1. Migration & Empire,
The British
Empire

2. In today’s class I am learning to:
The British Empire
In today’s class I am learning to:
Describe background information about the British Empire
Identify countries that were part of the British Empire

3. The British Empire
An empire is when one country controls lots of other ones. Britain’s Empire was so big that it was often said that the sun never set on it.

4. Britain controlled numerous countries right across the world.
The British Empire
Britain controlled numerous countries right across the world.
The reason was simple: more land a country controlled, the richer and more powerful it was.
Having an empire helped ensure military strength as well.

5. The British Empire
In the centuries after Christopher Columbus travelled to the new world, European countries started taking control of places around the world.
As the first countries to do so, Spain and Portugal quickly built the biggest empires.

6. The British Empire
Other countries soon tried to copy them. In the 17th and 18th centuries England did so too, and Scotland also made efforts.
As an island, England (and later Britain) had an advantage in having a great navy, which could help achieve this.

7. Britain became rich through this, including during the Slave Trade.
The British Empire
The exact size of the Empire changed over the years. It has included countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
Britain became rich through this, including during the Slave Trade.

8. The British Empire

9. The British Empire

10. The British Empire
British Empire in 2018

11. The British Empire
The British Empire was truly huge. In 1922 around 458 million people lived within it (about 1/5 of all people in the world).
The Empire gradually declined (especially after World War Two) and was replaced by the Commonwealth.