In his book “All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To, ” historian Stuart Laycock offers an unequivocal look at the historical extent of British colonial power .

Its central thesis is as simple as it is disturbing : virtually all countries in the world have at some point been under the influence, pressure or control of the United Kingdom , and only twenty-two states have not directly or indirectly experienced the imprint of the power of its invasions .

Laycock includes not only prolonged occupations , but also temporary incursions , naval blockades , diplomatic pressure backed by force, and acts of state-sanctioned piracy .

From this perspective, the list of countries "once invaded" rises to 171 , out of a total of 193 UN member states , leaving as an exception 22 nations that would not have experienced, according to this count, direct British action .

Among the countries that, according to Laycock, would escape this history of invasions are Andorra, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, the Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, the Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Sweden, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Vatican City .

The book positions the United Kingdom as one of the most enduring empires in world history , with a presence that spanned the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe . The plot is not limited to declared wars : it includes interventions that, for specialists and readers alike , reveal the breadth of a maritime colonialism that protected trade routes , secured its illegal occupations , and sometimes instigated conflicts to further its interests .

The work unfolds a mosaic of operations ranging from large-scale campaigns to specific strategic actions . Laycock said he was " shocked " after studying the history of British invasions , and revealed that the idea for the work came from a question from his son Frederick , just eleven years old , about the number of towns that had been invaded by the British .

According to the author himself , the book does not consider third-party interventions with London's approval or sympathy , which raises questions about the demarcation between direct action and indirect support . Some even suggest that a methodological revision could have expanded the list of nations considered affected , especially by including countries that, in the past, were under British pressure or influence despite not being listed as "invaded."

Specific cases are those of Bolivia and Paraguay , mentioned as part of the group of 22 "non-invaded" nations in the count, although they experienced invasions in 1806 and 1807 when they were part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata .

Similarly, some specialists argue that the study does not consider Guatemala as an "invaded" country, despite the fact that the secession of Belize was the product of a long history of incursions of the type considered in the study, beginning in the 17th century .

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