for every villain there is a hero
the history of Britain is not made up of utter bastards.
Granted, there have been some, but there have also been some incredible, world changing people who happen to be born in Britain.
If your selective history is all you're going on, then yes, this is a nation of bullys, murderers and exploiters. But you're obviously just cherry picking things to further strengthen your opinion (and why not). This sort of one-sided opinion just comes across as uneducated. If only it were more balanced instead of biased.
History, however, is not that simple. The list of great people and great events is just as long as the list of evil, power hungry people.

"if you have a history of going around the world and murdering millions of people and stealing their natuarl resources, and then fucking up other countries who try to do the same thing but make the mistake of doing it on your own doorstop instead of the other side of the world, well, that's not really something to be proud of, is it." - is that our complete history? is that all we've EVER done?

no. no it's not.
( Ya What Skiddlyboop, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 12:37, 2 replies)

I didn't say it was
I hate the fact that that particular part of our history is celebrated and treated as something we should be proud of, when I don't think we should.
( Joe Scaramanga with a G-double-O-D vibration, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 12:53, closed)

well then, that's ok.
I can agree with this side of an argument.
a balanced representation of our history is all we need.
not the 'bad things, but lets say they're good things' side,
not the 'we had an empire' side
not the 'selective' side.

just our history. truthfully.
( Ya What Skiddlyboop, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 12:57, closed)

Personally,
I'm quite grateful for Captain James Cook.

Best scouser sailor there ever was, like.

Discovered (well, ok, claimed) a magnificent continent that made a damned fine prison, for a while.
( Ken Oath, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 15:13, closed)

Scotland?

( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 15:22, closed)

Umm, yeah. Sort of.

Although I kind of wish he'd left New Zealand off the map, and quietly sunk it instead.
( Ken Oath, Fri 4 Oct 2013, 15:29, closed)

James Cook was from Staithes, North Riding.
Not a scouser.

If he had been he'd have been tail-spinning Endeavour and breaking into the local offies.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Sat 5 Oct 2013, 19:05, closed)