Just an observation.
It was 243 year anniversary since the USA crashed out of the British Empire without a deal.
Good omen for brexit then as the USA seems to have done well.......
Just thinking the same thing...
Just thinking.......How long after 1776 did it take for the US to become a significant force to be reckoned with?
Well one measure can be that by 1900, so 134 years, the American financial and industrial empire had already emerged, being the World's biggest producer of steel, at 10,000,000 tons, eclipsing both Britain, which in turn had been eclipsed by Germany, then Germany by the USA. It was also the World's biggest agricultural power. It was now firmly on the stage as a major World power; it had entered the American Century!
In comparison it had taken Britain 250 years from the 1550's, with it challenging the empires of both Spain and France, to become the World Empire from certainly 1800 when the Industrial Revolution had advanced her, with the help of the British military, and Royal Navy strength in particular.
As for Brexit, I really do hope we, the British, can grow our power, but it is pointless to think the awesome growth in all areas can replicate what happened to America after 1776. The size of the country, the ability to sustain a massive population, and a hunger to be a mighty country which they could attain with all the resources available to them, meant they would succeed, especially as they, dare I say, had European blood in their veins and inherited the drive to succeed and conquer from the likes of the various cultures stemming from post Roman Britain and Europe.