[Deepblue]

FYI, the worlds greatest libraries, and earliest scientific achievements came from the Middle East... Not that bloody Empire that tried to rewrite history.

[an0n]

Yeah and for all their intelligence and sophistication they still got ploughed under by the might of the British Empire.

**** them. They lost. They should deal with it.

[aldo_14]

*Looks at the current size of the British empire*

Hmm.

[an0n]

People rejected Imperial control, so now our interests are administered to by economic pressures and actions by our intelligence services.

The Commonwealth still tows the line, as we move behind the scenes - but the price of their placidity is the loss of our due tribute.

A price that sadly must be paid.

[DeepSpace9er]

FYI, the worlds greatest libraries, and earliest scientific achievements came from the Middle East... Not that bloody Empire that tried to rewrite history.

Yep but thats pretty much where they stopped. When Islam conquered Alexandria, they destroyed the library because 'if its in the Koran we already have it and if its not, its not worth reading.'

[karajorma]

Yep but thats pretty much where they stopped. When Islam conquered Alexandria, they destroyed the library because 'if its in the Koran we already have it and if its not, its not worth reading.'

After the christians had destroyed most of it for pretty much the same reason.

[Nuclear1]

People rejected Imperial control, so now our interests are administered to by economic pressures and actions by our intelligence services.

That, and Imperialism was highly-frowned on by the Allies by the end of the Second World War, being one of the causes of the two most devastating wars in Europe's recent history.

The balance of power between East and West shifts at different points in history. Human civilization thrived in the Middle East under the ancient civilizations, and then Rome rose. After Rome, the Middle East and China became the superpowers in the world. After the Ottoman Empire's decline and self-imposed isolationism as well as the Renaissance, the West took over again. The tables will change again at some point; maybe not for hundreds of years, but it eventually will.

[BlackDove]

That's a nice textbook answer, but in reality, things are a little different...

[Turambar]

The balance of power between East and West shifts at different points in history.  The tables will change again at some point; maybe not for hundreds of years, but it eventually will.

its happening now

India and China will become the new world leaders

[vyper]

People rejected Imperial control, so now our interests are administered to by economic pressures and actions by our intelligence services.

That, and Imperialism was highly-frowned on by the Allies by the end of the Second World War, being one of the causes of the two most devastating wars in Europe's recent history.

Not entirely, the only Allies that didn't like Imperialism were the Americans and that was simply because a) the US public had this pop-history view of the Empire as being some sort of maurading evil force they had once overthrown, and b) the US needed to weaken British overseas power to build up their own.

The Empire would've worked, had it gone federalist before the US revolution.

[an0n]

The Empire would've worked if we'd had MI6 hijack the Manhattan Project, mass-produce crude nuclear weapons and launch them at the US from secret installations in Western Russia.

The nuclear conflict would've taken place as far from British soil as humanly possible and annihilated the two greatest military powers left after WW2 ended.

[aldo_14]

The Empire would've worked if we'd had MI6 hijack the Manhattan Project, mass-produce crude nuclear weapons and launch them at the US from secret installations in Western Russia.

The nuclear conflict would've taken place as far from British soil as humanly possible and annihilated the two greatest military powers left after WW2 ended.

Fallout.

Also, both Canada and India in particular would have been facing ruin.  'Britain' would be, at best, restricted to a small inhabitable area outside irradiated mainland europe.  Australia would go on - probably stronger than the UK - and be able to assert independence rather easily, China would have no real blocks to go on and progress beyond it's current influence in reduced time, and British trade revenues would also vanish due to the loss of the US and most of europe as markets. 

Is what comes to mind.

[SadisticSid]

its happening now

India and China will become the new world leaders

China perhaps, India when we outsource government to there.

[Mefustae]

The Empire would've worked if we'd had MI6 hijack the Manhattan Project, mass-produce crude nuclear weapons and launch them at the US from secret installations in Western Russia.

The nuclear conflict would've taken place as far from British soil as humanly possible and annihilated the two greatest military powers left after WW2 ended.

Fallout.

Also, both Canada and India in particular would have been facing ruin.  'Britain' would be, at best, restricted to a small inhabitable area outside irradiated mainland europe.  Australia would go on - probably stronger than the UK - and be able to assert independence rather easily, China would have no real blocks to go on and progress beyond it's current influence in reduced time, and British trade revenues would also vanish due to the loss of the US and most of europe as markets. 

Is what comes to mind.

Still, we would have at least had an interesting history beyond WWII. I mean, the small sporadic proxy-conflicts of the cold war are all well and good, but a Nuclear War would have really spiced up Modern History class.

[Herra Tohtori]

Dude, most likely there wouldn't have been modern history classes as we have enjoyed the privilege to have them, so the question of "spicing them up" is quite hypothetical at best.

Instead that time would probably have been used to growing or otherwise... aquiring... food. At least, for most survivors that would probably have been the case. At the worst case anyway. Oh well.