How America Broke the British Empire: The Other Great Game 1941-1947

Between 1941-1947 the British & American Empires engaged and defeated the Axis power in the Second World War. But whilst America emerged from the conflict as a global hegemon, thanks to the newly created Bretton Woods system, the power of Imperial Britain was for ever broken.

#BritishEmpire, #USA, #History.

[OldBritannia]

I hope you enjoy the 5th part in this series on Anglo-American relations. Obviously the negotiations over Bretton Woods and so forth are very economic intensive, at type of history I don't think translates particularly well to video (though in part that may be my less than stellar abilities of explanation). I'd be interested to know how you found it anyway. As a bit of housekeeping, a few of you have kindly asked about donating to a patreon, which I have now finally set up. Obviously no pressure. If I ever end up making a small amount from it everything will really just go towards licensing better images and so forth to make the videos better. Thank you for watching whatever the case, please point out any corrections I need to make.

[jimslickens]

"Churchill was not perturbed, convinced that if the programme was insufficient, Roosevelt would come through with another 'brainwave', as he called it. The President had other ideas, suffering not a brainwave, but a brain hemorrhage, a few months later."

That was a stone cold line.

[lonelychameleon]

“You cannot treat a great nation as if it were a bankrupt company.”
“Just watch me.”

[rickjensen]

Britain was bankrupted by the first world war along with most of Europe, and saw a massive transfer of money, currency and gold from Europe to the US. The same thing happened again in WW2. Both wars were an utter disaster for almost all European countries and most have not fully recovered from it even now.

[CMitchell]

“Your empire is a relic of a bygone era, an oppressive regime over Asia and Africa!”
“You’re racist.”
“You’re not wrong.”

[johnpijano]

This video has to be your Masterpiece. When WW2 has been romanticized, summarized and talked about a hundread times over you manged to bring a New topic in the overly saturated field of the History of WW2.

I love your focus on Geopolitics, International Relations, and the personalities of the Politicians, beurocracy and diplomats. You have given me a new lens to see WW2 (which again have been romanticised) while being factually correct.

I hope that ylur Channel blows up and in a few weeks you have 100k subscribers and in a few months have 500k. Please keep it up. You have a gift that is very special even to other Youtube Edutainers.

[CentralAftermath]

Ah yes, "special relationship" indeed. Finally a video stating how the British Empire was truly defeated; behind the scenes and not just what is considered in the popular mindset.

[markaxworthy]

The UK's peak of relative power was probably in the 1860s. Kipling's poem Recessional of 1897 shows that even Imperialists knew the Empire's days were numbered. The India Act of the 1930s showed that Westminster knew it as well. WWII just accelerated something that had been in progress for some 80 years.

[Gamenetreviews]

The US gave about 12x as much aid to the UK as USSR so it makes sense that much more would have conditions.

[ethanwmonster]

Ultimately it was the existence of the soviet union that made the US not want to go back to isolationism. A great boon for the military industrial complex indeed.

[logangustavson]

A quick note : The Philipines was more than a mere protectorate of the US, like Liberia was. The Philippines was a full fledged colony of the United States that gained independence in 1946.

[augustvonmackensen]

The “Special Relationship” has always just been Britain doing pretty much whatever the US says and the US figuring out ways to make Britain less and less powerful and more and more dependent on them. Even now plenty of US politicians openly support the Republic of Ireland annexing Northern Ireland.
It’s allowed British governments to maintain a facade of international status and influence to the British public whilst the nation’s actual influence declines.

[iamfromtheusamerica]

The videos on this channel are legendary.

[patrickjeffers]

Moral of the story, beggars can't be choosers

[contemptuoushomer]

Excellent, no-nonsense video on a topic rarely discussed among WW2 history buffs: how the USA supplanted Britain as the world hegemon. I've only come to the realization this year that while the British /Allied victory over the Axis was a great thing, it definitely was a pyrrhic victory for the British Empire. This video helped solidify this realization. Though I suppose WW1, was in a sense, the real beginning of the end of British hegemony. The USA benefitted in either case by walking away from both wars relatively unscathed while many of its allies' and enemies' economies were devastated and exhausted from the wars. Anyways, great work and look forward to your future content! All the best!

[MilesStratton]

This video is an absolute delight. Your content has been consistently even handed which is no small feat and your coverage of the economic disputes between the US and Great Britain is an aspect that had only been hinted at in the many histories ive read. Thank you for your hard work!

[achaeanmapping]

Your work is incredible. I never knew about the squabbles between the British and Americans during the war, let alone their conflicting visions for a post war economic system, I only really had heard about the US' post anti-colonial efforts but that's about it. I've certainly learned a lot through this series and there is certainly a lot more for me to learn in my own time. Could you possibly share some reading material for this aim?

[flamaster]

There's something hilarious about referring to policy of the British Empire as "internal matters"... Bestie you own a quarter of the planet

[dogukan]

Such as underrated, under-explained topic yet it is what created the world we live in today. Thanks for the detailed explanation!

[frankjennings]

“Let me see, Mr. President. That was about the time of the Mexican war wasn’t it?” Lol that is a pretty sick comeback.