Reference
- British empire.At its apogee, around 1920, the British empire was the greatest—the biggest, at any rate—ever known. It was reputed to cover a quarter of the world's land area, and a fifth of its population. Most of that, however, was of recent provenance. Like all mighty oaks, this one had a tiny origin. A medieval English proto-empire can be dimly made out, in 12th–13th-cent. Ireland and Gascony. Most historians date the beginnings of the empire proper, however, from Tudor times. It grew out of the great seafaring voyages of that age. Britain was a little behind the Spanish and Portuguese, so initially her empire did not compare with theirs. They took the plums. Britain had to make do with North America and the Caribbean, which were not so obviously valuable. The first British colony was Virginia, which was settled in 1585, but not for long. A ship returning four years later found that the colonists had disappeared. In 1607 the colony was re-established, and this time survived. Other places were also colonized, especially some Caribbean islands, and more of the North American coast. Trading posts were established in India. These became the two main focuses of British imperial dominion for the next two centuries.
It was mainly a commercial empire, run by chartered monopoly *companies, and defended by the Royal *navy. Britain made sure its benefits accrued to her exclusively, by a series of *Navigation Acts passed in the mid-17th cent. to prevent the colonies dealing with anyone else. That was to cause trouble later on. Meanwhile, however, the empire expanded steadily, partly through the extension of British trade, and partly as a result of wars with other colonial powers. The *Seven Years War, for example, saw Britain take control of much of India (1756–7). That marked the peak of what later came to be called the ‘first’ British empire, which came to an end with the rebellion of the thirteen American colonies, originally against Britain's trading restrictions, in 1776...
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- 1838—The British Slavery Abolition ActConfront the harsh realities of the African slave trade and consider the role social mobilization played in eradicating the institution across the British Empire.
- 1600—The British East India CompanyThe English and Dutch East India companies coexisted in the Spice Islands as they worked to outflank the Portuguese, but their rivalry soon escalated into war. Examine the founding and meteoric growth of the East India Company and the violence that ultimately led Britain to establish an empire on which the sun never set.
- Ireland’s Secret War for IndependenceThe Irish Republican Army was a tightly organized secret society battling the greatest power on Earth, the British empire. But they were not the first secret society to practice resistance in Ireland. Professor Spence introduces you to The Whiteboys, the Peep o’Day Boys, the Orange Order, the Sons of the Shamrock, Young Ireland, the Molly Maguires, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and more.
- Legacy of the British EmpireFrom the 17th through the 20th century, Britain's empire spanned the globe, giving this small island an outsized role on the world's stage. But while Britain was making an impact in India, New Zealand, Canada, and elsewhere, these nations were having an impact on Britain. Explore the ethnic and cultural diversity in Britain today.
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- British Empire: 1. 1707–1914At its peak in the 19th century, the British Empire was the largest empire not only on Earth, but in human history, encompassing one fourth of the land area of the globe and one fifth of its inhabitants...
- British Empire: 2. From 1914World War I presented the British Empire with a major challenge, but it survived this global cataclysm largely intact...
- British Empire: 3. AfricaAfrica has sometimes been depicted as a sideshow to British ambitions elsewhere, but this is only partly true...
- British Empire: 4. Australasia and PacificBritain's Australasian (Australia and New Zealand) and Pacific Empire has its origins in the Enlightenment, James Cook's voyages to the Pacific, and Britain's desire to rid itself of convicts and obtain strategic and commercial advantage...
- British Empire: 5. Caribbean, 1624–1838Between 1624 and 1838, the Caribbean islands were transformed from small tropical islands of little imperial importance to the economic powerhouses of the British Empire...
- British Empire: 6. Caribbean, 19th–20th centuriesResistance by the black majority changed the course of the British Caribbean Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries, which resulted in the abolition of British slave trading and slavery, struggles to overcome post-Emancipation oppressions, and ultimately, the acquisition of independence from Britain starting from 1962...
- British Empire: 7. India, to 1858The entry describes the foundation of the British Empire in South Asia by the East India Company. It shows how, induced by the character of the state, there emerged a distinct set of institutions, an Indo-European society, and new spheres of commercial and intellectual exchange in the 19th century...
Perspectives
The British Empire
Violent, powerful, vast: the British Empire is typically viewed as distant and tropical. By contrast, this book examines the effects of the empire on men, women and children across the globe: both those under imperial rule and those who implemented it.nbsp; Looking beyond politics and diplomacy, Philippa Levine combines a traditional approach to colonial history with an investigation of the experience of living within the empire.nbsp; Spanning the period from Cromwell#146;s rule to decolonization in the late twentieth century, and including an extensive chronology for ease of reference, Levine considers the impact of British rule for people in Africa, India and Australia, as well as for the English rulers, and for the Welsh, Scots and Irish who were subject to 'internal colonialism' under the English yoke. Imperialism often led to serious unrest; Levine examines the cruel side of imperialism#146;s purportedly 'civilizing' mission unflinchingly.
