The British Empire

Introduction The British Empire came together over 300 years through a succession of phases of expansion by trade, settlement or conquest, interspersed with intervals of pacific commercial and diplomatic activity or imperial contraction Its territories were scattered across every continent and ocean, and it was described with some truth as "the empire on which the sun never sets." At its height in the 1930s, the British Empire encompassed nearly a third of the earth's land mass and nearly half of the world's population. It was the largest industrialized power in the world, the largest economy; it had the largest army, navy, and air force.

Introduction (Cont’d) Thoroughly decimated by the two world wars, and aided by the developments of the beginning stages of the Cold War, the British Empire divested itself of colonies over a 20 year period between 1947 and 1970. The Empire facilitated the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government around much of the globe. In all, the British Empire now consists only of 13 colonies. The truth is, the British Empire is obviously gone; the concept has lost all meaning since the loss of India (1947), and it is now succeeded by a nebulous Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of Britain and many of its former possessions for mutual and political benefit.

History The First British Empire (Pre-1800) England began seeking new sources of trade and treasure in the 15th century. This lead to the addition of new territory and establishment of an empire. By 1583, England acquired its first overseas possession (Newfoundland). From the early 17th century England and later Great Britain established colonies in continental North America and the islands of the Caribbean such as Jamaica and Barbados. During the Seven Years War the British defeated the French at the Plains of Abraham (1759) and captured all of New France in 1760, giving Britain control over almost all of North America. However, the most populous American colonies were lost in the Revolutionary War (1775-83). The success of the American Revolution marked the end of the first British Empire.

History (Cont’d) The Second British Empire (Post-1800) The voyages of Capt. James Cook to Australia and New Zealand in the 1770s and new conquests in India after 1763 opened a second phase of territorial expansion. The victories of the Napoleonic Wars added further possessions to the empire such as colonies from the French and Dutch. The end of the old colonial and slave systems (Britain outlawed the slave trade in 1807) were accompanied by the adoption of free trade, culminating in the repeal of the Corn Laws (import tariffs designed to "protect" British farmers and landowners) and Navigation Acts (restricted foreign shipping) in the 1840s. As the only industrialized country in the world, Britain could prosper through free trade alone without having to resort to formal rule.

History (Cont’d) Pax Britannica By the 1870s, British manufactures in the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution were beginning to experience real competition abroad. Rapid industrialization abroad allowed other countries to outstrip over the "old" British and French capitalisms. Britain was losing out not only in trades and the markets of newly industrializing countries, but also against third-party competition in less-developed countries.

History (Cont’d) The "Long Depression" of 1873-96 saw Britain's economic dominance threatened by competition from Germany and led to the widespread abandonment of free trade among Europe's powers. During this period, Europe's powers added nearly 23,000,000 km² to their overseas colonial possessions due to the scramble for formal powers. As it was mostly unoccupied by the Western powers as late as the 1880s, Africa became the primary target of the "new" imperialist expansion.

History (Cont’d) The Impact of the First World War This saw the last major extension of British rule, with Britain gaining control through League of Nations Mandates in Palestine and Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire But the heavy costs of the war undermined the capacity to maintain the vast empire. Nationalist sentiment grew in both old and new Imperial territories. The 1920s saw a rapid transformation of the status of the self-governing colonies This lead to the 1926 Balfour Declaration and the 1931 Statute of Westminster, which provided formal equality of the dominions with Britain, which is seen as the beginning of the British Commonwealth.

History (Cont’d) Decolonization The Second World War (1939 - 45) left Britain all but exhausted, with its former allies disinclined to support the colonial status quo. The bloody partition and independence of India in 1947 deprived the Empire of its heart and marked the beginning of the end for the British Empire. Britain's withdrawal following the Suez Crisis of 1956 (war over Suez Canal) from its colonies in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific was carried out with great rapidity through the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The last populous colony was decolonized in 1997, with the handover of Hong Kong to China.