# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/41 "2012-11-13T02:55:29Z")
> [@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 don’t think they cared who owned the land at the time of the “invasion”, just that British troops/vessels/planes attacked someone in the land currently part of the modern-day country, At least that’s how I interpret what the list represents. So Canada would definitely count, ya know, the whole Plains of Abraham and all that. That would no doubt be why Guatemala is on the not-invaded on the list despite the Belize thing. > [@Lemur866](#): > > 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. Yes, but what happens when they invade Luxembourg and then someone belatedly looks up the NATO Treaty and discovers that Luxembourg is one of their allies? The Treaty collapses as does the EU, generating a worldwide depression. All die. Oh the embarassment! I do wonder about the US list. Would it be shorter to list countries attacked by the US or those not attacked? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/42 "2012-11-13T03:16:29Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > There is a list of the “lucky” 22 [here](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9653497/British-have-invaded-nine-out-of-ten-countries-so-look-out-Luxembourg.html). > > For a supposedly peace-loving nation, that’s a soberingly short list. > > Of your examples, Mexico and Chile were raided when they were part of the Spanish empire. D’oh! Misread this as the list of countries that the British \*have \*invaded. Obviously, I was mistaken and it is a short list of countries that were \*not \*invaded by 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 13, 2012, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/43 "2012-11-13T09:53:20Z")
So in short, “have the British invaded\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_?” is like the Rule 34 of International Relations. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/44 "2012-11-13T18:22:49Z")
Didn’t Thailand change its name from the Kingdom of Siam to Thailand, containing their word for “peace” because they’ve never been invaded by anyone? ---
**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, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/45 "2012-11-13T18:31:16Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Didn’t Thailand change its name from the Kingdom of Siam to Thailand, containing their word for “peace” because they’ve never been invaded by anyone? Thailand is the only country of Southeast Asia that wasn’t colonized by a European power. Siam did lose chunks of its original territory to Britain and France, however. Japan invaded the country in 1941, as the result of which Thailand eventually became an ally of Japan during the war. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/46 "2012-11-13T20:26:20Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > There is a list of the “lucky” 22 [here](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9653497/British-have-invaded-nine-out-of-ten-countries-so-look-out-Luxembourg.html). > > The countries never invaded by the British: > Andorra > Belarus > Bolivia > Burundi > Central African Republic > Chad > Congo, Republic of > Guatemala > Ivory Coast > Kyrgyzstan > Liechtenstein > Luxembourg > Mali > Marshall Islands > Monaco > Mongolia > Paraguay > Sao Tome and Principe > Sweden > Tajikistan > Uzbekistan > Vatican City > For a supposedly peace-loving nation, that’s a soberingly short list. > > Of your examples, Mexico and Chile were raided when they were part of the Spanish empire. When was Switzerland invaded ? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/47 "2012-11-13T21:34:56Z")
Maybe Marlborough passed through somewhere that’s now part of Switzerland? Although [this map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:March_to_the_Danube_1704.png)of his march to the Danube makes that look unlikely. I think this is a crap list overall. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/48 "2012-11-13T22:11:00Z")
The RAF attacked Geneva, Zürich and Basel in 1940: > **[Aerial incidents in Switzerland in World War II | Other attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombings_of_Switzerland_in_World_War_II#Other_attacks)** > > During 1940, minor attacks on Geneva, Renens, Basel, and Zurich were conducted by the Royal Air Force. > On 1 October 1943, bombs were released by the USAAF over Samedan leading to property damage. 1944 saw attacks that included Koblenz, Cornol, Niederweningen, and Thayngen. Attacks in 1945 included Chiasso twice. Basel was bombed on 4 March 1945. The last air attack occurred in Brusio on 16 April 1945. > On 28 to 29 April 1944 a German Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 pursued a British bomber into Swiss a... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/49 "2012-11-13T23:14:02Z")
In 1370, Switzerland was invaded by Sir Roger Fenwick, an English knight, and his followers. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/50 "2012-11-14T13:06:52Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Maybe Marlborough passed through somewhere that’s now part of Switzerland? Although [this map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:March_to_the_Danube_1704.png)of his march to the Danube makes that look unlikely. > > I think this is a crap list overall. The map shows he carefully avoided Switzerland. He wouldn’t have come out alive. However we remember him in a ditty: _Malbrough s´en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, mironton, mirontaine, Malbrough s´en va-t-en guerre, Ne sais quand reviendra._ etc. As for the bombings, it was an error caused by bad weather. And it wasn’t the British (They never make mistakes :dubious:). Quote: “At the insistence of the Swiss government for an explanation, Allied investigations into the incident found that bad weather broke up the American formation over France, and that high winds that nearly doubled the ground speed of the bombers confused the navigators.” Wiki ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/51 "2012-11-14T13:11:56Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Didn’t Thailand change its name from the Kingdom of Siam to Thailand, containing their word for “peace” because they’ve never been invaded by anyone? Thailand was invaded in any case by the British during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/52 "2012-11-14T15:43:32Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > As for the bombings, it was an error caused by bad weather. And it wasn’t the British (They never make mistakes :dubious:). > > Quote: > > “At the insistence of the Swiss government for an explanation, Allied investigations into the incident found that bad weather broke up the American formation over France, and that high winds that nearly doubled the ground speed of the bombers confused the navigators.” Wiki According to the official website of the Canton of Basel-Country, on December 17th 1940, RAF planes dropped 50 bombs on the town of Binningen. 3 local women were killed. [http://www.baselland.ch/dez2011-htm.316592.0.html](http://www.baselland.ch/dez2011-htm.316592.0.html) The American air attacks on Switzerland during WW II are more widely known, though, and it has been argued that these bombing raids may not have been conducted by mistake (at least not all of them). ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/53 "2012-11-14T17:24:09Z")
> [@](#): > > The American air attacks on Switzerland during WW II are more widely known, though, and it has been argued that these bombing raids may not have been conducted by mistake (at least not all of them). Supposedly because Switzerland allowed rail transit between Italy and Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/54 "2012-11-14T22:23:28Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > Naffest war in history, that was. [Anglo-Swedish War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Swedish_War_(1810%E2%80%931812)) Pretend wars are way, way, \*waaayyyy \*better than real ones. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/55 "2013-02-08T17:23:33Z")
Of the above list, have the British been involved in Mali thus far recently. I know the RAF has helped airlift French troops. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/56 "2013-02-08T17:35:52Z")
[They are sending ground troops to train Malian forces](http://news.sky.com/story/1049615/squabbles-hinder-uks-mali-training-mission). Don’t think that counts as invasion. ---
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/57 "2013-02-09T04:18:40Z")
The UK didn’t invade the Republic of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/58 "2013-02-11T08:28:36Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Didn’t Thailand change its name from the Kingdom of Siam to Thailand, containing their word for “peace” because they’ve never been invaded by anyone? Siam changed its name to Thailand in large part due to the efforts of Major-General Luang Wichitwathakan, who began campaigning for the name change after being presented a map produced by the Ecole Francaise d’Extrene Orient showing the Thai race inhabiting Siam, Burma, Southeast Asia and southern China. The map led him to believe there were 60 million Thais in southern China and Southeast Asia – including many in northern Vietnam – at the time, and through his personal crusade as both a historian and a politician, he managed to get the name changed to Thailand as sort of a homeland for the Thai peoples. The name was changed in June 1939, changed back to Siam at the end of World War II, then back again to Thailand in 1949, and this time it stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588/59 "2013-02-11T08:46:55Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Thailand was invaded in any case by the British during WWII. Is that [this same claim you made before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11727381&postcount=5)? If so, it was already answered [thus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11729580&postcount=7) and [thus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11729602&postcount=9). It certainly _was_ invaded by Japan though, and successfully. Not to mention the Burmese invasions over the years. But it’s a common misconception that “Thai” means “free.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-countries-has-england-great-britain-united-kingdom-not-invaded/640588.md?page=2)