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My father was an NCO in the RAF, stationed in India. In the district HQ in Karachi. One time he mentioned the date he left, and I expressed surprise that this was weeks after the end of British rule. I asked him what he’d been doing during that time. “Destroying records,” he told me. I asked what records. “Everything,” he replied.

Not only was the empire racist, violent and rapacious. It treated ordinary British people appallingly. My own grandmother described the squalid misery of life in one of the mill towns. As experienced by a woman for the working class. She detested Churchill! I remember her saying "if I'd been an Indian girl I'd have wanted rid of the old bastard". She was I should add an intelligent kind woman. Personally as an old white bloke....I have no problem with the young people wanting statues of slavers pulled down (they sold kids. Kiddies.). We should never have been out in all those countries robbing the people. As for the ordinary soldier's who did it.....perhaps the old Scottish song 🎵 says it best. "...when we came back to the Glen the winter was turning. Our goods lay in the snow and our houses were burning. The Sargent called us to warriors glory. But the fallen leaves are like the dead. And tell another story."

I always believed the idea that Britain was marginally better than other empires but always responded with 'so what?'. I never understood why Britain being slightly better than Belgium in any way justified its existence. Once I found out how nonsense that myth was it wasn't even much of a surprise. Imperialism is never justified

The fact that Britain basically bankrupted the country of India ….leaving the country destitute with a profound drop in both literacy and lifespan, while Britain grew as a super power at the same time as that systematic theft took place . Historically Britain started out growing opium in now Bangladesh and selling that drug to China in exchange for porcelains and other exotic products. So all in all something historically to be ashamed of and understandably why it would be so denied.

My heart bleeds from the colonial time stories my parents used to tell me about how dead/killed bodies were left on barbwires for all to see, to keep them scared and warning to others to expect the same if they spoke out or created a fuss.

A people's history is only forgotten when the people forget, not when documents are burned . Something governments don't seem to understand.

The history we are not supposed to know about. British exceptionalism laid bare.

The very fact that the Sikh Home Land (the land where Pakistan and Punjab is) is never mentioned by the British is another enormous cover up.

Fixing the title: "How The British Elite Re-Wrote World History for British" because really, we non-Brits have a whole other version of history

My Dad was at first not allowed to marry my Mum and that was in 1965. He was a serving soldier in Malta.

The British colonial history is as brutal bloody as that of any other european power at the time, trying to pretend otherwise just show no remorse over what they did. Thanks for making this video.

Excellent expose of the brutality and hypocrisy of the British establishment.

I'm Kenyan 🇰🇪 and shocked when this same people return to teach us about human rights, freedom of speech etc when our wounds are still bleeding from their kicks.

History is written by victors. Until the lion learns how to speak, the hunter is always the hero.

Another reason why Corbyn had to be kept from the prime ministerial office.

Brits rewrite history all the time! Last week I asked my son in Aberdeen what school was about that day. "History" he said, "how James Cook discovered Australia" Next day I had a word with his teacher ...

The amount of energy towards protecting Winston Churchill's legacy reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons where Lisa discovers that Jebediah Springfield was actually a murderous pirate.

The simple answer is that they only care about the "truth" when it fits their narrative.

There's no question Britain is falling apart - through appalling mismanagement.

I can’t believe people would be angry at a country that tried to take over the entire world. That’s just so unreasonable!

As a Kenyan this is all very accurate 👍 The British Army still maintains a presence in the Kenyan Highlands and train their soldiers there to this day. In exchange for crushing a popular Rebellion, our first President made a deal with the British Army, allowing them to stay. The first Kenyatta Gov also made a deal with the White Settlers, started an ethnic dictatorship and basically threw the Mau Mau under the bus. Post Colonial Kenya retains many of its Colonial relations with Britain. Things are changing slightly today due to China. Its shown that there's an alternative path. Many of us today prefer dealing with the Chinese.

Your regular content is great but I LOVE these mini documentary style videos you do. I always learn so much watching these

The history of land ownership within the UK please. The City of London Corporation.... good luck with that one. More British Empire... Thanks guys!

Says a friend of mine "History is written with an eraser".

One of the surprising bits I found recently is that much hyped "Caste System" is a British creation and imposition on India. It is documented rather well by the British themselves.

That's rich doris talking about being dishonest, is he a comedian. The tories are such a bunch of hypocrites

I have had direct experience of this when I was researching my Master's thesis, on the "Malayan Emergency", back in the late nineties; information and accounts from and about the programme of "secure villages", i.e. concentration camps, had been systematically removed from the P.R.O. in Kew. They were signed out under the name "T. Atkins", i.e. the name "Tommy Atkins", the well-known nickname for a generic British soldier. I had no idea at the time about Operation Legacy - Ian Cobain and Cathrine Elkins have done sterling work on this. All surviving files should be released, as a matter of priority, The British State does indeed erase historical knowledge. Big up Aaron and Novara for this video, you are always superb on these topics.

Montages of right-wing commentators repeating identically tired talking points is literally my life sauce.

The British Imperial authorities used mass executions, death squads and targeted assassinations. There was also the orchestration of famines.There is serious suspicion that the British government took advantage of the appearance of potato blight and purposely infected Irish seed stocks. English botanists in Kew gardens were studying potato blight only two years before it suddenly appeared across the whole of Ireland. In the following decades famines caused by the sudden appearance of plant diseases in basic food crops in India and later in Africa. These had anther similarity with the Irish famine. The actions of the British government in blocking ships from other countries delivering food surpluses free or at basic transport cost. During the Irish famine many individuals and groups from native American tribes to rajas in India attempted to make donations of money. All were delayed or blocked. The Turkish Sultan's attempts to deliver aid which was blocked, caused such insult that even after the Crimean War the Turkish empire distance itself from Britain and then became closer to Germany. Becoming an ally in WW1. Turkey still maintains links today. Ireland also later became the victim of tactics the British usually reserved for "non-white" populations. From 1916 onwards random and group executions, death squads and targeted assassinations tactics have been used. Where local religious groups were recruited into police and military to target violence, in Northern Ireland this was done via the UDA/UVF and the almost exclusively Protestant RUC police.

My father worked for Naval Special Branch in the latter part of WWII and a couple of years later, the sort of work covered in Denis Potter's 'Lipstick On Your Collar'. He was a good old fashioned socialist and was investigated several times whether he was a member of the Communist Party. Dad always used to say "This country isn’t what you think it is and one day I'll tell you all about it. He passed away in 1996, 49 years after he last signed the Official Secrets Act which stopped him saying anything for 50 years. I'd love to see one of these videos on the REAL cost of the Royal Family, financially and societally.

Outstanding video. Would you consider covering An Gorta Mhor ( the great famine) here in Ireland? Alternatively the forced displacement of the Irish to the Caribbean? Thank you for an excellent and informative presentation 👏.

Would like to hear about UK's role in the Assange fiasco and more about power structures in the UK - such as the way in which bills are actually passed, the competing interests of MPs to serve their constituency and also seek re-election etc.

'Ideological-driven editing of Wikipedia pages is bad. Now if you'll excuse me, we've got to get back to our unbiased Philip Cross account to modify the page for Jeremy Corbyn.'

In terms of subject. You are quickly mentioning it but would be great to have a vid on the relationship between colonialism and fascism. Seems like the latter uses the technics "developed" by the former.

The official British government film explanation for the Suez invasion in 1956 was a lie from start to finish; claiming as it did that Egypt was invaded to bring fighting between Israel and Egypt to an end. In truth it was Britain, France, and Israel who conspired to invade Egypt as a reprisal for Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal. The film is still available I believe via the National Archives.

"The 70's Were Good, Actually." Caricatured as a decade of strikes and shortages ending in the Winter of Discontent and the "welcome" advent of neoliberalism which properly kicked off with the election of Thatcher at the end of the decade the Seventies boasted lesser inequality and a far greater proportion of home ownership in Britain than today. Might be ripe for a brief overview.

The British claimed they were fighting for liberty during World War II but they the British had build an empire by means of military aggression, and when people from the lands they invaded wanted their liberty, the British again showed it’s true self with aggression and brutality. Then it lectured the Germans. Well never for get.

This was excellent, I hope you make more more mini-documentaries like this one.

Here is question for everyone watching this how the government files on Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah and Chandrabose all vanished by 1970?

Currently reading Peter Mitchell's "Imperial Nostalgia" which examines Britain's relationship with its past, pretty much right up to date with reference to BLM protests and the pulling down of statues. Recommended reading

The Union Jack isn't called 'The Butcher's Apron',for nothing!!!!!

Excellent, Aaron. I would add only one point: what's happening in historic Palestine/Israel is not a "conflict" (which infers two evenly matched opponents); it's an "occupation".

Northern Ireland and Brexit would be so different if Brits knew a bit of history.

Other great topics for videos like this would be one dismantling the myth that the British Empire were the first to end slavery, and also one covering how 'socialist' Cuba helped end South African Apartheid while we were still supporting the racist policy

Tories are cowards at the tiniest criticism of their beloved historical idols

Thieves, robbers and murders do not proudly announced their accomplishments!

Thank you. Don't make the mistake that it's only the British who have done this. Not by any means. It is an ancient trick worked worldwide time and again.

How and why unions were gone after and how the link between productivity and wages was severed is a gap in my knowledge that I'd like to hear about. I remember a guest on the Majority Report a few years ago saying something about the decline in living standards being deliberate, that in the 50s and 60s the average worker had become too powerful/comfortable and so in the 70s the powers that be made moves to make life more precarious. I could be misremembering, but if it's true that we're now less well off by design that would be a great counter to those who are weirdly obsessed with dinghies in the Channel.

Great video as always Novara.

My brother's f-i-l served in Palestine in 47-48. He repeated to his dying day that 'They gave us guns then made us watch the slaughter' [of Palestinians].

The "Dunkirk Spirit" myth: as French General Weygand contemplates a counterattack, Lord Gort, head of the BEF, decides to withdraw to Dunkirk in the hope of re-embarking for England. With bitterness Weygand agrees to cover up the British retreat. 400,000 Allied soldiers are surrounded by 800,000 German soldiers. On May 29, the Germans attack Dunkirk. 30,000 French soldiers and 6,000 British soldiers directly confront 160,000 German soldiers. The French lines of defense hold the shock. British General Alexander tells French generals that he cannot engage his troops in battle. Admiral Abrial responds to Alexander: "We French are linked to an imperative mission which is to resist until death to save all possible personnel, French and English. As long as this goal has not been achieved we will fight..". General Fagalde reorganizes the defense system before the Germans take advantage of the vacuum left by the British troops. From May 28 to 31, the French defense prevented the Germans from advancing towards Dunkirk. In his war memoirs Churchill writes: "Molinié's epic resistance permitted to evacuate 100,000 more men." May 30: The fighting is in Dunkirk. General Von Küchler commanding the 18th Wehrmacht Army wrote: “Despite our overwhelming numerical and material superiority, the French counter-attack in several places. I cannot understand how these French soldiers, sometimes fighting 1 against 20, find the strength to counter-attack. It’s amazing .. We’re not breaking through anywhere and our losses are terrifying.” Thanks to this extraordinary French resistance, the evacuation continued. On June 2 the last British soldiers were evacuated. Churchill and Ramsay estimated that a maximum of 40,000 British troops could be evacuated. In the end, 200,000 Britons will be saved. During the fighting against the French, the Germans lost 160,000 men, as many as in Normandy in 1944. General Heinz Guderian: “Dunkirk is a disaster for the German army." General Von Küchler wrote: "Dunkirk is a defeat. The entire British Expeditionary Force escaped us because of a few thousand French soldiers who blocked us. Dunkirk proves to me that the French soldier is one of the best in the world." In the aftermath of Operation Dynamo, British propaganda invented the myth of the Dunkirk Spirit, extolling the courage of the Tommies in adversity ...

This makes so much sense now. The lack of self awareness of *some* British citizens online is astounding.

Well done for exposing the hypocrisy of this awful country. We should all be very ashamed of our appalling history. What a terrible racist country this is. These vids are essential. Please keep doing them.

Scottish Imperialism What role did Scotland and Scottish people play in the development of The British Empire. What legacy of that association between the English and the Scots remains to deny the SNP their goal of an independent Scotland?

Aaron, I had missed your monologues/mini lectures. Please do more of them as they're always really good and provide content to change other peoples' minds about things.

I was educated in the early sixties through to about 1972. I was only taught about the magnificence and wonderful effects of the Empire. Rhodes, Wolfe, Raleigh, Drake, the East India Company, the West India Company and all the other heroes of the Empire. I grew up reading the Eagle and all the great achievements of the Empire, no mention was made of the wars, slavery and oppression of natives. No mention of the asset stripping of all the colonies, no mention of the concentration camps the engineered famines. This is the truth Farage, Fox, Johnson and all the "proud" British do not want to hear or see. They live in their "Eagle" and "Boys Own" bubble.

Hmm Churchill talking about an empire lasting a thousand years. Wonder where I've heard that before

I like this sort of content, my only criticism being it probably deserves longer videos! But of course that requires a lot of research. As far as history content, I think the Irish Famine is certainly a contender.

I remember reading about a book that was published many years ago called ‘The Criminal History of the British Empire’ which is unfortunately out of print now. Would love to have read it. However, I would recommend ‘The Patient Assassin’ by Anita Anand. It’s about Udham Singh who swore revenge for the 1919 Massacre in Amritsar. It took him 21 years but he achieved it.

Agree with the sentiments here - these shorts are fantastic. Keep calling out right wing hypocrisy.

To the west 1914 - 1918 and 1939- 1945 were world wars. For much of Asia, Africa and The Americas their wars for freedom from colonials lasted for a few hundred years. Even when The Japanese surrendered, the Dutch East Indies didn't get their freedom, it went back to the Dutch to rule. The same happened in Vietnam with the French. So for the west the world wars was a big deal, for the rest of the world the Colonial wars was an even bigger deal with many dying to achieve freedom. Even after these countries achieved their freedom they still had interferance from the so could big powers. So an elected leader was overthrown in Iran, which meant the Shah came then as a reaction the Ayatollah. So what we have now goes back to what happened in 1953 to Mosaddegh. When The Ottoman Empire ended one set of colonials were replaced by another in the Middle East. What kind of history you read depends on who writes it.

My father loved to say ‘Africa was better off under the British’. My (eventual, once I’d figured him out) response: ‘well, it’s certainly worse off AFTER, but that says precisely nothing about before’.

Very good vid, although I think Ireland as another example would have been good, and maybe being more specific about the awful things done to the mau mau. I think a video about trade unionism would be great as there is no general education in the UK about what trade unions are

I remember a few years ago. There was a bit in the news about documents being burnt in Kenya.

Very informative - many thanks. I would like to know if there was a secret 'deal' between Harold Wilson - who refused to send British troops to Vietnam, despite immense pressure from the US government - and the USA, who commandeered the *Chagos Islands* - and *Diego Garcia* in particular - for a US military base. (The Chagos Islands had been a *'Protectorate'* of the British Empire). The indigenous people of these islands were forcibly deported, mostly to Mauritius - and conditions aboard the ships were so bad that around 50% of the 'passengers' actually died during this journey. Some former inhabitants of Diego Garcia, and their descendants are now living in England - in the Crawley area, I believe. Understandably, they would rather like to be allowed to return to their homes on Diego Garcia - or failing that, to get compensation for this gross injustice. At that time, the UK still owed a large sum of money to the USA (debts from WW2). Were the Chagos Islands offered to the USA in order to avoid the UK getting sucked into the Vietnam conflict?

0ver a million Kikuyus were massacred, castrated, raped, tortured, hanged, and other inhumane practices; just for fighting for their freedom and land!

It is about time for a reassessment of modern British history with honesty at its core and not skewed in favour of showing the tories as being a fine and noble group. Churchill could do with going under the microscope .

This was a Master Class. There are things one aught to know, yet wish one didn’t. Some crimes are just too horrendous. But if you were HM and the British government, would you want to put all this dirty laundry on display for ALL the world 🌎 to see, probably not. Thanks for taking the time to do such a thorough research so you could enlighten us. I am not a Patreon but would like so send you a few 💰

Although I already know about most of the atrocious depravities (I'm a black African, after all), my skin still creeps when reminded of them. When they can't be denied, the political right will respond with the familiar mantra: "That was a different era when everyone held outrageous views about other races". (The atrocities, I must add, are never admitted.) Yet, ask yourself why those records were so meticulously concealed and later destroyed at a time when "everyone" supposedly held such views and supported such foulness.

Remember my history lessons in boarding school in Argentina , there were outrageous historic legacy, in our Spanish lessons , comparing the 2 countries

Liars then and liars now. They will never change. As for Mr. Oliver and his guillotine remark in his case it can't come soon enough for me.

Keep up the good work Aaron, for those in doubt of the British empire’s progressive nature, I recommend ‘Histories of the Hanged’ a comprehensive narrative of the atrocities committed by the empire in Kenya.

I feel weird that British, and Australian people have become insanely more right-wing and defensive of British Empire in the last decades. They all have a single similarity = Pro-American. The one, who destroyed the British Empire, was the United States through economic means. Yet, Anglo people still worship the Yanks and kowtow to every move of Americans. For example, Brexit was hoped to stall immigration but it still happens as American corporations continue snapping British assets and sending more colored people to take jobs from the British. Anglo imperialists of our times clearly don't have a sense of self-respect.

Learned more here in 12 and a half minutes on such an important part of history than I ever did in school

These statues say a lot about attitudes at the time they were created and should, in my opinion, be put in museums and not destroyed. Public display would seem to indicate some form of veneration. In a museum however, they are “historical” and worthier preserving.

See that clip of Nick Ferrari and Afua Hirsch will always break my heart. You can see the pain on her face.

Britain: "we shouldn't dwell too much on the past 😌😌😌😌 what has been done can not be changed and we should move on 😚😚😚😚" Germany: "yeah" Britain: "no, not you"

Indentured Labour in Fiji and the Caribbean.

Great work, Novara!

All colonial powers were brutal with the main aim of exploiting the colonies for their own benefit. Most laws did not apply to the colonial masters, only the natives suffered under them. The idea that colonial masters were benevolent is the figment of colonial imagination and revision of history. Take example of India. When the British arrived India was one the richest nations in the world and when they left India was the one of the poorest nation on earth. The same applies to other colonial imperialists like France, Dutch, Belgium, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and latterly Americans. All of them guilty of mass exploitation and brutality.

Great work Alan & Co.. Cheers. Any exploits of 'What makes Britain Great'. Uncovering history is great. Not because I hate our nation or empire , it is part of our history and I love where i live (at the time the actions of the rich must have seemed natural to them, empire building is all the rage you know). History is to be learned from; sadly the rich seem very slow in learning humanity, empathy or adhering to the law.

Very good. Worth seeing which parts of Project Legacy had the most material impact on the colonised nations till today. May the truth set us free.

Excellent video, well argued and supported with evidence. Shame this isn’t part of mainstream media and, instead, we continue to be spoon fed lies about our so-called imperial exceptionalism. Keep up the good work.

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Thank you, Thank You, Thank you! I’ve heard of so many horrific stories from family members. There was no democracy and education wasn’t widespread. Everything was done for the benefit of Britain. If infrastructure was built, this was done for the benefit of exporting materials and goods to Britain. The population had to fall in line or else they were punished. It’s rather ironic when they say this country abolished slavery. Empire was a continuation of slavery as the indigenous people had to serve the British or face the consequences. Empire was based on fascism, white supremacy and brutal subjugation. I simply don’t understand why people protect Rhodes name and his stature. He was a hideous individual, a monster that caused so much suffering. Anyone who leaves a legacy of hate, division, brutalisation and genocide deserves to be ridiculed, and have their statue torn down. I find those that defend colonialism reprehensible. They have no moral compass. The negative impact of European colonialism and imperialism is still having an effect today.

Great video. Very informative.

Superb post & thank you...❤

Thanks for shining a light on this! You earned a new sub! Great work

Good job mate. You’re completely correct. Well pointed out.👍

Great video.

Very informative and important.

The biggest problem that the UK has with the past is not whether it is good or bad or correctly documented or lies, rather it is the obsession that the British have with the past. The endless TV documentaries about the World Wars or the popular costume dramas not only reinforce myths, but also maintain this backward-looking perspective. The UK needs to look at the future and make decisions based on where we are going and not where we have been. BOTH wings of politics are trapped in the past, be it Tory nationalism for an imagined by-gone age or Labour Left dreams or some never realised 70s workers utopia. Politics is no longer about that 20th Century idea of Left and Right; That's something else that needs to be left in the past. It's about progressive vs regressive.

THanks very much. THat was a real eye-opener. We nee more of this frank disclosure of the real stories of colonialism. Keep it up - well done. I personally would be interested in anything about Palestine, or any other former colony. THe more we know and understand about this, the better. Good on you for doing this.

How about the Americanisation of the UK political and economic system? How those regarded as respected by the right (Churchill etc) would be disgusted by our adoption of American culture and economic practice. - The best arguments for the merits of brexit are, in effect, for the UK to become the 51st state, a new market for US corporations to suck dry. - Boris Johnson's director of politics and campaign operations is Isaac Levido, who has worked on US state senate campaigns. - The deep well of UK cultural heritage being filled in by American corporate concrete should make "patriots" sick, but it doesn't, because its going to make them loads of money.

Yup my grandfather joined the British Army because in Little Ireland in Edinburgh because there was precious little work in Edinburgh. He served for 30 yrs but told me that if I ever joined the British Army he would disown me. The few things he spoke about his time in the army to me were "What the hell we doing in China [1920s] and India [a bit later]"? There was a reason the troops voted against Churchill in 1945. He also told me about during the General Strike, Scottish troops were sent to London and London troops were sent to Scotland because the army was afraid troops wouldn't shoot their own. Mebbe there's an episode?

Another great one Aaron!

Thank you Novara. Keep up the truth.

id like to see a video on operation demetrius in northern ireland, including the case of the hooded men.

Great video! Very informative.

Thankyou NM for researching such an important topic, not just in relation to today's current climate but if those that wield the stick have their way this information will be even more essential in decades to come. So plse keep up the great work.