British Empire/Archive 1

When the British politician Lord Salisbury complained about colonial defence expenditures in 1861, he famously said such expenditures were being used "to indulge in the sentiment that the sun never sets on our Empire." Although in 1861 the British Empire was not yet fully formed, Salisbury was quite right about the massive size of it. Alexander's Macedon, Caesar's Rome and the caliphs' Islamic Empire all were exceeded by the British Empire, which was the largest empire in history on the basis of landmass, population and GDP. Indeed, by 1913, at about 458 million people and 36.6 million km², the Empire contained about a quarter of the world's population and total landmass . The overseas British Empire began humbly enough with a settlement at Newfoundland in present-day Canada near the turn of the 16th century, but it would eventually be anything but humble with the rich lands of India, North America and South Africa counted among its subjects at various times. Today its effects still reverberate around the world, both in the Commonwealth of Nations, an organisation of former imperial subject states headed by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and legacies of British rule, such as the English language, notions of common law and constitutional government and the peculiarly British sport of cricket.

Definition

The first person to use the phrase British Empire was the Elizabethan John Dee. The term appears in his 1576 book entitled General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation. His concept of Empire was based on Dante's Monarchia. Dating the beginning of the British Empire can be a bit problematic. For some Celts and Frenchmen, the British (or more nearly, "English") Empire already had been plaguing them for centuries when the British colony at Newfoundland was started in 1496-1497. English kings had fought bloody wars to subjugate the Celtic lands of Wales, Scotland and Ireland to their control and had also laid claim to much of France during the 100 Years War. However, for the purpose of this class, when we say "British Empire," we mean the non-European overseas British Empire, which indeed did begin with the settlement at Newfoundland in 1496-1497.

That said, the finite political boundaries of an island nation gave Great Britain a clear point at which to end its European consolidation, and an easily defensible border to avoid invasion from other European powers while focusing its military might on other continents.

English Imperialism as Precursor to British Imperialism

The concept of a "British Imperialism", rests on the idea of a consolidated "Britain" as entity, which was the product of an English imperial drive. English Imperial aspirations began with medieval claims on France, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Edward I successfully subdued the Welsh in 1282, but battles with the Scots and French led to no clear victory. By 1558, England had lost its last remaining French possession, but in 1603, the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne as James I of England brought the two kingdoms into personal union, uniting the island of Britain for the first time ever.

Once Scotland and England were personally united, England lost its only hostile land border. The lesson learned from the long series of medieval wars was that possessions claimed in continental Europe would be temporary possessions at best, but consolidation within the islands could lead to a strong, highly defensible state.

The Act of Union of 1707 unified Scotland and England into the United Kingdom of Great Britain, then expanded the union to include Ireland with the Act of Union of 1801.

Pre-conditions for empire

The foundations of the early British Empire were in its oceanic strength. This started with the development of the English merchant marine system during the reign of Henry VII, which promoted overseas trading. During his reign Henry VII also constructed England's first dry-dock, and expanded its small navy.

After the Union of Britain, the lack of hostile land borders meant sea power was Britain's highest priority.

Build up

The British Empire annexed and conquered South Africa in the Zulu and the Boer wars, and captured Egypt and Sudan from the north. It was granted Cyprus from the Ottoman empire. The British explorers colonized Oceania and Australia. Which built up quickly as they exported prisoners there. They also controlled parts of Central America. In the early 19th Century they annexed southern Asia. Taking Burma, India creating a new colony known as Pakistan.

Decline

The British empire declined in the 20th century, due to the World Wars I and II, which cost it millions in repairs and military. In the 1940s it became a commonwealth and gave all of its colonies independence, even though today it still has the most overseas territories in the world. But only as they don't have the economy and population to survive. The largest overseas territory is the Falkland Islands, and the most populated are the Cayman Islands.