Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

[barryqwalsh]

At the Tory party conference last October, Jacob Rees-Mogg issued a rallying cry that linked Brexit to the great triumphs of English arms on continental Europe: “We need to be reiterating the benefits of Brexit!” he cried. “Oh, this is so important in the history of our country… It’s Waterloo! It’s Crécy! It’s Agincourt! We win all these things!”


Waterloo might best be left aside, since it was won by an alliance of European armies. But Crécy and Agincourt, two of the great English victories over the French in the 14th century, were indeed remarkable feats of arms – on both occasions the French military aristocracy was virtually wiped out.


The evocation of Crécy and Agincourt as forerunners of Brexit is, however, problematic in two ways. One is that they were English victories but Scottish defeats – the Scots were firmly allied with the French.


The other is that they were part of one of the great criminal follies of European history, the so-called Hundred Years War, the repeated English invasions of France that unleashed on innocent civilians mass murder, mass rape, theft on a staggering scale and an orgy of destruction. It brought nothing but horror and misery. And all in the failed pursuit of a mad idea.



Fintan O’Toole: Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

 

[cnelsen]

Yes, self-determination. Balls-out insane.

 

[BULLDOG]

All you need is a good slogan, and you can get the crazies to do anything.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

At the Tory party conference last October, Jacob Rees-Mogg issued a rallying cry that linked Brexit to the great triumphs of English arms on continental Europe: “We need to be reiterating the benefits of Brexit!” he cried. “Oh, this is so important in the history of our country… It’s Waterloo! It’s Crécy! It’s Agincourt! We win all these things!”


Waterloo might best be left aside, since it was won by an alliance of European armies. But Crécy and Agincourt, two of the great English victories over the French in the 14th century, were indeed remarkable feats of arms – on both occasions the French military aristocracy was virtually wiped out.


The evocation of Crécy and Agincourt as forerunners of Brexit is, however, problematic in two ways. One is that they were English victories but Scottish defeats – the Scots were firmly allied with the French.


The other is that they were part of one of the great criminal follies of European history, the so-called Hundred Years War, the repeated English invasions of France that unleashed on innocent civilians mass murder, mass rape, theft on a staggering scale and an orgy of destruction. It brought nothing but horror and misery. And all in the failed pursuit of a mad idea.



Fintan O’Toole: Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

When Britain Was Great and Not Ewe Qae


BATTLE OF CRECY (1346 in France, near Belgium)

English troops: 14,000
French troops: 100,000

English dead: 300
French dead: 30,000

 

[skye]

Brexit is the BEST thing England has ever done!

 

[Tommy Tainant]

At the Tory party conference last October, Jacob Rees-Mogg issued a rallying cry that linked Brexit to the great triumphs of English arms on continental Europe: “We need to be reiterating the benefits of Brexit!” he cried. “Oh, this is so important in the history of our country… It’s Waterloo! It’s Crécy! It’s Agincourt! We win all these things!”


Waterloo might best be left aside, since it was won by an alliance of European armies. But Crécy and Agincourt, two of the great English victories over the French in the 14th century, were indeed remarkable feats of arms – on both occasions the French military aristocracy was virtually wiped out.


The evocation of Crécy and Agincourt as forerunners of Brexit is, however, problematic in two ways. One is that they were English victories but Scottish defeats – the Scots were firmly allied with the French.


The other is that they were part of one of the great criminal follies of European history, the so-called Hundred Years War, the repeated English invasions of France that unleashed on innocent civilians mass murder, mass rape, theft on a staggering scale and an orgy of destruction. It brought nothing but horror and misery. And all in the failed pursuit of a mad idea.



Fintan O’Toole: Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

It is. I cant think where people have ever voted for poverty..

 

[shockedcanadian]

At the Tory party conference last October, Jacob Rees-Mogg issued a rallying cry that linked Brexit to the great triumphs of English arms on continental Europe: “We need to be reiterating the benefits of Brexit!” he cried. “Oh, this is so important in the history of our country… It’s Waterloo! It’s Crécy! It’s Agincourt! We win all these things!”


Waterloo might best be left aside, since it was won by an alliance of European armies. But Crécy and Agincourt, two of the great English victories over the French in the 14th century, were indeed remarkable feats of arms – on both occasions the French military aristocracy was virtually wiped out.


The evocation of Crécy and Agincourt as forerunners of Brexit is, however, problematic in two ways. One is that they were English victories but Scottish defeats – the Scots were firmly allied with the French.


The other is that they were part of one of the great criminal follies of European history, the so-called Hundred Years War, the repeated English invasions of France that unleashed on innocent civilians mass murder, mass rape, theft on a staggering scale and an orgy of destruction. It brought nothing but horror and misery. And all in the failed pursuit of a mad idea.



Fintan O’Toole: Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

When Britain Was Great and Not Ewe Qae


BATTLE OF CRECY (1346 in France, near Belgium)

English troops: 14,000
French troops: 100,000

English dead: 300
French dead: 30,000

Sometimes these things work out (I don't think the 300 who died shared in that opinion of course).

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

At the Tory party conference last October, Jacob Rees-Mogg issued a rallying cry that linked Brexit to the great triumphs of English arms on continental Europe: “We need to be reiterating the benefits of Brexit!” he cried. “Oh, this is so important in the history of our country… It’s Waterloo! It’s Crécy! It’s Agincourt! We win all these things!”


Waterloo might best be left aside, since it was won by an alliance of European armies. But Crécy and Agincourt, two of the great English victories over the French in the 14th century, were indeed remarkable feats of arms – on both occasions the French military aristocracy was virtually wiped out.


The evocation of Crécy and Agincourt as forerunners of Brexit is, however, problematic in two ways. One is that they were English victories but Scottish defeats – the Scots were firmly allied with the French.


The other is that they were part of one of the great criminal follies of European history, the so-called Hundred Years War, the repeated English invasions of France that unleashed on innocent civilians mass murder, mass rape, theft on a staggering scale and an orgy of destruction. It brought nothing but horror and misery. And all in the failed pursuit of a mad idea.



Fintan O’Toole: Is Brexit the maddest thing England has ever done? Not quite

When Britain Was Great and Not Ewe Qae


BATTLE OF CRECY (1346 in France, near Belgium)

English troops: 14,000
French troops: 100,000

English dead: 300
French dead: 30,000

Sometimes these things work out (I don't think the 300 who died shared in that opinion of course).

Valhalla

They died proud, a rare achievement even in our times.

 

[AZGAL]

The British should not have invaded by way of music.