If you only have one minute to acquaint yourself with Britain’s history of warmongering and colonialism, we have the perfect the TikTok for you.
TikTok user Emma, aka @EamonDeValera, has gone viral thanks to her simple demonstration of Britain’s imperialistic urges.
Taking to the platform on Monday, the young gun co-opted the 1993 Animaniacs song Yakko’s World, which listed every sovereign nation on Earth.
Each time the song references a nation which Britain hasn’t invaded, Emma jumps across the screen.
She doesn’t jump very often.
@eamonndevaleraThere’s 22 in total✨⭐️????????##history ##historymemes ##irish ##ireland ##irelandofthepast ##historybuff ##fyp ##uk♬ Yakkos The Nations Of The World – ghpproductions201
Her statement that only 22 nations on Earth have escaped British interference appears to come from historian Stuart Laycock, who actually penned a book about all the nations Britain has invaded.
For the record, here are the nations Laycock believes the Brits haven’t invaded, colonised, or subjected to state-sanctioned piracy at some point in history: Andorra, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Sweden, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Vatican City.
That’s really not that many countries, if you give it a second of thought.
Emma’s TikTok efforts have now caught the eye of Taika Waititi, who shared a version of the video which has now been viewed some 4.8 million times.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) June 30, 2020
Notably, this isn’t the first time Emma has used her powers to highlight the overarching influence of British force across the planet. Cop this:
@eamonndevaleraMy ego really bout to deflate after this one huh? ✨????????⭐️##history ##historymemes ##irish ##ireland ##uk ##usa ##british ##historybuff ##fyp♬ When You are broke – elvisroberts
With a username like @EamonDeValera, which refers to a pivotal figure in 20th century Irish politics, you can probably expect more minute-long history lessons in the days to come.
For now, go ahead and get that Animaniacs song stuck in your head – and maybe take a moment to consider how our world has been shaped by someone swiping land which wasn’t theirs to take.
