The British Empire
Introduction the British Empire was the largest formal empire that the world had ever known. As such, its power and influence stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways. This PowerPoint is dedicated to analyzing the history of the British Empire, and understanding the full story behind this important part of world history. Let’s find out more about our British Empire facts…
In the 16th Century Britain began to build its empire – spreading the country’s rule and power beyond its borders through a process called “ imperialism ”. This brought huge changes to societies, industries, cultures, and the lives of people all around the world. The 16th Century is often referred to as the ‘Age of Discovery‘ – new thinking about the world and better shipbuilding led to more exploration and the discovery of new lands.
What is the British Empire? An empire is a group of countries ruled over by a single monarch or ruling power. An empire doesn't need an ‘ emperor '. Throughout history, empire builders have introduced new people, practices and rules to their ‘new’ lands and used its resources for their own gain, at the expense of the indigenous people – the people that inhabited the land first. This process is called ‘colonialism‘. This was no different with the British Empire.
1 2 3 What was the British Empire? The British Empire is a term used to describe all the places around the world that were once ruled by Britain. Built over many years, it grew to include large areas of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa, as well as small parts of Central and South America, too. How big was the British Empire? The size of the British Empire – the amount of land and number of people under British rule – changed in size over the years. At its height in 1922, it was the largest empire the world had ever seen, covering around a quarter of Earth’s land surface and ruling over 458 million people. Why did Britain want an empire? *It wasn’t until 1707 that Scotland joined with England and Wales to become The Kingdom of Great Britain.
Why did Britain want an empire? The colonies also offered money-making opportunities for wealthy Englishmen and provided England’s poor and unemployed with new places to live and new jobs. But they weren’t alone. Other European countries were also exploring the world, discovering new lands and building empires, too – the race was on, and England did not want to be left behind England, in what is now Britain, wanted more land overseas where it could build new communities, known as colonies. These colonies would provide England with valuable materials, like metals, sugar and tobacco, which they could also sell to other countries.
With the help of Spain, France and the Netherlands, they won the war, and gained independence, becoming the United States of America. This marked the end of what is now called the ‘First British Empire’ The years 1775-1783 were a turning point in British history, as the nation lost a huge part of its empire in the American War of Independence. The ‘First British Empire’ Over time, the English would claim more and more territories. This sometimes meant fighting with other European nations to take over their colonies. Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, England gained major colonies in North America and further south in the West Indies, today known as the Caribbean Islands. Here, the climate was perfect for growing crops like sugar and tobacco, so they set up farms known as plantations. Trading settlements were also created in India by a company called the East India Company. This company became so powerful, it allowed England to control of the trade of luxury goods like spices, cotton, silk and tea from India and China, and it even influenced politics. the most people feeling ‘American’ better than ‘British’, and resentful of sending money back to Britain, 13 colonies in North America united and fought to be free from British rule.
Although Britain had lost a huge part of its North American territories, it claimed new lands in the late 18th Century and early 19th Century, forming the ‘Second British Empire‘. Colonies were founded in parts of Australia, and later Trinidad and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Singapore and Hong Kong (China) as well as other parts of Asia. From 1881 to 1902, Britain competed with other European empire-builders in what became known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’. By the early 1900s, huge parts of Africa – including Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and large areas of southern Africa – all came under British rule. The British Empire was larger and more powerful than ever. The ‘Second British Empire’ Over the course of the 20th century, Britain’s empire broke down in stages. After the First World War (1914-1918) there was a feeling of ‘nationalism’ sweeping the globe, whereby countries should have the right to be independent and rule themselves. In 1926, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became independent, meaning they were no longer under British control. So, why were these countries given independence first? Well, by this time these countries had large white populations of European descent, living under the rule of formal governments. They were therefore considered to be more experienced and ‘able’ to run their own country successfully, which would benefit the empire as a whole. Racist views held by the British at the time meant that other British colonies – with large populations of non-white people – weren’t granted independence, even when they asked for it. Why did the British Empire collapse?
As Queen of Great Britain, Queen Victoria was also Queen of all the countries in the British Empire. She was even Empress of India. Royal family of queen Victoria Here she is pictured on a Canadian postage stamp during her reign.
01 02 03 04 Over the next decades, the remaining colonies continued to push for independence. After the Second World War, Britain no longer had the wealth or strength to manage an empire overseas. Many colonies had fought for the British during the war (although people of color were mainly given low -rank positions), and were making their own plans for independence. In 1947, India won its independence, and from the 1950s to 1980s, African colonies also fought for and won their independence. The last significant British colony That said, there are some small fragments of the British Empire that still exist today, known as ‘British Overseas Territories’. They include Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Monserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St. These are mainly self - governing countries separate to the United Kingdom, that continue to share a bond with Britain. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. Thank you for watching