Packed with thought-provoking and intriguing facts, an entertaining look at the UK's imperial past as you've never seen it before 
Out of 193 countries that are currently UN member states, the UK has invaded or fought conflicts in the territory of 171. That’s not far off a massive, jaw-dropping 90 percent. Not too many Britons know that the UK invaded Iran in World War II with the Soviets. You can be fairly sure a lot more Iranians do. Or what about the time they arrived with elephants to invade Ethiopia? Every summer, hordes of British tourists now occupy Corfu and the other Ionian islands. Find out how they first invaded them armed with cannons instead of cameras and set up the United States of the Ionian Islands. Think the Philippines have always been outside their zone of influence? Think again. Read the surprising story of their 18th century occupation of Manila and how they demanded a ransom of millions of dollars for the city. This book takes a look at some of the truly awe-inspiring ways the UK has been a force, for good and for bad, right across the world. A lot of people are vaguely aware that a quarter of the globe was once pink, but that’s not even half the story. They're a dynamic and irrepressible nation, and this is how they changed the world, often when it didn't ask to be changed!

All the Countries: And the Few We Never Got Round To

Laycock, Stuart

Reference

The History Press

Lost Countries explores the history of those countries that at one point in time existed, and even issued their own stamps, before they were colonized and usurped. Countries such as Cyrenaica, North Ingria, the Danish West Indies, Fiume, Obock, Priamur, Stellaland, French India Tuva, Wenden, and even Fernando Poo are finally given their day in this lively and informative new book. By exploring these countries’ stamps and maps, the authors go in search of the truth about these fascinating, now-vanished nations. They unearth a wide variety of stories, some charming, some amusing, some dark. Some of the places they find are now just historical curiosities, while others still sit right at the heart of contemporary conflicts.

Lost Countries: Exotic Tales from an Old Stamp Album

History

West, Chris

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Roman Britain is usually thought of as a land full of togas, towns and baths with Britons happily going about their Roman lives under the benign gaze of Rome. This is, to a great extent, a myth that developed after Roman control of Britain came to an end, in particular when the British Empire was at its height in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In fact, Britain was one of the least enthusiastic elements of the Roman Empire. Many failed to acknowledge the Roman lifestyle at all, while many others were only outwardly Romanised, clinging to their own identities under the occupation. Even the Roman army in Britain became chronically rebellious and a source of instability that ultimately affected the whole Empire. As Roman power weakened, the Britons abandoned both Rome and almost all Roman culture, and the island became a land of warring kingdoms, as it had been before.

UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia

Russell, Miles

Ancient Civilizations

How Britain Brought Football to the World

Laycock, Philip

Europe

Attempts to understand how Roman Britain ends and Anglo-Saxon England begins have been undermined by the division of studies into pre-Roman, Roman and early medieval periods. This groundbreaking new study traces the history of British tribes and British tribal rivalries from the pre-Roman period, through the Roman period and into the post-Roman period. It shows how tribal conflict was central to the arrival of Roman power in Britain and how tribal identities persisted through the Roman period and were a factor in three great convulsions that struck Britain during the Roman centuries. It explores how tribal conflicts may have played a major role in the end of Roman Britain, creating a 'failed state' scenario akin in some ways to those seen recently in Bosnia and Iraq, and brought about the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Finally, it considers how British tribal territories and British tribal conflicts can be understood as the direct predecessors of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Anglo-Saxon conflicts that form the basis of early English History.

Britannia - The Failed State: Tribal Conflict and the End of Roman Britain

Tempus

They say that history is written by the victors, and consequently there is a tendency for the Britons to be forgotten in the story of the end of Roman Britain and the post-Roman period. Warlord will redress this balance looking at the extraordinary lives of British leaders from 400-550 and the strategies they used to seize and hold power during these turbulent times. The book focuses on key figures who have been largely neglected in history over the last 30 years. Starting with Gerontius, who rebelled against the Roman establishment, the story then turns the key figures of Vortigern and Ambrosius, who were faced with the Anglo-Saxon invasion, and finishes with a look at how British warlords such as Cerdic were forced to adapt to the situation and were compelled to seek power by working with the new Anglo-Saxon powerbase.

Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain

When we think of Roman Britain we tend to think of a land of togas and richly decorated palaces with Britons happily going about their much improved daily business under the benign gaze of Rome.  This image is to a great extent a fiction. In fact, Britons were some of the least enthusiastic members of the Roman Empire. A few adopted Roman ways to curry favor with the invaders. A lot never adopted a Roman lifestyle at all and remained unimpressed and driven by deep-seated tribal division. It wasn't until the late third/early fourth century that a small minority of landowners grew fat on the benefits of trade and enjoyed the kind of lifestyle we have been taught to associate with the period. Britannia was a far-away province which, whilst useful for some major economic reserves, fast became a costly and troublesome concern for Rome, much like Iraq for the British government today. Huge efforts by the state to control the hearts and minds of the Britons were met with at worst hostile resistance and rebellion, and at best by steadfast indifference. The end of the Roman Empire largely came as "business as usual" for the vast majority of Britons as they simply hadn't adopted the Roman way of life in the first place.

When we think of Roman Britain we tend to think of a land of togas and richly decorated palaces with Britons happily going about their much improved daily business under the benign gaze of Rome. This image is to a great extent a fiction. In fact, Britons were some of the least enthusiastic members of the Roman Empire. A few adopted Roman ways to curry favor with the invaders. A lot never adopted a Roman lifestyle at all and remained unimpressed and riven by deep-seated tribal division. It wasn't until the late third/early fourth century that a small minority of landowners grew fat on the benefits of trade and enjoyed the kind of lifestyle we have been taught to associate with period. Britannia was a far-away province which, while useful for some major economic reserves, fast became a costly and troublesome concern for Rome, much like Iraq for the British government today. Huge efforts by the state to control the hearts and minds of the Britons were met with at worst hostile resistance and rebellion, and at best by steadfast indifference. The end of the Roman Empire largely came as "business as usual" for the vast majority of Britons as they simply hadn’t adopted the Roman way of life in the first place.

Out of 193 countries that are currently UN member states, we've invaded or fought conflicts in the territory of 171. That's not far off a massive, jaw-dropping 90 per cent. Not too many Britons know that we invaded Iran in the Second World War with the Soviets. You can be fairly sure a lot more Iranians do. Or what about the time we arrived with elephants to invade Ethiopia? Every summer, hordes of British tourists now occupy Corfu and the other Ionian islands. Find out how we first invaded them armed with cannon instead of camera and set up the United States of the Ionian Islands. Think the Philippines have always been outside our zone of influence? Think again. Read the surprising story of our eighteenth-century occupation of Manila and how we demanded a ransom of millions of dollars for the city. This book takes a look at some of the truly awe-inspiring ways our country has been a force, for good and for bad, right across the world. A lot of people are vaguely aware that a quarter of the globe was once pink, but that's not even half the story. We're a stroppy, dynamic, irrepressible nation and this is how we changed the world, often when it didn't ask to be changed!

All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To

Many Britons like to think they have a basic understanding of Britain’s amazing history. The Roman invasion, Alfred and the Danes, 1066, Magna Carta, Bannockburn, Agincourt, Wars of the Roses, Henry and his wives, the Reformation, etc., etc.The trouble is that concentrating on just a few over-familiar landmarks like these can give a distorted picture of the land we live in. What would our history look like if, instead of looking at all the bits everybody knows, we started telling it through some of the bits not everybody knows? We set off to find out.The result is Unexpected Britain, tracing the story of Britain from a time before Rome to a time within the lives of people still living, but going beyond the well-known to explore a world of different angles and fascinating little-known facts that bring fresh life to the story of what Britain has been and what Britain is.

Unexpected Britain: A Journey Through Our Hidden History

Amberley Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Laycock, Stuart. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Laycock, Stuart

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Laycock, Stuart. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

All the Countries: And the Few We Never Got Round To

Lost Countries: Exotic Tales from an Old Stamp Album

UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia

How Britain Brought Football to the World

Britannia - The Failed State: Tribal Conflict and the End of Roman Britain

Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain

UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia

UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia

All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To

Unexpected Britain: A Journey Through Our Hidden History