It’s true.

The Roman Empire essentially morphed into the Catholic Church. It’s difficult to see it through a modern lens where so many are atheist/statist but they were the ones who controlled Western society for over a thousand years. Just look at the power they held over Kings, King Henry VIII being a good example.

As for England, yes. Theirs was the first major “transition” of superpower where the incumbent wasn’t defeated - they basically became a silent partner in the US via banks. Look into Keynes, and the emissaries the Poms sent out to the colonies to take over banking. Decent doco on what happened in Australia: nostr:note1kcg6yxfqt5cn7zpy9q0cm0lvlys2hf6a3322ars8cwtg7c2684ts90dw8m