Burning the White House.

[privatehudson]

I thought we did apologize to African-Americans for slavery?

Congratulations for taking my post to seriously

 

[Riesstiu IV]

Eh, it's ok. We needed to remodel it anyways.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Congratulations for taking my post to seriously

I knew you weren't serious or I would have provided a link as well.

 

[privatehudson]

Ahh you would say that now after I've told you it wasn't...

 

[Bugfatty300]

Ahh you would say that now after I've told you it wasn't...

Maybe, maybe not. But hey, how do I know you weren't serious to begin with.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

Oh well, its history. Anyway we got a better White House in place of it.

 

[privatehudson]

But hey, how do I know you weren't serious to begin with

I'm never serious when I use the " " smiley. Didn't you read that part of the FAQ you that when you joined?

 

[Bugfatty300]

I'm never serious when I use the " " smiley. Didn't you read that part of the FAQ you that when you joined?

Ahh, then maybe you didn't see my " " in my post in question.

 

[Nobody]

in a game of civ, if im a big colonial power (as i like to pay) and get attacked by a little enemy, my normal tactic is to sink there navy, call the world into the war, defeat there invaders, then burn down thier capital. I done this to russia the other day. I like britains tactics

 

[privatehudson]

Ahh, then maybe you didn't see my " " in my post in question.

If it's not after the point in question it doesn't count

 

[Bugfatty300]

If it's not after the point in question it doesn't count

I'm very coservative when it comes to smilies. One " " should cover all of my points in a post.

Anyway, I think the British should apologize for burning down the white house without that idiot Madison in it.

 

[slip79]

Why should they apologise?? It was war and s**t happens.
Asking the brits to apologise for this is way too PC if you ask me.

 

[Zarn]

Buffalo was burned in retaliation for the razing of other Canadian towns on the Great Lakes but the burning of a Capital City could only be matched by another Capital being put to the torch.

We didn't burn London down, which would be the equivalent of Washington. Nice try. Britain was bullying the US in the first place (They started with us).

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Maybe the Brits should apologize for introducing African slaves to the 13 colonies in the first place.

The first slaves to come to what is today the US were brought by Dutch traders on Dutch ships.

 

[Hotpoint]

We didn't burn London down, which would be the equivalent of Washington. Nice try. Britain was bullying the US in the first place (They started with us).

You did burn down the City of York (now called Toronto) which was the Canadian Capital at the time.

Please detail this "bullying" and how it justified annexing Canada? We were stopping you trading with our enemy France (just as France tried to stop you trading with us) and we were impressing British born Sailors off American ships but that's hardly a decent casus belli (as much of the US population agreed at the time, the war was very unpopular).

 

[Hotpoint]

We had none of these things. The "training" of our regular army was nonexistant; the volunteers were just farmers who happened to own guns. Our "Navy" was mostly privateers. That's because the Democratic-Republican Presidents (Jefferson, Madison) dissolved most of the standing Navy and gutted the army. We're absolutely lucky that we didn't get reconquered.

I apologise in advance for the "humourous" aside here but I just can't get the image out of my head of William Eustis (the US Secretary of War in 1812) saying something along the lines of "You go to war with the Army you have not the Army you might want or wish to have".

3) liberation of Canada

Operation Canadian Freedom?

 

[Nyvin]

You did burn down the City of York (now called Toronto) which was the Canadian Capital at the time.

Please detail this "bullying" and how it justified annexing Canada? We were stopping you trading with our enemy France (just as France tried to stop you trading with us) and we were impressing British born Sailors off American ships but that's hardly a decent casus belli (as much of the US population agreed at the time, the war was very unpopular).

The way things were going it was either go to war with France or go to war with Britain. Since the louisiana purchase already happened and Canada was still up there to invade (plus the general public view of Britain as their enemy...), it turned out to be go to war with Britain. (which turned out to be the right choice, trade with France was much more profitable with Napoleon around!)

Britain burning down the capital was more or less a symbolic thing (since it had no military significance whatsoever...) to show how the USA wasn't a true nation and had an inferior and unimportant capital. It was bullying and there isn't any way around that.

And I would hardly call burning down a small fishing village of about 12,000 people the equivalent of burning down the capital of an entire nation, but I guess that's up to you.

 

[Hornblower]

Australia has been having issues with this apologising for past misdeeds thing for quiet a while now. The original native inhabitants of the continent are demanding an apology from the current federal government of that nation. In keeping with the general feeling of this thread the current government there feels that it is irrelevant apologising for something that happened generations ago in a period with completely different social values. As a result a small element of society feel disgruntled. Of course I fail to see how they will feel any better if someone not even remotely connected to the deed apologised to them. Same same for the White house.

 

[Hotpoint]

Britain burning down the capital was more or less a symbolic thing (since it had no military significance whatsoever...) to show how the USA wasn't a true nation and had an inferior and unimportant capital. It was bullying and there isn't any way around that.

And the prior burning of York wasn't bullying? Please keep in mind it wasn't the British who was the aggressor here. To quote Bomber Harris in a much later war "They have sown the wind, and so they shall reap the whirlwind."

And I would hardly call burning down a small fishing village of about 12,000 people the equivalent of burning down the capital of an entire nation, but I guess that's up to you.

Regardless of population York was the Capital of Canada and as you said yourself it was an issue of symbolism. If you want a slightly tongue-in-cheek interpretation the British were telling the Americans that if they want to come onto our turf and burn our towns we'll be doing the same so back off.

 

[Zarn]

You did burn down the City of York (now called Toronto) which was the Canadian Capital at the time.

Please detail this "bullying" and how it justified annexing Canada? We were stopping you trading with our enemy France (just as France tried to stop you trading with us) and we were impressing British born Sailors off American ships but that's hardly a decent casus belli (as much of the US population agreed at the time, the war was very unpopular).

It isn't the same. Toronto isn't the capital of the British Empire.

That is bullying. I don't care what the population thought then. We had the right to trade with France, as we were independent of you. You also had no right boarding our ships.

We attacked Canada to put pressure on Britain to stay out of our way. It was the closest British area to send a meassage.