation, however the latter is only a token gesture and nowhere near full compensation. After slavery had been abolished in the British Colonies people still campaigned against slavery elsewhere. E.g. The cotton workers in Lancashire, in the 1860s, boycotted cotton that had been produced under slavery in the USA, they also organised demonstrations against it (the government called them riots) this resulted in these individual workers, some of the poorest paid in the country, undergoing personal hardship, the period over which it happened became known as The Cotton Famine as a result. People don't always know about this.

Have a look at the monarchs of England over the last 1,000 years They have been either of Viking decent as William the Conquerer, Welsh as in the Tudors, Scottish as in the Stewarts, Dutch William and Mary then German. Even the present Monarchs family originate from Germany.

With the US adopting the British “Bill of Rights” as there own it’s a shame it wasn’t followed until the 1970s especially for people of colour. Britain banned slavery from its shore since 1066 when William The Bastard took the thrown and, admittedly, made a pecuniary fine if broken to his own coffers as it were, it was held as law throughout Great Britain ever since! When Britain started to colonise everywhere else part of the outcome of that was the imposition of the British Bill of Rights. It may seem that we just took a country and milked it dry but we imposed our laws everywhere including no Slavery. We implanted our system of government there and stamped out barbaric laws like in India when a man died his wig was put to death with him. This was stamped on until it no longer existed. India slowly pulled away from the British Empire with a fully functional government and judicial system. The US tried to do the same but it took many years before money and bribery stopped being so overtly present in the government. Slavery was still accepted as the norm with segregation in the south as witness to US. Bigotry still rife within its politics. Even the world wars didn’t stop it, all people of colour were demonised as not fit to serve in the combat rolls for a greater part of that period even with volunteers being had from that part of the populace they given the menial duties. Look at the Bamber Bridge Incident story told in RU-vid video. The judiciary still has that partisan strangle hold from the two governing parties whether it be Republican or Democrat their judges still adhere to the party line and not free from political influence! There are still innocent people of colour in your prisons apparently who are patently innocent but not released unless I’m wrong of course then I apologise. I didn’t even mention the genocide of the indigenous Indian peoples! That was rambling sorry !! Cheers any way

Your national anthem is British.

the shame of 5ince Churchill, it would not servive as every one has gone soft or woke

Try reading "Liberty and Freedom" by David Hackett Fischer. That is, if you are really serious about it. David Hackett Fischer is one of the best historians of the past 50 years. His "Seeds Of Albion" is one of my favorite books. It explains so much about why we are what we are.

£20 million would be worth around £2.3 trillion today. The gdp of the UK was roughly £2.2 trillion in 2023. A better way to look at the real value in terms that make sense today might be to compare how much money the most powerful nation on earth at the time spent compared to how much money they had. Today USA fills the role that Britain did back then (sort of). Britain spent 1/4 of its gdp fighting the slave trade if you dont try and factor in all the other costs it incurred which would be an impossible task. The USA had a gdp of $27.3 trillion last year. A quater of that is $6.825 trillion. They spent $0.9 trillion on their military last year. N.B. this was worked out roughly and quickly from numbers pulled from google so i dont make any claim of accuracy but i think it works for a sense of perspective.

Question how much more prepared we're USA for Japan with the time we held out.?

It's well into the billions of £s, a common number I've seen is around £16 billion in todays money. That's about 20 billion dollars.

The converted value of £20,000,000m in the 19th century into today's currency = £16,037,220,000.00bn GBP ($20,287,692,714.36bn USD).

8 August 2010 slavery became illegal in the uk . And not at any other time .

Just to clarify on the Magna Carta's effect on the political landscape: So the Magna Carta didn't create a separation of powers per se, but rather codified limits of authority. Before the Magna Carta, a king's authority in Europe went only as far as he could bend the nobles to his will, but the Magna Carta put to paper exact rules around who could do what. This meant that, whilst several European monarchies grew in authority over the centuries to eventually be able to enforce the Divine Right of Kings, the English throne never did. Edit: Not a perfect conversion by any means, buying power of currencies is complicated, but the Bank of England inflation calculator gives £20m in 1808 to be ~£1.5bn today.

Just had a quick Google £20 million in 1830 would be around £683 million in today's money

Possibly my mind is a little hazier now than it used to be, but did the narrator say that James II was the son of Charles II instead of, in fact, his younger brother?

This is very much a simplification of British history > Magna carta was only for the rights of the aristocracy ; the peasants were still mainly serfs tied to the land owners . With large amounts of deaths in the 14th century and a large Peasant Revolt in 1381 the ordinary people over time were able to be free to choose who they worked for , over the years with increasing trade and more diverse jobs the peasants become completely untied from masters formally recognised in Elizabeth I reign . The poor always were subject to poverty of course and this was how the majority lived . The industrial revolution led to many jobs and the poor wages and factory led to skilled labour being replaced and much work forced onto children . Gradually over time the workers started to unionise and push for rights to vote this took throughout the 19th century ; the workers were occasionally helped by liberal rich people but on the whole it was a struggle . So freedom is a relative term if you are forced to work for poor wages you are only relatively free . Certainly after WW2 social reforms helped to give the ordinary person better health care ; food and rights . Going back to Slavery most of this narrative is true . I don't know if in USA is going to be mentioned about after the abolition of Slavery in 1865 . Jim Crowe laws in the South were introduced and civil rights were still a major issue in the 60s and on . Of course the British did not influence USA . At least in Uk race relations acts in a series of ACs Of Parliament 1965 -2002 helped a lot against these forms of discrimination . Freedom is a constant struggle .

To add a perspective that people may want to think on. I believe the UK is one of the few Nations existing on Earth that developed and evolved a Democracy without Revolution or Independence. It came close a few times, but even the War of Three Kingdoms (English Civil War outside the UK) was, at least initially, not about ousting the Monarchy, but forcing it to recognise the rights and responsibilities of Parliament. That is a large part of why the British Democracy is kind of unique, that and the fact it still, even to this day has no written constitution. The British constitution is codified in Law, tradition and precedent, not in a single document. I may be mistaken here but I believe the UK is unique in that regard. EDIT: Also the main issue which led to the War of Independence was in essence not so much British Law or Rule, but taxation without representation. I often wonder what would have happened if we had actually given in to that demand and given representation to what was at that time, the Thirteen Colonies. What would the world look like today? Unfortunately that is very much a counterfactual and a very unlikely what if. At the time none of the Colonies had representation, but what most people, especially in the USA are not aware of, is that taxation in the colonies was actually very light in most cases in comparison to the level of taxation in the UK itself, and at that time the UK was hardly a Democracy with Universal Suffrage. So huge swathes of the British population had taxation with no representation as well. To be fair, the same was true of the early USA. Like British Democracy the Democracy of the USA evolved over the years, and became more inclusive over time. While in theory the Constitution said every man had the right to vote the reality was there were a series of measures to ensure that most people could not in fact do so. The USA has the Constitution though, to which they can point and say 'Our Democracy started here. Britain's democracy however, as you have seen, started far earlier than that, and evolved, in fits and starts, over centuries so it has no real point where you can say, it started here.... Though most people do agree that the magna Carta was probably one of the most important documents in British history in that respect you could not claim with any honesty that it 'ushered in Democracy', rather it simply started us on the long, staggering road toward it! ANOTHER EDIT: Oh, back in those days do you know the definition of Territorial Waters? Within cannon range of shore fortifications. Read that again, that was the literal legal definition of Territorial Waters in the 19th Century.... Gun range. So think on that when you consider the cutting out of those Brazilian Slave ships in territorial waters. That was done within literal cannon range of the shore defences....

I couldn't agree more with @DGLUK1. In the politically "woke" climate we have endured in recent years, where ignorant ill informed people attack our great nations history. Even though the narrative is thankfully dismissing the evil and nonsensical woke ideology, it is rare but impressive to see a young guy take time out of his own life to learn the truth of what our ancestors contributed & sacrificed in order to benefit not just we in our small but mighty little Island home but for all of mankind.

Hi. Just a note. There is a difference between England and Britain. Before 1707 England and Scotland were separate countries. So Magna Carta in 1215 was England, not Britain. The same with the Bill of Rights in 1688-9, English not British. English Common Law, again England, not Britain. Also the be heading of Charles I, it was the English Parliament, as there was no British Parliament until 1707.

20 million pounds - the equivalent of around 17 billion pounds today.

Hence their known as the British bull dog 🐕 never give up never Serenade ❤

I find it sad that the 'separation of powers' that fuelled all this is no longer the case in the 'land of the free' where both religious belief & business interests seem to have direct influences on politics these days. :-( Re: the slavery... this is one of the powers of separation, the 'people' had the power to deal with those powerful Brits who were still in support despite the power imbalance. :-)

See, we're not so bad

We abolished the Slave Trade, yes! But we supported the Southern States of America in their Civil War. Virginia tobacco plantations were a source of major income. When we talk of slavery it is plantation slavery we refer to. Without black slaves the plantations were no longer economically viable and broke up.