The British Empire

Introduction At it’s peak, the British Empire was the largest empire the world has ever seen. The map below shows the countries that Britain once had control over.

Defending the Empire The Victorian period saw the British Empire expand at a greater rate than ever before, at it’s height it encompassed countries from Australia and New Zealand in the South to Canada in the North, and much of Africa in the West to Singapore and India in the East. Much of the Empire was won by military force with stations in each country to stop people from fighting against Britain and also the military was in enemy countries such as Germany to stop any threats of taking over.

British Empire Facts Slavery was the basis of the British Empire until 1807 when it was abolished It was often said that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” as at it’s peak at any time it was always daylight in at least one country we had control over. Held control over about 458 million people and covered more than 13 million square miles The British Empire survived long enough to witness the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, and both World Wars Trading between colonies was the main source of income for the Empire, with privileges available to traders who settled in foreign countries,

Timeline of the British Empire

Fall of the Empire The Empire didn’t really fall it transitioned for an Empire to a Commonwealth. It could no longer afford the cost of defending the Empire after the second world war as it drained the country of it’s money. Also, various colonies in the Empire showed they could support themselves. Through peaceful protests/politics they demanded independence and the British Empire had no choice but to give it as they couldn’t afford to try and fight them. The countries that stayed part of the Empire merged to a Commonwealth.