In accordance with the mercantilist philosophy of the time, the colonies were regarded as a source of necessary raw materials for British military and naval power, under the leadership of such men as The loss of Britain’s 13 American colonies in 1776–83 was compensated by new settlements in
Tensions remain between the white settler populations of these countries and their indigenous minorities, and between white settler minorities and indigenous majorities in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The formation of the empire was thus an unorganized process based on piecemeal acquisition, sometimes with the British government being the least willing partner in the enterprise.In the 17th and 18th centuries, the crown exercised control over its colonies chiefly in the areas of trade and shipping. Learn more about the British …
A series of Acts of Parliament were passed, including the A series of serious crop failures in the late 19th century led to The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend the Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with the outbreak of the The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies also committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support.
The British Empire was also responsible for large migrations of peoples. Map showing the British Empire at its greatest extent.
However, the legacy of British colonialism left a lasting impression on many parts of the world, leaving the former colonies politically, economically and socially unorganized.
Today it is the primary language of up to 460 million people and is spoken by about one and a half billion as a first, second or foreign language.Except in Africa where nearly all the former colonies have adopted the Individual and team sports developed in Britain—particularly Political boundaries drawn by the British did not always reflect homogeneous ethnicities or religions, contributing to conflicts in formerly colonised areas.
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Great Britain made its first tentative efforts to establish overseas settlements in the 16th century. With textiles becoming the larger trade, by 1720, in terms of sales, the British company had overtaken the Dutch.During the middle decades of the 18th century, there were several outbreaks of military conflict on the In the following decades the British East India Company gradually increased the size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or via local rulers under the threat of force from the During the 1760s and early 1770s, relations between the The war to the south influenced British policy in Canada, where between 40,000 and 100,000Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated again during the During his voyage, Cook also visited New Zealand, first discovered by Dutch explorer The Napoleonic Wars were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. Maritime expansion, driven by commercial ambitions and by competition with Nearly all these early settlements arose from the enterprise of particular companies and magnates rather than from any effort on the part of the English crown.
In 1983, the British sovereignty of several of the overseas territories is disputed by their geographical neighbours: Most former British colonies and protectorates are among the 52 member states of the Decades, and in some cases centuries, of British rule and emigration have left their mark on the independent nations that arose from the British Empire.
Millions left the British Isles, with the founding settler populations of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand coming mainly from Britain and Ireland.
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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.
Imperialism is a policy or ideology of extending the rule or authority of a country over other countries and peoples, often by military force or by gaining political and economic control. Settlers in All areas of the world that were ever part of the British Empire. While related to the concepts of colonialism and empire, imperialism is a distinct concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and many forms of government.
British Empire, a worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates, and other territories—that over a span of some three centuries was brought under the sovereignty of the crown of Great Britain and the administration of the British government.
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