This is just a quick list I can think off the top of my head: the trail of tears, slavery, Jim Crow laws, fighting Mexico to gain the west coast, fighting Spain to gain the Philippines, Florida, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, deposing democratically elected governments in Central and South America for cheaper bananas, isolating Cuba from the rest of the world when it turned communist but still keeping possession of Guantanamo Bay, putting down the Boxer Rebellion in China, invading Middle Eastern countries for their oil, fighting the communists in Korea and Vietnam, deposing the Hawaiian government and then annexing it for cheaper pineapples, and leveraging its position at the end of WWII to solidify its hegemony throughout the world via the petrodollar. I’m sure there are plenty of other things I’ve forgotten. The only other imperial power that would compare is England up until WWII.
Britain (which you mentioned), France, and Spain all have pretty awful imperial histories too. Not saying that to diminish the atrocities of the US by any means, but let’s not pretend the rest of Europe didn’t get up to some bullshit.
I would add dropping most of the bombs left over from WWII (literally!) on Vietnam’s neighbors because reasons.
The only other imperial power that would compare is England up until WWII.
This is underselling Spain which wreaked havoc in the Americas (and elsewhere - like the Philipines) for centuries before they got supplanted by us in the havoc-wreaking department.
A lot of this firehose is pretty marginal. The Boxer rebellion for example, the US was a minor player. Puerto Rico won self rule via the US fighting the Spanish so it’s kind of weird to quote both. Also Spain is in NATO. Korea was a UN action. Hawaiians voted to become a state to escape the plantation owners from imposing new feudalism. Nobody is saying the US is without sins but these pale in comparison to things the major European powers did.
This is just a quick list I can think off the top of my head: the trail of tears, slavery, Jim Crow laws, fighting Mexico to gain the west coast, fighting Spain to gain the Philippines, Florida, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, deposing democratically elected governments in Central and South America for cheaper bananas, isolating Cuba from the rest of the world when it turned communist but still keeping possession of Guantanamo Bay, putting down the Boxer Rebellion in China, invading Middle Eastern countries for their oil, fighting the communists in Korea and Vietnam, deposing the Hawaiian government and then annexing it for cheaper pineapples, and leveraging its position at the end of WWII to solidify its hegemony throughout the world via the petrodollar. I’m sure there are plenty of other things I’ve forgotten. The only other imperial power that would compare is England up until WWII.
Britain (which you mentioned), France, and Spain all have pretty awful imperial histories too. Not saying that to diminish the atrocities of the US by any means, but let’s not pretend the rest of Europe didn’t get up to some bullshit.
The reason that London has such great museums lol
We got screwed over, didn’t even get good museums out of the horrors and atrocities perpetrated by own government.
We got an entire beautiful, resource rich country from some of our horrors and atrocities so that’s something.
Also the most museums per capita in the world with some absolutely amazing ones OP just hasn’t been to.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1203021/museum-density-worldwide-by-region/.
Sure, most of them are tax dodges, however
And the Dutch! Don’t forget about the Dutch
Kek
You thought that was a joke in Austin Powers?
No. Nigel Powers saw what they did in the Congo.
It’s why he was so happy to aid in the Boer War-
Wait
That was Belgium - which TBF is just a bunch of French-speaking dutch people.
Sorry, all Frisians look alike to me
They literally live on peat.
Good thing they’ve let go, like New Caledonia! ;)
I would add dropping most of the bombs left over from WWII (literally!) on Vietnam’s neighbors because reasons.
This is underselling Spain which wreaked havoc in the Americas (and elsewhere - like the Philipines) for centuries before they got supplanted by us in the havoc-wreaking department.
A lot of this firehose is pretty marginal. The Boxer rebellion for example, the US was a minor player. Puerto Rico won self rule via the US fighting the Spanish so it’s kind of weird to quote both. Also Spain is in NATO. Korea was a UN action. Hawaiians voted to become a state to escape the plantation owners from imposing new feudalism. Nobody is saying the US is without sins but these pale in comparison to things the major European powers did.
Wow. That’s a long list.