According to historian Stuart Laycock, only 22 countries have never been invaded by the British.
The world stopped last September 8, the date on which the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England was announced. The reactions of users on social networks have been varied: there are from those who mourn her death inconsolably, to those who have taken the opportunity to express their rejection of the monarchy, considering it, in addition to an obsolete system of government, a totally colonialist one.
The UK economy is currently the sixth largest in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, and India; it also ranks second in Europe.
The British administration has a complex history behind its economic greatness. The beginning of Great Britain as a world power began with the formation of the British Empire back in the 17th century. After the colonization of the Iberian empires, England did not want to be left behind and began its conquest in America in 1607.
According to British historian Stuart Laycock in his book All the countries we’ve ever invaded: and the few we never got round to, the nation alone has not never been able to reach 22 countries of the world.
But despite the fact that he invaded several American territories, not all of them became his colonies. One of these countries was Mexico.
Did the British Empire invade Mexico?
The British Empire in 1886 (Photo: Wikipedia)
The only invasion that, according to Laycock, was carried out when Mexico was already an independent state is that of 1862. In Mexico, this is not recognized as an invasion/intervention, since England accepted Mexico’s sovereignty and withdrew, unlike the French.
According to the Secretary of National Defense ( Sedena ), at the end of the War of Reform, Mexico was going through a critical situation, both economically and politically, so on July 17, 1861, the Congress of the Union decreed the suspension of the payment of the public debts , including those contracted with other nations.
The consequence of the non-payment of interest was that on October 31 of the same year, a pact between Spain, England, and France was signed at the London Convention with the intention of intervening militarily in Mexico to persuade the government to comply with the debt payment.
So it was that on December 7, 1861, a Spanish squadron arrived in Veracruz, which was joined by English and French ships on January 7, 1862. General Juan Prim Prats, head of the Spanish expedition, sent an ultimatum to the government Mexican in order to negotiate the contracted debt.
In the agreement of La Soledad, the sovereignty and independence of Mexico were recognized, but the landing of foreign forces was allowed to avoid casualties due to fever and other illnesses suffered by its crew.
The English and Spanish diplomats accepted the agreements of the negotiations with Mexico, but the French representative did not recognize such agreements, so when the Spanish and English squadrons withdrew, only the French remained in Mexican territory, beginning the armed intervention for monarchical purposes in Mexico. which England may well have participated.
The battle in the port of San Juan de Ulúa, Veracruz, between English pirates and Spanish galleons (Photo: File)
The rest of the invasions documented by the author were carried out in the colonial period when pirates of that origin made incursions. So, strictly speaking, these “ invasions ” were made against the Spanish crown and not against “Mexico” as a country.“The Royal Ship arrived in Veracruz in 1861 and helped disembark the troops. However, we soon realized that the French had longer-term goals than simply getting their money. So we left the French, ”says the author in his book.
