The world’s number one superpower, after losing its richest colony, is now a third-rate country.

Judging from the history of the rise of major powers in modern times, the rise of Western powers is all pseudo-rise. The most typical European countries are Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, etc. These countries themselves are not strong and do not create much wealth, but they are completely Relying on the plunder of colonies, it became a world power and completed its rise. And this kind of rise will completely disappear at any time due to the loss of colonies, so the above three countries were immediately knocked back to their original prototypes after losing their colonies. In addition, this is even more true for the following country. It was the world's number one superpower in the past 200 years. However, after losing its richest colony, it immediately became a third-rate country, and it is still declining today.

This country is the British Empire. The British Empire was the first country to start the Industrial Revolution, and it led the world in modern times. For this reason, the British Empire has been the most powerful country in the world for the past 200 years. It has become extremely powerful and has become the most powerful country in the rise of great powers in modern times. But in fact, the British mainland, including the British Isles and Northern Ireland, is not very large, that is, more than 240,000 square kilometers, and has a small population. According to this size, it is a small country, and it is impossible to become the largest country in the world.

And this foundation is actually one, and that is the colonies. At that time, the British colonies covered more than 30 million square kilometers, spread all over the world, and were known as the Empire on which the sun never sets. Relying on the plunder of colonies, Britain can maintain the world's number one economy, can support the world's number one army, and has the world's number one natural national strength.

Among them, the main source of wealth is India, the richest British colony. There is a saying spread by the British in modern times, that is, if the British continue to rule India, they will be the world's most powerful country, but if they lose India will immediately become a third-rate country. Many people think this statement is a bit exaggerated. How can India be so powerful? In fact, this is indeed the case.

First of all, the British Indian colony at that time included the entire South Asian continent, as well as Myanmar, and its territory included 9 countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. With a total area of ??more than 5 million square kilometers and a population of several hundred million, it is the largest and most populous British colony.

Secondly, most of the British colonies were places where birds had nothing to do, such as the African continent, the Middle East, the Americas, etc., and these areas were very poor at the time, Africa was in a primitive state, and the Americas still needed investment in development. Only the Indian colonies had fertile land, a large population, and the largest accumulation of wealth. Therefore, the British Empire stepped up its plunder of India, making the Indian colonies the key to supporting the British Empire's status as the world's most powerful country.

According to historical records, during the British colonial period in India, through the East India Company, they plundered a large amount of gold, silver, and other minerals in India. The wealth they plundered every year was worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Therefore, the wealth that Britain plundered in India during the entire 200 years is worth more than 50 trillion U.S. dollars according to the current value, which is simply an astronomical figure. No wonder it is said that with India, Britain is the world's strongest power. Without India, Britain is the world's strongest. Third-rate country.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Starting from World War I, the British Empire gradually declined with the invasion of India. After World War II, India awakened and the British were completely unable to stop it. So India and Pakistan were divided, and the entire Indian colony was lost and broken up into so many countries in South Asia. After Britain lost India, its strength plummeted. During World War II, it was still on an equal footing with the United States and the Soviet Union, becoming the three giants.

However, after India became independent after the war, its ranking dropped rapidly. It became the junior level of the United States and no longer had the power to join the echelon of the world's most powerful country. Now, the United Kingdom only has a territory of more than 240,000 square kilometers. It is small and has a small population. It has restored its status as a small country in terms of scale. Moreover, now politics and military affairs have to obey the United States, and it has lost its dignity as a powerful country, so it has actually become a third-rate country.

In addition, although the UK currently maintains its position as a permanent member of the Security Council, its national strength is declining and its development is getting slower and slower. Its original colonies have surpassed the UK one after another, and it also faces the risk of globalization. Therefore, The UK, a third-rate country, may not even be able to retain its status as a permanent member of the Security Council in the future! It can be seen from this how important India is to Britain, and the sadness and helplessness of Britain during the partition of India and Pakistan.

References: "History of the British Empire" and "History of India".