u/ratchyno1

There's a popular alternate history trope that the Royal Navy is invincible, that it can just blockade a nation to bend it to Britain's will, and Britain can do anything it wants in the world such as occupying an enemy's colonies with absolutely zero consequences in the world. This is especially true in World War 1 and 2 alternate history scenarios where even if Germany undisputably won the war on continental Europe, Britain can just continue the Royal Navy blockade while occupying their enemy's colonies where the blockade causes Germany and their allies to croak up and die. This is completely contractionary to Britain's actual politics and foreign policy where people act like British stoicism is basically Japanese bushido and David Lloyd George or Winston Churchill is a Hideki Tojo mini me. After all Britain is just one of the world's 8 great powers. Britain cannot maintain a permanent blockade on Germany and German occupied Europe with the hope to strangle Germany's economy and bend Germany to Britain's will. Historically, France literally tried that by directly occupying German factories in the Ruhr in the 20s to bend Germany to France's will. France was condemned worldwide for that move and Britain was unable to support France due to South Africa condemning the action. French civilians were angry because the price of German goods went up and Raymond Poincaré lost the 1924 French election directly because of the occupation of the Ruhr. I have seen alternate history scenarios where Nazi Germany wins in continental Europe, the USA is completely neutral (no lend lease, no loans), but the Royal Navy continues the blockade and the RAF bombs Germany until it glows. That cannot happen for reasons I already stated. In 1945, the Conservatives lost the election in a landslide because people were tired of war despite the war against Japan was ongoing and Labour lost in 1951 with war rationing continued years after the war ended being a big reason. I can also use examples from the Seven Years War where Britain returned Guadalupe and several islands in Canada to France after the war to get a moderate peace in hopes the French will sign it as well as other events in British history. So why does this trope exist among amateur historians?