Yeah, we’re childish. But these are exactly the kinds of questions that pop into our head all the time — especially as Cathy is forcing us to watch Extra or somesuch.
So we decided to put this list together and welcome your input. Here are the ground rules:
1. By “countries,” we mean current countries based on current boundaries.
2. Any past accomplishments are credited to the current country; modern Iraq, for example, gets credit for Mesopotamia.
3. Seminal achievements score the biggest points; however, some points are deducted for long periods of backwardness.
4. For our descriptions, our own commentary is mixed with direct pulls from Wikipedia in most cases; we didn’t demarcate which was which so it would be easier to read. Just assume it’s all borrowed if you’d like.
OK, here we go — the Top 10, starting with the greatest country in the history of the world:
1. Italy. What can we say? Ancient Rome created what we now call “Western society” — including our laws, our culture and our religion. After Rome fell and Europe spent 1,000 years in darkness, Italy reclaimed it with the Renaissance. To create a civilization is achievement enough — but to save it 10 centuries later is truly remarkable.
2. United Kingdom. The dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom is often credited with being the nation that “created the modern world”, by playing a leading role in developing Western ideas of property, capitalism, and parliamentary democracy as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts, and science and technology. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-quarter of the Earth’s surface and encompassed a third of its population.
3. United States. The U.S. is, by any measure, the wealthiest, most powerful and most influential country in the history of the world. Only its brief lifespan keeps it from topping the list. Buoyed by victories in World War I and World War II as the only major power not devastated, and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union following the Cold War, the U.S. has emerged as the world’s sole superpower.
4. China. The once and future superpower. China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. It has one of the world’s longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and one of the world’s longest continuously used written language systems. Today, it is the likely successor to the United States as the most powerful country in the world.
5. Greece. Regarded as the cradle of western civilization and being the birthplace of modern democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western Literature, Political Science and drama, including both tragedy and comedy, Greece has a very long and remarkably rich history during which its culture has proven to be especially influential in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Today, Greece is a developed nation, member of the European Union since 1981 and a member of the Eurozone since 2001.
6. Egypt. The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world’s great civilizations. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3200 BC by King Narmer, and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty, known as the Thirtieth Dynasty, fell to the Persians in 343 BC who dug the predecessor of the Suez canal and connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Muslim Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the seventh century to the Egyptians, who gradually adopted both. Unfortunately, it’s been pretty much downhill since then.
7. Iraq. The Republic of Iraq sits on land that is historically known as Mesopotamia, which was home to some of the world’s first civilizations, including the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian. These civilizations produced some of the first writing, science, mathematics, law and philosophy in the world, making the region the center of what is commonly called the “Cradle of Civilization”. Downhill since then.
8. India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago, and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, a centre of important trade routes and vast empires. India has long played a major role in human history. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Ayyavazhi, and Sikhism — all have their origins in India.
9. Iran. Iran (formerly Persia) has been inhabited by human beings since pre-historic times, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia. Following the Islamic conquest of Persia, the country was at the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, especially during the 9th to 11th centuries.
10. Chad.Michel Brunet’s 2002 discovery places the origins of humanity here, about six million years ago. Where in Africa life began remains a mystery — until Brunet, Kenya and Ethiopia were the best theories — but we’ll give Chad credit for being our best guess at the moment.
By our measure, Russia, Japan, France, Germany and a few others just missed out. OK — who did we miss?
Update: Check out our newest, in honor of Independence Day — “The 10 Best and Worst Days in the History of the United States.”
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Technorati tags: U.K., Italy, Iran, Iraq
Tags: greatest countries, history
so where is the turkish civiliations? the huns,gokturks,selcuklu’s and ottomans(osmanli)…
You should be deducting points for religious ‘accomplishments’, not adding them. I’m looking at you, Italy.
Historically speaking, your list isn’t very accurate. US, historically, didnt change much of society. What happened in the past 50 years dont make up for other nations 2000 or more years of influence. But, all things considered (politics, todays economy, modern society concepts) maybe it should make the list. However, many other nations should come first.
Like..China. Yes, once the greater empire in the world (Mongolian/chinese king Kublai Kahn built a even greater empire than Alexander, if i’m not mistaken — if i am, it was the second), the country with the largest population in the world, major influence in today’s economy. Historically, it superpasses nearly all other countries but Italy, Greece, Iraq and Egypt. Gave society, as we know it, many things we take for granted, and was, by all means, the most advanced and modern society while europeans were still in the dark ages. It did not, however, pay that much importance in Western society, which, i guess, is the point of your article. Even though, in world history, it was a “superpower” (if we can call the most advanced and modern country — by a huge margin — at a given time only “super”) before US was even “discovered”.
Another country that i think should deserve some more respect is Iraq. Yes, many will disagree because of its history in the XX and early XXI century. However, Iraq was the home of the world’s first city: Uruk. The importance of that alone should boost Iraq up to top 5 at least. Also, Mesopotamia should be given much higher credit, since it was a very developed society dating back to the 3rd millenium BC. All that, many MILLENIUMS before the US, Britain empire, or any modern “great country” you may name.
One other thing: if you put the United States on the 3rd spot, and dont even mention Russia (on the actual list i mean), something is wrong. The criteria is wrong. I’m guessing you have put the United States on this list for its importance in todays society, the XX century history, industry achievments and political influence. For that, the US should indeed be on the list. However, through that same criteria, Russia would be just next to it. Russia (Soviet Union) meant just as much to the XX century as did the US. Maybe even more. Russia was the first country to consolidate comunism (even if in its deprecated form), and introduced the world to its bipolar state after World War II. The dispute between Soviet union and United States after WWII promoted all the technological achievments and knowledge we know today. The Soviet Union was the other “superpower” on the Cold War period, and influenced the world the same way the US did. Weather its influence to todays society and todays geopolitical structure was a bad thing, is beyond the point.
Russia also has something the US doesnt have: history. Not 500 years colony history, but history as a known superpower in what was the center of the world for many years: Europe. Russia was crucial in Europe’s history. in WWI, had it not left the war (which did due to the comunist revolution) the outcome would probably be different. Maybe the US wouldnt even have helped. Or in WWII, had it not held the Germans, and had it not broken through all the way to Berlin, maybe the outcome of that war would have been different. Russia was even crucial in the Napoleonic wars, long before the US exerced any power what-so-ever on the world’s political/military situation.
From those points of view, Russia should be on the list. Do not, however, say i’m an anti-US person, i’m just pointing out as many reasons for Russia to be on it. I too think US should be on the list, and it should be maybe in 1st or 2nd if the list was about world’s greatest countries on the XX century. But the lack of historical influence dating back to anything prior to 1800 makes it a probable 7th or so (maybe higher, maybe lower, because i didnt consider all the possible countries, but definitly not 3rd).
From a Western point of view, the list is somewhat fair (besides what i’ve pointed out earlier). But i cant help thinking: whats going on with Japan? I mean, given the same criteria used on US, Japan is one of the most influencial countries in the modern society (given Japan’s history from the Meiji era to today) and probably THE most important country on modern technology. From a Eastern point of view Japan would be a close 2nd on the list.
And, pointing out Japan just gave me an insight on how China should be even more considered: how many nations have such and influence on a given country (given country not beign a colony) that manages to insert an alphabet on that given country? Because thats what China did. The Kanji japanese alphabet is a direct influence from China.
I could probably make a case for many other countries, but i already wrote way too much for a comment (if this was an open forum, i should probably make my own thread
). The ones above were the first ones on the top of my mind. I also object the position of others on that list, but as i said, enough already. I have absolute no objection to Italy beign first (although, by the same criteria, Greece should be 2nd). That beign, from a Western point of view. I would love to see my own country on the list, but given the criteria I assumed myself, it would be distant from top 10. The criterias i have assume (if you have been wondering all this time) were historical importance, from as early as the country’s history goes, its influence in todays society and how it influenced other countries. Those criterias are very similar to that of the original poster (well, if i understood it right 
).
Well, i’ve probably said enough (or maybe even much more than enough
). I did not mean to hog your blog for my personal intentions, but i couldnt help giving my insight on a personal interest of mine, which is History. I hope people can read my comment with an open mind.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to exercise my brains and make me curious about many other things.
Bodydrop:
Some good thoughts. Why don’t you post another comment — or do your own blog post — giving your own Top 10? I’d be interested in seeing it.
As you probably figured as you were putting your comments together, it’s a tricky exercise — but fun.
Oh — the reason I left out Russia has to do with world economic history.
Russia was a peasant society for hundreds of years, then picked the wrong horse (historically speaking) in Communism.
The growth and expansion of trade and markets — and the increasing freedom of these markets — has been the most influential force in economic history. In that context, Soviet Communism was a blip.
Some would argue that the Dutch should be ahead of the Russians, because the Dutch were so influential in expanding world trade.
Greece would be near the top of my list, for yet another reason not mentioned: the development (if not the creation) of sophisticated technology 2500 years ago … tech which has only come to light in recent decades because it mostly disappeared in the wars with Rome.
1) China. The past 400 years have been a bit rough, but the previous 2000 were pretty damn good.
2) UK. Went from a impoverished backwater of Europe, to the massively succesful industrial superpower that spawned the USA, todays lone superpower.
3) Iraq. It’s hard to choose between Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran, since all three were major Islamic powers who retained the knowledge that Europe forgot during it’s “dark age”. Then they were kind enough to teach the Euros what they forgot several hundred years later. Also they were the driving force behind OPEC, which had a major (and perhaps under recognized) influnce of our world today.
4) Germany. Despite having a horrible early half of the 20th century, earlier german influences cannot be forgotten. Germany was preceeded by the Holy Roman Empire, which was key to the defence of europe from the invading Arab powers. Europe would not be what it is today without germany.
I would put the United States much farther down the list, only due to the fact of it’s short history. It only became a real major player during the 20th century, but it’s fantastic success would place it in the top 10.
It is hard to make such a ranking due to our bias towards recent events. The US is an amazing country, but its true greatness will be determined when it enevitably falls in status (all superpowers fall eventually)
In a list compiled by historians in the 1980′s of the 100 most influential people in world history, one country beat out all others by a significant extent. Which one? Scotland. Why? Because so many things that have impacted the human experience have been invented by Scots.
SB, thanks for reminding me that. IndeEd, Russia was a peasent company entering the XX century while other countries already had their Industrial revolution. And yes, i agree that hsould discount some points.
Maybe i will make my own top 10 list, and then we can compare and understand each other’s point of view even better. Ido own my own blog. In fact, the only reason i made a Blogger account (and a blog, consequently) was to post my previous comment on your article. I gues i should thank you
But since i have a blog for like 1 hour, I’ll work on it and maybe post my top 10 list.
However I think we’d both square off better with a top 15 or 20 list (too many countries!).
Thanks again. And again, great topic.
Yes, all the Canadians need to chill out. And this is coming from a Canadian.
I believe democratic, first world nations without imperialistic ambitions that take care of their people with proper social programs are clearly the best places to live. I.e.: Australia, New Zealand, all of Scandinavia, Canada, Switzerland and so on. If this list was about “quality of living” of course Canada would be in the top ten.
But we just don’t have the long history that other nations have, and therefore don’t belong on this particular list. And that’s ok. It’s nothing to get upset about. This also means America shouldn’t be so high up on the list. As one poster mentioned less than a century of influence can’t compare with thousands of years.
Also, after living in Europe for over five years I can say that people can get so proud of their nation’s past history that it leads to hyper nationalism and xenophobia, which makes tolerance of immigration very low. Not a good thing when immigration can be a solution to a declining birth rate. So perhaps Canada is better off anyway.
….And whoever said Greece should be ahead of Italy was spot on.
What? No Kyrgyzstan?
This is an outrage!
It’s unfortunate that Canada was not included on your “10 Greatest” list. Without some darn intelligent canucks, none of you people would have telephones(Alexander Graham Bell), insulin(Frederick Grant Banting), Superman (Joe Shuster), basketball (James Naismith), electric light bulbs (no, Edison did NOT invent it, he bought the patent from Henry Woodward in 1874), zippers (Gideon Sundback), garbage bags (Harry Wasylyk), the JAVA programming language (James Gosling), snowmobiles (Joseph-Armand Bombardier), or walkie-talkies (Donald L. Hings). So before you guys start bashing Canada, keep in mind that we have contributed a lot more to the modern world and human rights than many other countries. Oh, and as far as the comment that basically said that Canada is riding the gravy train of the U.S.? That’s a crock. Explain to me why you’re wanting all of our resources (lumber, water, oil) all the time if we’re the ones begging? But I’m not going to bicker, I’m sure the U.S. has great things going for it, I’m just content to live in what I think is the greatest country in the world.
telephones(Alexander Graham Bell), insulin(Frederick Grant Banting), Superman (Joe Shuster), basketball (James Naismith), electric light bulbs (no, Edison did NOT invent it, he bought the patent from Henry Woodward in 1874), zippers (Gideon Sundback), garbage bags (Harry Wasylyk), the JAVA programming language (James Gosling), snowmobiles (Joseph-Armand Bombardier), or walkie-talkies (Donald L. Hings)
Alexander Graham Bell is Scottish. Superman isn’t at all important in the grand scheme of things, neither is basketball, garbage bags are no different from regular LDPE bags, walkie-talkies aren’t much of an accomplishment considering that mobile phones were invented 6 years later.
I’ll concede that insulin and the light bulb are excellent inventions which are indeed Canadian.
And to everyone who think England should be placed in favour of Britain, here are some of the most important Scottish acheivements.
The steam engine (James Watt)
The bicycle (Kirkpatrick Macmillan)
The pneumatic tyre (John Boyd Dunlop)
The first all-steel ship to cross the Atlantic
Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell)
Television (John Logie Baird)
Penicillin (Alexander Fleming)
Radar (Robert Watson Watt)
Cloning (Dolly the Sheep)
Not to say that the English haven’t invented some excellent things such as the dynamo, and not to forget the many great discoveries made by Charles Babbage and Isaac Newton. And kudos to getting most of the world to speak English. A huge population has English as their primary language, and it is the most commonly known secondary language. But all you English people, please get off of your high horse and realise that Scotland is just as intrinsic, if not more so, to the advancement of human technological achievements than England.
By the way, I have nothing against Canada, but that guy needed corrected. I mean garbage bags? Seriously? That’s what he thinks it takes to get into the top ten countries in the world. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a TV than a bin bag.
personally, i think russia should be in the list. i mean, the US and russia were head to head superpowers in the cold war!
chad……I mean chad kicks ass i walk a little to my left and I lose my arm to gorilla war fare. If there wa sno canada there would be no phone and no garbadge bags and walkie talkies and insulin and light blub. Now i know some one said eww garbagede bag whats so good about that. ya..you try hauling 120 bags of garbedge to the curb. and ALEXANDER GRAHIM BELL grew up in canada and if youre going to pull that you might as well say that all of US and canadas achivements are british cause to tell the the truth same people.
plus people saying USA is a shield for us..ya..no one has ever tried to attack us and untill recently never had. The USA has done alot more then canada but we still deserve to be on there. more then Chad.
well i agree with most of the list. but i have to say the USA should not be on the top ten, maybe top twenty, but not number 3. it hasnt been around long enough, nor made enough contribution to the history of the human civilized world compared to the others on this list to earn such a respectable position.
it hasnt been around long enough, nor made enough contribution to the history of the human civilized world compared to the others on this list to earn such a respectable position.
Actually, the U.S. has made an incredible number of contributions in a short period of time. That’s partly a function of being the most dominant power today, a time when progress — particularly technological progress — is happening at a pace many, many times that of the ancient Greeks or Romans, for example.
So the U.S. does benefit from being dominant today rather than 1,000 or 2,000 years ago — because its power enables it to accomplish as much in a decade as its predecessors did over centuries.
Alexander Graham Bell did not “grow up in Canada.” Stop reiterating the same false point. He was a Scot who emigrated to Canada when he was twenty three years old. By the time he actually invented the telephone, he was living in the United States.
I dont think that the US was only included due to its superpower. The fact is that in recent years, foreign countries opinions of the US have been unfavorable. The US has always been a violent country since the war with the english. Many americans also tend to be over-patriotic when talking about their country. While the States is a great country, it did not deserve to be number 3.
Also, to all the canadians, you are all being egotisticle and arrogant. While Canada may be a great country, its overall participation on the international scene has only arose since the early 20th century whereas the other countries have had a much longer and larger reputation.
I tend to agree with those against Chad being on the list. It should be a simple fact that a country with such a poor economy and overall quality of life should not be one of the greatest countries.
Honestly people Canada? I assume I’m speaking to a bunch of Canadians here so I won’t go far into detail but not being a citizen of Canada I can say I have heard much about the countries on the list (accept Chad) and how they have influenced the developement of human life but I have never heard anything about Canada so far through my education that makes it worth being on this list. I mean no offense to any Canadians I’m just telling you how you look to other countries.
And the person who said Americans were dumb? You wouldn’t be living the way you are if it hadn’t been for Americans and their ideas as well as inventions from other countries. Sure there are some Americans who are what you would call “dumb” but they are the minority and I would say most I know are respectable. And I’m speaking as an American here.
What about Norway, Sweeden or Denmark? They were the Vikings (not a ton of applause there), but their Kingdoms were ran as a tight ship. Now-a-days, these countries top the list as treating their citizns the best and they are neutral coutires as well.
I think we can all agree that while the United States is a great country and is clearly a superpower it is a baby as compared to the rest of the world. Also the United States is made up of almost entirely immigrants one way or the other. So technically ALL of the advancements and achievements can be credited to other countries. You can put us on the list, even high on the list, but not at number one. Give us some time though we may get there in a couple thousand years.
- A true patriot
Has anyone else noticed how many people have posted since the 10th? Put some advertising on this site and make some damn money!
Also I wanted to add that I think this list was a very good list when you consider the ground rules and how objective the writer had to be. While critism is in general good for anybody and anything I think that the fact that it is being discussed so ferverently is a testament to what a good idea the article was and how close he got it to being perfect.
Hey! You’ve missed Norway.. Small and beatiful, rich and friendly. Home of a many great writers, musicians and artists. Anyways, did you know who invented the paperclip? Haha, probably not. You only know about the things that America and England invented. Have a nice day. By the way, Belgium is also a wonderful country. I think now my conclusion is that it is not fair to make a list of the greatest countries. Did you look at the crime rates in the US? What is it like, living in Iraq at the moment?
I don’t see Belgium in your top-10: without Belgium no plastic (or backeliet), stock market, saxophone, cheques, banks, atlas, Rubens, Breughel, …
You forgot FINLAND
HEY!
What about the TURKS ! They found the yogurt!
Your missing Canada, how can you have a country called Chad on there(a country i never even heard of) and not have a country like Canada on your list? You are also missing countries like Russia; and Germany.
I think you need to look into this more before you name any countries as the best!!!
Only an American could ACTUALLY think that TV was invented by an American!
Jeezo.
i say for the sake of argument that we should just leave Bell out just because he is “from” too many countries.
Also internet WAS invented in the U.S. by Al gore (joking). But for real now, it(the internet) was made by the U.S. government and it was originaly called ARPANET but its name was changed because “internet” sounds cooler. I peronally think that the internet is the one invention that is truley bringing the world together, and the wealth of infomation provided by the internet is almost unlimited. In addition through the internet people from every nation are able to voice thier opinion and also news can be delivered and recived at a simple click of a button. this would be my deciding factor if i could only choose one thing to put a ounty in the top ten list.
P.S. sorry for the bad spelling and grammer if there is any
Turkey: The ottomans were great in their day.
yuhh…
@ayhan arda
sana yuh!!
We are the best as turkish “ne güzeldir hayaller aleminde yaşamak”
What about Canada?
What about Canada?
US???? should have not even made the finals for the list. Land of polluted, depraved and diseased…
Your city’s, are cesspools of filth and crime, while your people consider stabbing each other in the back to make a buck, a qualification for employment. The gap between the rich and the poor is so vast, that any hope your people once had, for a better life, died eons ago. At least 80% of the rest of the world’s population is gunning for you, and that’s a conservative estimate at best, and your government considers fear mongering as a ‘viable re-election strategy’.
Putting the US on the list is like putting Tel Aviv on the cover of Better homes and gardens. Losers.
I am sorry guys but this is a shear ignorance of history.
Otomans ruled the entire med for appr. 500 years. And during these 500 years everybody’s life in western culture was effected.
USA gets atleast 1000 points reducted for being the only country in the world that has used the atomic bomb to kill civilians. Also for inventing the big lie of the american dream.
Canada has been considered the gretest (if not one of the top 3 or 4) countries in the world for a long time, according to yearly United NAtions polls. That is, EVERY country votes on it. What is taken into consideration are things like literacy rate, GDP, and overall quality of life.
Oh, and to the dude who said that the states can “come up and take Canada over any time;” you guys actually already tried that. (the War of 1812)
Read some books, dudes. YOu can;t get history and information from chest-pumping, neo-cons and get the whole picture.
The only category where Canada stands above the US is on a map. Other than that, they have very little influence on the world as a whole, either in history or today.
without Canada, WW2 would have lasted YEARS longer.
as for global impact through art, policy, etc – the criteria for this list is “Greatest Countries in the History of the World.” I can comfortably say that Chad has NEVER been a “great” country.
Any country that provides for its population (not just healthcare but social programs and policies) can be considered “great” – any country that unjustly starts wars cannot.
US should not be that high, or even in the chart, it is obnoxious and anoying, they have given the world nothing but war when it does no need it and as for the two world wars, you did NOTHING in them, it was the europeans that did all the work and you lazey sods just walked in when you could be botherd, i could continue like this for 3 A-4 sheets but…..i cant be botherd, ‘part from that its an excelent list, keep up the work p.s. world trade centers? its the most egocentric thing the US has ever called something, the WORLD trade center should not be fixed in one place or it sould be in an anciant country or atleast one with a reasonably interesting history
Are some of you people for real?, go do some research before you go spouting off inventions that where not actually invented by a native of your country.
Alexander Graham Bell is Scottish, there is no if`s or but`s about it, he was born in Scotland ,he was bread in Scotland and he went to Edinburgh high school and studied at Edinburgh university – he has Scottish blood running through his veins and he talked with a thick Scottish accent ,
he only left here when he was 23- and invented the Phone 5 years later in the USA,,,,,Now you tell me.,,, how the fuck is he Canadian.
And yes i agree, we should not have the UK we should just have Scotland and England (and NI and Wales),
Because the British empire would be nothing without Scotland, I’m not going to give you history lesson here, but go read a book and educate yourself.
And as a side note, Italy topping the list due to Rome. Who is the only country to have been invaded by the Romans and not been conquered by them?,,, yep Scotland
Are some of you people for real?, go do some research before you go spouting off inventions that where not actually invented by a native of your country.
Alexander Graham Bell is Scottish, there is no if`s or but`s about it, he was born in Scotland ,he was bread in Scotland and he went to Edinburgh high school and studied at Edinburgh university – he has Scottish blood running through his veins and he talked with a thick Scottish accent ,
he only left here when he was 23- and invented the Phone 5 years later in the USA,,,,,Now you tell me.,,, how the fuck is he Canadian.
And yes i agree, we should not have the UK we should just have Scotland and England (and NI and Wales),
Because the British empire would be nothing without Scotland, I’m not going to give you history lesson here, but go read a book and educate yourself.
And as a side note, Italy topping the list due to Rome. Who is the only country to have been invaded by the Romans and not been conquered by them?,,, yep Scotland
You have to give France points for its contributions to the Enlightenment. That was the foundation of so much of what we view as human rights today.
as for the two world wars, you did NOTHING in them, it was the europeans that did all the work and you lazey sods just walked in when you could be botherd
Wow
Erm, the Europeans did all the fighting in World War 2? Your ignorance is truly shocking. The French, Dutch, Belgians and Poles folded almost immediately before Germany’s might. The only reason that all of Europe isn’t speaking German and Italian right now is because of 1) The USSR which deserves credit for doing about 60% of the work in the war and losing millions of their own people in the process and 2) The Allies, mainly the US, UK and Canada in that order. The US may have joined the war late but it was their involvement that tipped the balance in favour of the Allies. That and they single handidly defeated Japan which had been ravaging every European colony in Asia. As for the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was believed that an invasion of Japan would cost more than 1 million American lives, and millions more Japanese lives, both military and civilian. It seemed like the best option at the time (and keep in mind, the effects of nuclear weapons and radiation were not fully understood at the time)
One country that deserves some recognition is Mexico. It was home to the Maya, who developed, among many other things, the concept of zero, and the Aztecs. While they are abviously not quite as remarkable as say, Rome or Egypt, their many valuable contributions are certainly worthy of some note.
I like the Maya and Aztecs — and the Inca for that matter. But they’re no Chad.
I will tell only this: in the town I come from people are living in buildings that are older than the great USA. Those were build a few ages (two is stiil a few;)) before Columbus went first time to the sea.
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This is the last trial to keep it simple:
Whoever discovered/invented /created whatever in the USA – it wasn’t an American, unless he really was an DESCENDANT of those who were conquered and had their land stolen. All others are just immigrants or their descendants – it is obvious for everyone but some citizens of the USA.
It makes no sens to type anything more since – in my fellings – even this will not get trough the moderator’s “freedom of speech” cutting machine.
It if gets, however, I will be happy if anyone think this over instead of feeling offended instantly by my being so straight.
On the other hand, there is no need to type more in fact.
You are mighty and you rule the World – but all you think is right is no t necessarily the only and best way it could be. There are many in the “outer” World who can see that and think so. It simply can not be that all of them are wrong. This is only to make you aware of that.
There is something out there – the USA is NOT the whole World neither the World is the USA.
You – the USA – are surely great!
Some say the shark is great too…
I am from Poland. I am proud of being Polish.
I know both Polish history and “Polish jokes”.
I lived in “all times” and I live in new times now. Sure I am wrong on many things, sure I am sometimes right. What I have written in here is just the way I can see thing from my perspective.
I have worked with Americans, both in the USA and outside. Some were great people, some were not very impressive. As any other in the World I met. No sex, age, nationality, religion, skin etc. difference. People. Just like that.
Mmm. It seems a lot of the comments here are just to vent what they think-not exactly to give actual facts. I’m not saying that I’m all that informed, either.
But with what I know, I disagree with Chad being on the list- Who cares if they were ‘great’ MILLIONS of years ago- they definately aren’t now! And, Canadians? Yes, your country is cool. I admire your way of living in some cases. BUT- Can you really say you guys were all that influential? More so then others? I think not. And although Japan is quite influential now, they lived in seclusion for a long time, and then decided to ally with Germany in WWII? Not exactly a stellar recommendation. And Israel was the birthplace of Christianity, which is big in these times-but then you have to consider that it was really the Roman Empire and Europeans that helped it along.
I think a better list would be, say, Most Influential Countries in the Modern World- as in, say, RIGHT NOW, or maybe in the past hundred years.
Everybody needs to get over themselves. None of us are so great as to be “one upping” eachother with who killed the most and who killed the least and why that makes this country or that so great…Shut up. Just be proud of your history for what it is. And the person who touted Canada’s importance due to it’s invention of trashbags, for the love of God-you can’t be serious?
Sahelanthropus tchadensis, the specimen referred to on the list as the reason for the “great” nation of Chad making the list, is not even in the Homo family at all. Chad belings nowhere on the list. If Chad gets on for this, then we have to put Ethiopia on the list because Lucy and the First Family were found there, or Tanzania on for the findings of Mary Leakey in Olduvai Gorge. Simply embracing more recent discoveries as more significant doesn’t make them so, and it certainly doesn’t put Chad on the list of Ten Greatest Countries.