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British Empire

The British Empire was, undoubtedly, the greatest empire the world had ever seen.

Britain was the topmost global power for more than a century.

In the 15th and 16th century English and Scottish people started establishing colonies overseas – one of the the main reasons were for trade and financial benefit. Starting with North America and the Caribbean the colonialization spread east to Africa and Asia.

Over the years the control of some countries within the Empire changed hands with their European neighbours including France and the Netherlands.

The years 1815 to 1914 are referred to as Britain’s imperial century, and at this time, the Empire included over 14 million square miles of territory and 450 million people.

Queen Victoria, one of the longest reigning British monarchs, was 63 years on her throne. This is the reason why from 1837 to 1901, the period is known as the Victorian Era.

At the time the Empire included more than a quarter of the world’s population and it was said that the sun never set on the British Empire, a phrase attributed to a Scottish writer, John Wilson.

With supremacy at sea, Britain took on the role of global policeman, sometimes called the Pax Britannica. As well as having formal control over its own colonies, with a dominant position in world trade Britain could effectively control the economies of many other countries.

The empire was vital for trade and during the reign of Queen Victoria, at the height of the British Empire, British ports were full with ships arriving from far and wide carrying the goods that were processed and sold making Britain a wealthy nation.

The Great Exhibition of 1851, the very first “World’s Fair”, was a celebration of the diversity and richness of the Empire.

The Decline of the Empire

The decline of the British Empire started in the early part of the twentieth century. There are many reasons behind it, but one of the primary reasons was that Britain had lost their military supremacy.

After debts built up from fighting in two World Wars Britain was no longer in a financial position to spread her army and navy all over the globe.

There are many other reasons that the Empire broke down and many people debate whether or not the legacy of the Empire was positive or negative.

Countries in the British Empire

CountryPre-independence nameYear of independence or first stage
 AfghanistanNorthern Persia1919
 Antigua and BarbudaAntigua, Leeward Islands1981
 Australia1901
 The Bahamas1973
 Bahrain1971
 Barbados1966
 BelizeBritish Honduras1981
 BotswanaBechuanaland1966
 Brunei1984
 Cameroontook in Southern Cameroons1961
 Canada1867
 Cyprus1960
 DominicaDominica, Windward Islands1978
 Egypt1922
 EswatiniSwaziland1968
 Fiji1970
 The GambiaGambia1965
 GhanaGold Coast, Togoland (Togoland got absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957)1957
 GrenadaGrenada, Windward Islands1974
 GuyanaBritish Guiana1966
 IndiaHindustan,BharatVarsha1947
 Iraq1932
 IsraelMandatory Palestine1948
 Jamaica1962
 JordanTransjordan1946
 Kenya1963
 KiribatiGilbert and Ellice Islands1979
 Kuwait1961
 LesothoBasutoland1966
 Libya1951
 MalawiNyasaland1964
 MalaysiaFour parts: Malaya, North Borneo, Singapore and Sarawak1957
 Maldives1965
 Malta1964
 Mauritius1968
 Myanmar1948
 Nauru1968
 New Zealand1931
 Nigeriatook in Northern Cameroons1960
 OmanSultanate of Muscat and Oman1951
 PakistanBritish India1947
 QatarBritish Qatari Protectorate1971
 Saint LuciaSt Lucia, Windward Islands1979
 Saint Kitts and NevisSt Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands1983
 Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesSt Vincent, Windward Islands1979
 Seychelles1976
 Sierra Leone1961
 Singapore1959
 Solomon IslandsBritish Solomon Islands1978
 South Africa1934
 SomalilandBritish Somaliland Protectorate1960
 Sri LankaCeylon1948
 Sudan1956
 Tanzaniatook in Tanganyika1961
 Tonga1970
 Trinidad and Tobago1962
 TuvaluGilbert and Ellice Islands1978
 Uganda1962
 United Arab EmiratesTrucial States1971
 United StatesThirteen American Colonies1776
 VanuatuNew Hebrides1980
 YemenProtectorate of South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia
1967
 ZambiaNorthern Rhodesia1964
 ZimbabweSouthern Rhodesia1980

Link / Cite this Page

  • <a href="https://victorianchildren.org/british-empire/">British Empire</a>

  • Stewart, Suzy. "British Empire". Victorian Children. Accessed on March 20, 2023. https://victorianchildren.org/british-empire/.

  • Stewart, Suzy. "British Empire". Victorian Children, https://victorianchildren.org/british-empire/. Accessed 20 March, 2023.

  • Stewart, Suzy. British Empire. Victorian Children. Retrieved from https://victorianchildren.org/british-empire/.

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