By Andrea Widburg
LONDON (CONVERSEER) – Once, the world’s map was red, not because of communism, but because every British colony was colored red on that map. Before WWI, and the beginning of its downfall, Britain was estimated to control roughly 24% of the world’s land. It could do this because it believed in itself.
Nothing more perfectly illustrates this than what Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General of the East India Company (“EIC”), which was the British government’s de facto controlling power in India, did in 1829. At the time, suttee—the barbaric practice that widows “voluntarily” self-immolate on their husband’s funeral pyres—was mandatory across large swaths of India, especially amongst upper-caste Hindu families. The EIC and Great Britain allowed the practice because they feared a Hindu uprising.
However, by 1829, the British were sufficiently secure in their power and their righteousness that the new consensus, led by Bentinck, was that they would no longer be a partner to this sadistic practice. Thus, on December 4, 1829, Bentinck signed a mandate abolishing suttee by declaring it a criminal practice.
Some people within his administration panicked, fearing that it would convince Hindus that a planned mass Christian conversion was underway and lead to violence. (Incidentally, with less pushback, Bentinck also stopped such hideous practices as female infanticide and human sacrifice.) Bentinck was unmoved by these objections.
What drove Bentinck? A belief in the righteousness of his British, Christian values. Thus, when pushing for the mandate, he spoke to others about “the dreadful responsibility hanging over his head in this world and the next, if…he was to consent to the continuance of this practice (suttee) one moment longer.”
That Britain—moral and self-confident—is completely dead. Allister Heath, writing at The Telegraph (so it’s probably behind a paywall), describes the UK as an “impotent, useless” nation that Donald Trump rightfully ignores:
Eighty-one years after the end of the Second World War, the Western European era is finally over, killed off by welfarism, egalitarianism, risk aversion, demographic failure, over-regulation, environmentalism, pacifism and self-hatred. Britain self-sabotaged by wantonly downsizing our military, promoting rent-seeking above wealth creation, embracing “soft power” and net zero and turning against our core values.
We willingly demoted ourselves from being America’s junior partner to vassal status. We sought to camouflage our uselessness by preaching about “human rights” and weaponising international law; that delusion too has been punctured.
Britain represents what happens when leftism is ascendant, and worse, it’s allied with Islam. Both, in their lust for power, willingly destroy every Western institution, with each confident that, in the great battle at the end, it will prevail. (My money’s on Islam, which hasn’t jettisoned gender and still believes in an afterlife that rewards warriors.)
ALSO READ: Five Years: Beyond AKK Steel and strategy, meet Japheth Charima
Speaking of Islam, Britain’s once vaunted academic institutions (e.g., Oxford, Cambridge, etc.) have become so crazy that the UAE, a rational Muslim nation that has enthusiastically embraced the Abraham Accords, will no longer support its students there:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reduced government funding for students who want to study in the United Kingdom. This decision reflects rising tensions between Abu Dhabi and London, especially over how the UK deals with Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.
The move came after the UAE education ministry released a new list in June of overseas universities that qualify for government scholarships and official recognition. While the list included universities from countries such as the United States, Australia, France, and Israel, British universities were missing. [Emphasis mine.]
British officials were unfazed: “In response, UK officials said academic freedom must be protected.”
Ask yourself if they’d say the same if a professor were to offer a class on the wonders of Donald Trump. Actually, you don’t need to ask. Last year, at Henley College in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, a mere 30 minutes by car from the famous and ancient university town of Oxford, a politics teacher was reported to the government’s counter-terrorism programme for showing his students videos about Donald Trump while discussing American politics:
A teacher was referred to a government counter-terrorism programme after showing videos of Donald Trump to his US politics class.
The Oxfordshire teacher in his 50s said he was “likened to a terrorist” after he showed the videos, including footage of Mr Trump’s inauguration, to A-level students, the Telegraph reported.
Henley College, a sixth form in Henley-on-Thames with more than 2,000 students, reported the teacher to the local child safeguarding authority.
The local authority then decided he should be referred to Prevent, the Government’s counter-terrorism programme, as a “priority”.
The college then forced the teacher out of his job.
But all is not lost. The disaster that is the UK comes from the ruling class. Of course, the lumpen masses, given the opiate of free “healthcare” (which offers free access without much actual care), allowed this to happen. Now, though, as they’ve seen their culture denigrated, their institutions overrun, their children abused, and their freedoms destroyed, they’re beginning to push back.
Only about 18% of Britons view Keir Starmer favorably, with 72-74% actively disliking him. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is the most popular political party in the UK, with national support at 26% (or higher), compared to 17% for Labour and 19% for the Conservatives.
Moreover, the massive turnouts for the 2025 flag protests across Britain hint that there are a lot of little British worms turning…with some transforming into fierce, patriotic dragons. (Special kudos to Tommy Robinson!) That the British willingly gave up their arms puts them at a disadvantage, but the British police, while vicious, are also unarmed and so inept in actual confrontations that the British people’s lack of weapons may be overcome.
I’ve long considered Britain to be a dead country walking, and that’s certainly true if the elite continues to have unfettered control over its institutions. So, let’s hope that the British people, the core of that once proud, great empire, can rouse themselves and resuscitate their country.
Source: American Thinker
