What are examples in history of an empire falling "gracefully", that is, more along the lines of "stepping down" rather than "being eaten alive by violent discontent?"
The first example that comes to my mind is the British Empire. Although it's fall can be attributed to the World Wars, which may be argued to make it a violent fall, the most striking thing is that the United Kingdom granted India independence seemingly voluntarily.
Is there any other examples?
Pic unrelated.
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I think that the pre-Westphalian Empires that ceded to the British count. Maybe some of the Chinese dynasties that just sort of deflated instead of crashing.
They were already resigned to it by around 1900. The world wars had a depressing influence.
I'd say it was less overextension or military weakness than sheer demoralisation.
Germany
> more along the lines of "stepping down"
Soviet Union, without a doubt.
Austria. Despite losing it's empire and both world wars, it never suffered any major reprisal for it's actions (They even claim they were the victims!), only military targets were bombed (as opposed to bombings in Dresden or Berlin), never suffered partitions like Germany, and today is the richest country per capita in the European Union.
It's a country that has never been shamed for it's imperialism (instead, all the Balkans are busy hating each other), the loss of said empire ("w-we chose to be democratic, guys!"), it's support of fascism (redirecting said hate to Germany) and it never suffered during it's invasions, thus it has never been demoralized.
If any country has yet to receive the punishment it richly deserves, it's definitely Austria.
Ottoman. Everyone who grew dissatisfied with the empire as it collapsed, like the Armenians, packed up and hit the road instead of fighting
United States of America.
No, your class war won't happen. Or your tax war. Or your race war. You're just gonna plateau like Japan
Reinhard was so moe.
...
2nd
It was kinda amazing how they just pack up and leave. It make me question whole Cold War narrative sometimes.
as it should. the ussr did not see themselves as an "evil empire". they were just people, like anyone else, who thought they were doing the right thing
Yeah that opinion was pretty strident
Mind ur tone thr user!
Venice. Such a graceful fall.
If you call pachinko into a meat processor graceful
Yes comrade is of very gracefuls :^)
The British Empire did not fall gracefully nor did they let India go voluntarily. The Cold War environment made it impossible to hold onto colonial empires and much like the French, the British Empire crumbled to dust under the weight of revolutionary movements that you don't learn in meme history
From all these countries, the only ones to have any kind of violence were the US, India, and Ireland.
That's a pretty graceful fall.
What are you off on? The post WWII colonial world was plagued by global bush wars were the soviets and Chinese were arming anyone who was anti-imperialist. Making up countries that never existed before then bailing out before shit gets too hot is the exact opposite of 'graceful"
Napoleon's Empire, after an epic last stand
The British Empire can compete for the most pathetic death ever (slowly being forced to let all their possessions go due to losing all the respect their inspired after being bailed out by the US in WW2)
Rome.
Decline period of 200 years, tapers off into just the Eastern Empire, which then lasts another 1,000 years.
Pretty slow decline.
Literally lost it all after each WW
was it worth it?