And it’s concentrated in just a few places in the UK.

Britain is just a small island country

The United States is a large country with an intercontinental scale

Black tea from Sri Lanka, long-staple cotton from Egypt, rubber from Malaysia, cocoa from West Africa, tobacco from South Africa, etc.

Western parliamentary system and jury system

joint stock companies, central bank

excessive success

The congenital conditions are very average and a bad hand

The UK is particularly good at using institutions to create advantages and strength.

british revolution

Industrial Revolution

British war

British Empire Management

Processing failed

Common underlying logic: institutional spirit

Tell you why Britain is Britain

respect for the system

Good at using systems to solve problems

The content stipulates the rights and obligations of the British king and other nobles 800 years ago.

The process of creation reflects a certain institutional spirit.

Contains some principles that will be very important to future generations

In fact, it gave future generations a basis and a starting point, allowing them to emphasize the system and limit power.

After King John, the recognition of the Magna Carta by the king of England became a condition for the nobles to recognize the king.

Throughout the Middle Ages, England's kings virtually continued to affirm Magna Carta

After the end of the Middle Ages, especially starting in the 16th century, many British people began to systematically explore the meaning of Magna Carta.

From the perspective of the establishment of the British system, or the formation of the spirit of the system, it is not so much the importance of the Magna Carta itself, but the continuous and uninterrupted efforts of the British in the following hundreds of years that are truly important.

It takes a long time and requires persistent efforts of several generations.

If we don’t talk about history or Britain, this principle also applies to today.

The richest thing is the church. The kings, nobles and churches are all poor.

other areas

Solve the problem of religious power

The European continent is solved by power, and the UK is solved by institutional procedures.

It is related to the spirit and belief of the majority of believers

Example of difference

The spirit of the system is not only respecting the system and procedures

The spirit of the system also opposes going to extremes and advocates compromise.

Not as plain as a protestant church

As magnificent as a Catholic church

Britain truly achieved independence

Domestic stability and peace have been achieved. Fights between sects will not break out. More energy is invested overseas.

The huge property in the hands of the church was circulated through the king

forming a tolerant society

It has formed a huge siphon effect on European talents.

In 1642, the British bourgeois revolution broke out

Is the royal power constrained by the system, or is the system constrained by the royal power?

This kind of struggle has actually existed on and off for nearly 500 years since the time of Magna Carta.

In the final analysis, the British Revolution was a revolution within the ruling class that focused on the system.

The Army chops off the King's head, there is no Royal Army

Cromwell created the Lord Protector, who was more powerful than the king and less restrained

Much less power

The original members of the revolutionary army invited the king's son back to be king again, called Charles II.

Restoration was almost the overall demand of the revolutionaries at that time

The focal issue of the revolution, the institutional restraint of royal power, has only been alleviated but not resolved. It will reappear as time goes by.

The king is the king, and he will definitely find ways to expand his royal power

Like a pendulum, it approaches the center and then deviates far away.

There was basically no bloodshed during the whole process

Ensure institutional constraints on royal power

Farewell to the revolution, farewell to the civil war

What if James II passed to a Protestant daughter?

Mysterious baby boy

British coach temporarily defected

It is a variable that suddenly appears. If you grasp this variable, the entire subsequent development process may be different.

A systematic institutional reconstruction with the Bill of Rights as the core

Established a way to use laws and institutions to solve problems

Although its historical status is important, it is only a general outline.

In fact, it is to bring together the principles and rights from the beginning of the Magna Carta and confirm them in the form of law.

"Mutiny Act"

"Three Years Law"

Treason Act

"Act of Succession to the Crown"

Or should we work hard through the system?

The core of taxation is actually an issue of property rights

The British actually regard taxation as the first and most important line of defense to protect property rights.

king and property rights

Nobles and city representatives formed a parliament, and they decided whether the money was necessary. If it was not necessary, taxes would be increased. Let everyone pay for it.

What taxes should be levied, how much taxes should be levied, and how the levied taxes should be used, these specific matters must also be discussed by the king and parliament.

The modern British political system and legal system developed to a large extent around taxation, or around property rights.

Sell ​​the right to collect taxes to a middleman, this middleman is called a tax collector

After the middleman pays a one-time payment to the national treasury, he can collect taxes from others on behalf of the country. Whatever he collects is his.

Advantage

Disadvantages

Nationalization and professionalization will re-centralize the tax collection work that was originally scattered and subcontracted to those who pay taxes, and make it the unified responsibility of the state.

In 1713, the British Congress completely abolished the tax farming system and established a set of full-time national agencies to be responsible for tax collection.

Not only did it innovate the tax system, but it also established a supporting, cash-based public finance system.

The new tax and fiscal system has laid a solid foundation for solving the rising money bag problem in the UK

One characteristic of Britain's war is that it has no shortage of money

Not only does it have money to equip its own army, but it also has money to bribe other countries to fight for it.

Taxes cannot cope with emergencies

The king's power is too great and unrestricted, and the spirit of the contract is generally worse, and it is easier to default on the debt.

example

After the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary still couldn’t borrow money with an annual interest rate of 30%

London businessman Patterson

The king may default on a single merchant

The Bank of England was actually established by businessmen, the king and parliament.

Stock subscription, annual interest rate of 8%, guaranteed by government taxes

bank gets

The main customers are the British government and the King

At that time, other banks were serving the market, and their customers were mainly businessmen.

The stronger the country, the more opportunities there are for capital to profit.

The more capital expands, the more money the country can use

A holistic institutional system ensured the Bank of England's success

A relatively mature parliamentary system

It ensures that the government has sustainable revenue every year, so that the government's credit has a foundation and everyone dares to borrow money.

From the perspective of tangible assets, the UK’s initial stage did not show any

From the perspective of intangible resources, the UK has been very impressive at the beginning.

"The Expansion of England"

Since the UK has not discovered any tangible resources, it can only focus on intangible resources.

The Curse of Gold and Silver

Establish a National Fish Eating Day

stable pound

patent system

Strengthen and expand the original patent protection system

Intangible resources formed during the initial stages of Britain's overseas expansion

European industrial products, rum, and guns were shipped to Africa and sold into black slaves.

Transported black slaves from Africa to America, sold them, and bought sugar, tobacco, and silver

Transport things from the Americas back to Europe, sell them, and recycle them

first pot of gold

Profit rate exceeds 50%

It just laid the foundation of the labor force for the subsequent industrial revolution.

Sugar trade

Sugarcane plantation management

triangular trade

The most important colony was North America

Ronnock

virginia

Colonial business license

It was the earliest colonizer in America and occupied the largest area.

The king and the government have made it so that ordinary people are not allowed to immigrate at will, and they have no rights when they come.

Mainly go there for the local specialties.

Centralized rule and unwilling to engage in long-term and arduous colonization

Solved the colonial property rights issue

Implement loose, autonomous management

Prepare for long-term operation and take root here

Farmers with property rights will fight tooth and nail to protect their land.

territorial expansion

war dimension

After this major setback, Britain's rise and overseas expansion were basically unaffected.

People in the colonies enjoyed even more political rights than those in Britain, and there was no political slavery.

The 13 North American colonies paid Britain £1,400 a year

Britain has a mismatch in political control and economic control

Strict control

There was a sharp contrast between the political and economic autonomy of the colonies

The most important step for the UK to take is to stop losses

Britain's overseas expansion was global

By stopping losses in North America, we can free up energy to expand and develop in other parts of the world.

Just two years after the British surrender, King George III solemnly received the American Ambassador John Adams.

The United States' economic and trade dependence on Britain and its dependence on British capital

After Britain lost the United States, it regained an indirect and implicit control through trade and finance.

It is no exaggeration to say that without them, there would be no British Empire

Why businessmen are willing to expand overseas for Britain

In 1553, he went to China with a letter from the King of England, but accidentally entered Russia and gained the right to trade with Russia.

Northern route, from sea to Russia

Monopolize trade between Britain and the entire Middle East and North Africa

Monopolizes sea trade with Eastern countries

On the one hand, it continuously absorbs wealth and goods from distant regions back to Britain.

On the other hand, it continues to exert British influence on far-reaching expenditures.

The British government was relatively poor at the time, and businessmen did not dare to take too many risks.

Thinking of solutions from an institutional perspective, a brand-new business system such as a joint-stock company emerged. This institutional innovation was used to deal with the high degree of uncertainty at that time.

An expansion model with giant companies as the vanguard and national power as the backing

A truly good system design does more than just provide everyone with an industry standard.

east india

london merchants versus east indies trading company

rapid expansion

The East India Company alone brought more wealth than all other trade in the kingdom combined

In addition to advanced system design, leveraging the existing trade structure is another secret.

Moscow Company, Levant Company

east india company

In a high degree of uncertainty, the biggest risk is that your costs are out of control

Making the most of existing structures is one of the most effective ways to control costs.

One company conquered an Indian subcontinent with hundreds of millions of people

At first, the company had no intention of conquering and only wanted to trade.

New mode: trade - conquest - taxation

As India declined, the East India Company used its original structure to colonize and conquer

The mixed system introduced by the British is very effective. It not only allows Indian soldiers to master the combat capabilities of European armies, but also controls them well, so they fight as a whole.

The East India Company's military conquests have always been hidden under the surface of the Indian Civil War. It can very easily unite one faction to fight another.

This kind of borrowing ideas in terms of troop composition and strategic application can be said to be very low-cost for the East India Company. It is acquiring land for engineering projects on the Indian roads, and its colonial expansion is progressing very quickly.

Dual rule (indirect rule)

Fundamentally, this kind of thinking is also a reflection of the institutional spirit.

the most effective way

Try to use existing structures to focus your attention and other resources on your real goals and make continuous efforts.

It’s not that we value commerce, but that we value the surplus brought by commercial trade, especially the gold and silver it brings.

The core features are exclusivity and monopoly

It is not only the UK that adheres to mercantilism, almost all major European countries do so.

the most representative law

These laws and regulations formed a strict institutional system that surrounded Britain and its overseas colonies like a wall, allowing them to develop calmly within it.

In the second half of the 18th century, Britain's overseas expansion and industrial revolution reached a height that other countries could not reach.

The exclusive protection method of mercantilism is actually no longer needed, but has begun to become a burden.

That is to abolish all those exclusive systems, open up competition to everyone, and compete freely.

An internal attack on the mercantilist system

Duel Logo "Corn Law"

In 1852, the British Parliament issued a statement that free trade was British national policy.

In the end, it was implemented in the system

For British industry, free trade is like opening the floodgates and letting out water.

In turn, further stimulating British industry

Promote free trade internationally

The UK has become the country that sets the rules for everyone in these areas.

Marked a brief but very important period in the British Empire - liberal imperialism

Compared with the previous 300 years

Suddenly I no longer want to occupy any more colonies.

Britain believes the best way to gain wealth and influence is through free trade

The traditional method of occupying large colonies is too costly

From the 1830s to the 1870s, the period of liberal imperialism

The British Empire also reached its peak stage

The symbol of free trade is the elimination of monopoly

The East India Company originally enjoyed a monopoly on the sale of opium in China. After the monopoly was revoked in 1833, every British merchant could sell opium to China. This was so large that Emperor Daoguang came under heavy control.

british diplomacy

The Opium War was to open up the market

We are not against the occupation of any more colonies, but we are trying to occupy as few colonies as possible, and if we want to occupy them, we should occupy key points.

Occupy Hong Kong

In this case, it is necessary to utilize resources as much as possible instead of relying entirely on occupying resources.

When you have strong strength as support, you can just reduce your costs, and at the same time concentrate your strength where it can really bring benefits, so as to maximize the input-output ratio.

If you are facing a field where everyone has established certain boundaries, then this idea of ​​not asking for everything, but asking for use, can very well transcend the limitations of these boundaries.

At its peak, the area was 35 million square kilometers.

Britain did not adhere to the path of liberal imperialism and returned to the old path of seizing a large number of colonies.

After you expand, your territory becomes larger, but there are also more new neighbors, which adds new potential points of conflict.

North Africa overexpansion

Countries such as Belgium, France, and Germany began to seize a large number of colonies here.

Britain couldn't stand it anymore and took out its old magic weapon, the charter.

Expansion is not for any specific interests or goals at all. Expansion itself is the purpose, expansion for the sake of expansion.

Cecil Rhodes

Double opening plan

Try not to occupy as much inland area as possible, but connect its empire by controlling ocean passages

This establishes a very flexible empire model with a high input-output ratio.

In the end, my own weight almost crushed me.

Initially, expansion can bring new land and wealth

However, the benefits brought by this expansion are diminishing, and the costs are indeed increasing.

After a certain critical point, the benefits of expansion are no longer worth its costs.

The entire empire lacks systematic organization and centralized leadership, but it operates very well.

Basic characteristics of British overseas empire management

Other European colonial countries

British colonization, adapting measures to local conditions

Inclusiveness of the institutional spirit

To achieve this kind of non-systematic, pluralistic management and legal system, power must be decentralized

Prevent it through power separation and power checks and balances

Sri Lankan black tea

Southeast Asia Rubber

Only when this is achieved can the system be flexible and various forces can fully play their roles.

The biggest feature is not that it uses machinery, but that the entire factory is like a mechanical device, centralizing the spinning machines and workers for unified management.

Everyone must work according to unified standards and rhythm, and everyone has their own clear division of labor.

It is essentially different from a factory in the modern sense.

wedgwood

production system

lifestyle

concept

social ethics

Britain has completed the primitive accumulation of capital by plundering overseas colonies, providing the necessary conditions for the Industrial Revolution.

Britain's land enclosure movement produced a large number of proletarians, which provided cheap labor for the Industrial Revolution.

British natural science developed well, and Newtonian science promoted the invention and creation of machinery.

If you produce 5 pieces of cloth every day and can only sell 4 pieces, you will not innovate production technology.

patent system

Institutional environment to achieve technological empowerment

Technological inventions are transformed into large-scale production and empower people.

Enabling ordinary skilled workers to become inventors and entrepreneurs, ultimately empowering the entire country

Spain

U.K.

strategy building issues

U.K.

Spain

Britain allied with France to aid the Netherlands

Use the advantages of your own island country to attack Spain's huge colonies and long sea lanes

Target an enemy's weak point to knock it off balance and drain it of its power

Allies do the dirty work

Concentrate your own strength on the sea to destroy enemy lines

The comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of both sides is objective. It is impossible to become stronger or weaker all at once.

Constructing a good strategy can re-correct the criteria of advantages and disadvantages

earliest enemy

The longest period of hostility

special opponent

They all built a country through commerce and navigation.

Religiously, like Britain, it is mainly Protestant.

The development paths are overlapping. For each track, one must be eliminated.

Britain and the Netherlands fought very hard

Navigation Ordinance

In the first and second wars, Britain went alone without looking for allies.

Comparison between the two sides

Britain waits for work in the English Channel

Finally the Netherlands gave in and recognized the Navigation Regulations

There will be no gains if you play the same way for the second time.

The Great Fire of London and the Black Death cannot be defeated

Britain found French allies to fight against the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country with both land and sea borders.

Holland throws in the towel

I always looked for Holland to fight.

Not because there are any specific points of conflict, but because the Netherlands has blocked its future development space.

1756-1763

In the end, Britain won a great victory and captured a large number of colonies.

Big difference in size

Allies fight to the death, Britain launches siege

In the first year of the war, Britain suffered setbacks on several battlefields at the same time

British fleet commander sentenced to death

The poor man's house: the wind can enter, the rain can enter, but the king cannot enter

Britain's purpose in fighting this war was to establish an overseas empire

But the center of the entire war was on the European continent, and the hub of the war was Prussia.

Give maximum aid to Prussia

Europe

North America

maritime

Great Britain

British style of warfare taken to its extreme

History enters the so-called Pax Britannica

In the 100 years after the war, no one dared to use force to challenge the British Empire

The French army, like all previous European armies, is a professional army

It's a big deal for a country to muster hundreds of thousands of troops at once, and they generally won't fight to the end.

A conscription system was implemented in the military, and every French citizen was obliged to join the army, and there was a constant supply of these soldiers.

France relied on a deep-seated institutional revolution to unleash all of its potential as if it were on stimulants.

Prime Minister: William Pitt the Younger

In the first stage, the British organized two anti-French alliances in succession and were defeated. They could only make peace.

After the second stage, the third anti-French alliance was organized, with far more money and materials than the previous two.

Napoleon saw that it was impossible to invade Britain from the sea, so he instituted a continental blockade and prohibited European continental countries from trading with Britain.

But Britain was already a world empire, and the Industrial Revolution also developed

Nationalism

Sending large troops to Europe to participate in the war, the effect will be different

Britain no longer just paid and provided supplies for the Allies to fight for it, but also sent a large number of troops to the European continent.

Britain also raised the banner of national liberation during the war, taking advantage of the nationalist power rising in Europe.

This dynamic approach of constantly seeking new balance points is the specific manifestation of its pragmatism in war.

Churchill: The core content of British diplomacy is balanced diplomacy

That is to always regard national interests as the highest principle and act according to the current situation.

The idea when we encounter a problem is to find a solution

The primary task of British diplomacy is not to solve problems, but to achieve national interests

So when you encounter a problem, what you have to think about is not how to solve it, but how to use it to maximize the interests of your country.

General understanding

U.K.

Treat the Dutch example

This point must be dynamic and will be adjusted at any time according to the situation.

British diplomacy is not limited to a specific goal. It actually aims to achieve a balance among various factors that is most beneficial to itself.

Always find the best route according to the situation, take one step and look at the next

Gray: It’s actually a dynamic idea of ​​​​aiming at the optimal equilibrium point.

The UK fully acknowledges contingency and uncertainty

Retain France's status as a great power

Establish close cooperative relations with Austria

Open up the alliance between Russia and Prussia

When new elements appear, its adjustments are often more flexible and effective than others.

This conference is actually not only a new high point for British diplomacy, but also a peak for traditional European diplomacy.

For hundreds of years, European diplomacy was decided by kings and a few professional diplomats.

Also called cabinet diplomacy or secret room diplomacy

National liberation and the rise of nationalism

Public participation in politics has increased, and ordinary people are also concerned about diplomacy.

Competition between two ideologies, liberalism and conservatism, emerged in Europe

Several major variables have been added to the original precise calculation of diplomatic interests.

Adapted very well

Nationalism

ideological battle

Public opinion related

Therefore, when British diplomacy faced new situations after the Congress of Vienna, it could not only adapt quickly, but also use these new variables very pragmatically.

The diplomacy of the British Empire has thus reached a new level.

Finally, Germany was revealed as the biggest threat to Britain.

Just like the Jia Mansion in "A Dream of Red Mansions", it looks very beautiful from the outside, but it has begun to decline inside.

USA

Germany

France and Russia also formed an alliance, directly threatening India, the most important colony of the British Empire.

Germany

USA

The root of the special relationship between Britain and the United States is Britain’s precise calculation of strength and interests.

From a historical and philosophical perspective, look at the German issue over a long period of time

The overall character of British diplomacy is determined by its enduring geographical location

German maritime supremacy was compatible with the survival of the British Empire

Germany believed for a long time that the conflict between Britain and Russia was impossible to overcome

The Three Kingdoms Agreement actually only had details and no policy commitments. It was an alliance without alliances.

British and French military relations

The equilibrium point is not to resolve contradictions and oppositions, but to form a state that is most beneficial to you.

The British Navy and the French Navy fought ten times

The casualties on the other side were almost seven times that of the British.

The system guarantees, motivates and forces the navy to exert its strongest capabilities

For long-term drifting at sea, the British Development Office has an independent supply system, which is very efficient.

French cuisine is famous, but the French navy’s food is definitely not as good as the British navy’s food, both in terms of nutrition and quantity.

Strict institutional regulations are used to restrict various disciplines during naval operations.

System design is to inspire people's bravery and combat effectiveness to the greatest extent possible.

Fight in line

Occupy the upper hand

Mainly exerts the generative function of the system

The Armada basically uses army tactics

Although the British Navy was small in size, it used real naval tactics

The Spanish Armada was destroyed not because it was head-on and sunk by the British Navy, but because of its own chaotic command.

It is not a sign of the rise of the British navy. Neither Britain nor Spain can control the sea.

An armed civilian ship ordered to rob enemy ships

Three levels of meaning

The British Navy grew in size in a short period of time

Relying on the privateer system, the British navy could quickly form a force, but it could not go far.

The frantic growth effect produced by the privateer system cannot help.

Blake established the institutional core of the British Navy

The first disciplinary order of the British Navy

It does not use full force, but focuses on the key points

This kind of discipline is not only a prohibition, but also shapes a culture and values.

The first combat regulations were also drawn up under the leadership of Black, almost the same year as the disciplinary regulations.

After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Britain actually entered a period of deep improvement of its national system.

The development of this institutional environment provides the navy with a material foundation

Discipline and combat regulations

example

Iterate

For competitors or imitators, you can quickly copy those tangible systems, but it is much more difficult to master the intangible power generated by the system over time than the spiritual and cultural traditions.

This intangible thing is the deeper source of institutional power.

Already in a leading position in advanced industrial fields such as chemistry, optics, and electricity

Although the British navy is the strongest in the world, it is scattered around the world

The expansion of the German navy is carried out slowly in steps and will not alarm the United Kingdom.

The German navy is concentrated in the North Sea between Britain and Germany. It can form an advantage in this key area and directly threaten the British mainland.

specific strategies and tactics

British Admiralty: The always powerful German fleet is like a sharp dagger placed on Britain's carotid artery

Decisively launched a new battleship that was disruptive by the standards of the time - the dreadnought.

The UK can build 8 ships a year, while Germany can only build 4 at most.

As long as Germany follows Britain into the dreadnought race, it can be said that Germany has no chance of winning.

Tactical adjustments

At the end of the war, the main force of the German navy was unwilling to surrender and basically scuttled, completely losing the battle for maritime hegemony.

Strength advantage

competitive strategy