# How many countries has England/Great Britain/United Kingdom NOT invaded **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588 "2012-11-10T17:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/21 "2012-11-11T15:14:04Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > The qualifications for the list seem questionable to me. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Yes, the definition is absurd. > > Numerous questions. > > For example Korea. Britain “invaded” it by sending troops supporting the UN lead Korean war in support of South Korea. Humm. Obviously, the use of “invasion” in the article cited is a very broad one and intended to generate publicity. However, the main point is still of interest: that Britain has had some military presence in almost every country in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/22 "2012-11-11T15:21:24Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I’m wanting to know about how the British invaded every country in South America except Paraguay and Bolivia. A lot of that can be accounted for by attacks by English privateers all along the coasts of the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/23 "2012-11-11T15:55:11Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > What about Finland? They bombed Helsinki in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/24 "2012-11-11T16:05:19Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > They bombed Helsinki in WWII. Are you sure? This [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Helsinki_in_World_War_II) doesn’t mention the British. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/25 "2012-11-11T16:51:16Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Are you sure? This [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Helsinki_in_World_War_II) doesn’t mention the British. :smack: The British bombed _Petsamo_. Sorry, typed without thinking. They declared war. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/26 "2012-11-11T17:05:36Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :smack: The British bombed _Petsamo_. Sorry, typed without thinking. They declared war. Interesting. I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/27 "2012-11-11T20:36:47Z")
I’d strike Belarus, Kygyrztan, Tajikstan and Uzbekistan off the list of 22, as they were (formally at least) part of the Soviet Union when the UK [intervened in the Russian Civil War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_intervention_in_the_Russian_Civil_War). Actually this hsows how inconsistent the list is, when else would UK troops have been in Khazakstan for instance? ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/28 "2012-11-11T20:48:39Z")
> [@Huvudtvatt](#): > > When was this? The only thing I could find was that the British sailed close to the Swedish coast in 1801 to avoid bombardment from the Danish. Hardly an invasion. We might well have messed around with Sweden more recently (though by “special forces” and probably at the behest of Ronald Regun..“.. SBS commandos took part in operations along the Swedish coastline during the 80s and 90s. The missions were part of a series of operations designed to trick the Swedes into believing that the Russians were violating their territory…” [Did the SBS raid Sweden? - UK Special Forces Rumours](http://www.eliteukforces.info/rumours/sbs-sweden.php) Some may remember the case of the Phantom subs.. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/29 "2012-11-11T21:17:13Z")
The OP specifically excluded clandestine special ops though. If not the US probably covered most of the globe in the past decade… ---
**Author:** ![HairyCactus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2bfe46/32.png) [@HairyCactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HairyCactus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/30 "2012-11-12T19:56:59Z")
What about Portugal?? ISTR that Britain (uk, England, etc) has never invaded Portugal and it remains ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/31 "2012-11-12T20:04:52Z")
> [@HairyCactus](#): > > What about Portugal?? ISTR that Britain (uk, England, etc) has never invaded Portugal and it remains Sure it did, during the [Peninsular War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War) (part of the Napoleonic Wars).: > [@](#): > > In August 1808, British forces (including the King’s German Legion) landed in Portugal under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/32 "2012-11-12T20:07:20Z")
The definition used by the researcher in question used current territorial boundaries. I came across this list a few weeks ago; it seemed to hold up against quick scrutiny. For example, both Luxembourg and Monaco were liberated by the USA in WWII, and I could find no source for any British presence in Chad or Burundi during either WWI, WWII or the scramble for Africa. Nor does it seem they penetrated deeply enough into Asia during the Great Game to reach the more inland Stans. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/33 "2012-11-12T20:16:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Sure it did, during the [Peninsular War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War) (part of the Napoleonic Wars).: Again, that’s a pretty weird definition of “invasion”. They were invited by the Portuguese. It’s like saying the US invaded Saudi Arabia because we have bases there. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/34 "2012-11-12T20:20:34Z")
Hmm… trying to sort out if the British ‘invaded Canada’ brings up semantic, political, and historical tricky points. Very briefly, Canada as such didn’t exist until they set it free, but they definitely colonized the land where it is now, and they fought wars here with Native Canadians and the New French. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/35 "2012-11-12T20:24:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Again, that’s a pretty weird definition of “invasion”. They were invited by the Portuguese. It’s like saying the US invaded Saudi Arabia because we have bases there. More comparable to the US invading Normandy in WWII. Portugal had been under the control of a French regime. It’s already been mentioned that the OP and the list referenced above are using “invasion” in a very broad sense, corresponding to “established a military presence in.” By the definition being used in this thread, there’s no question the Portugal case is included. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/36 "2012-11-12T20:46:40Z")
What about the [Siege of Lisbon in 1147](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_lisbon)- the Crusaders (many of them English) left from Dartmouth. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/37 "2012-11-12T21:47:11Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Hmm… trying to sort out if the British ‘invaded Canada’ brings up semantic, political, and historical tricky points. Very briefly, Canada as such didn’t exist until they set it free, but they definitely colonized the land where it is now, and they fought wars here with Native Canadians and the New French. I think one could safely include any former British colony or protectorate in the list. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/38 "2012-11-12T22:49:56Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I love the Dope. However, of the list, Sweden certainly had British operations off it waters during the Napoleonic wars as well as coastal bombardment. Naffest war in history, that was. [Anglo-Swedish War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Swedish_War_(1810%E2%80%931812)) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/39 "2012-11-13T00:53:35Z")
You know, if you Brits get cracking, you could knock out most of the remaining list in a couple of months. Totally doable. Of course, some of it would be just running up the score, not much sport in Andorra, is there. But still, there’s something to be said for collecting the entire set. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/40 "2012-11-13T01:26:52Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > Naffest war in history, that was. [Anglo-Swedish War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Swedish_War_(1810%E2%80%931812)) That prompted me to look up its prelude, the [Pomeranian War.](http://iamyardrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/image-11-600x470.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588.md?page=3)