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International Coalition for British Reparations: People of the World, it's Time to get Paid.

Letter To The ICBR: Re: Question

07.09.2007

Dear Sir/Madam,

I was forwarded your site today, and had a question about it. Before I start, I'd like to make it clear I am British, but have no axe to grind, these are genuine questions, and I'm not looking to start an argument with you. Anyway, here we go:

On your website you claim that Britain invented "Machine guns, slums, prisons, child labor, bad hygiene, the Black Plague, concentration camps, you name it. If it hurts people, the British probably came up with it". This isn't true though. Machine guns were invented by the American Hiram Maxim (born in Maine), concentration camps by the Spanish in their Cuban War (a full decade before the Boer war) and the Black Plague first struck in Hubei, in China, in the early 1330's. The Hygiene point is also poor, as Britain invented both vaccination (Jenner) and Anti-Septic (Lister). The Romans had prisons and child labor. Clearly we invented non of those things, but did invent many good things, like the language your writing in, and the computer you're going to email me back with.... Could you explain why you don't attribute them to us.

Nathan Grower

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