That was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution and during a time when the UK also had direct and indirect control of exploitable colonies, I don't think the

That was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution and during a time when the UK also had direct and indirect control of exploitable colonies, I don't think the debt to GDP figures of the time are particularly relevant to modern nation states. Japan has avoided financial collapse with a giant debt to GDP ratio for years now, I think the advent of QE and owning your own debt via central banks has made the whole thing seem a bit silly.