ORIGINS
Newfoundland, a shitty island that's now part of Canada
The British Empire foundations were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII sent John Cabot on a voyage to find Asia following Spain and Portugal's success in overseas exploration. In 1497, he sailed and landed on the coast of Newfoundland, mistaking it for Asia. No efforts for colonisation were made. No further attempts were made until the reign of Elizabeth I. The protestant reformation made England and Catholic Spain enemies. The English crown sanctioned John Hawkins and Francis Drake to raid slave ships form Portugal and Spain to enter the Atlantic trade system. Spain was already occupying Americas, Portugal had occupied Africa and Brazil to China while France had already settled along the Saint Lawrence River in New France (today's Canada)
FIRST EMPIRE (1583-1783)
The Thirteen British Colonies of Mcdonald's (Pink)
In 1578, Humphrey Gilbert was sent by Elizabeth I for overseas exploration. He sailed for the West Indies in hope of developing a colony in North America but was aborted. In 1538, a second expedition was held to Newfoundland where it's harbour was claimed by the British but no settlers were left behind. In 1584, his brother founded the colony of Roanoke in North America but the colony failed due to lack of supplies. A treaty was made between England and Spain was made in 1603 ending hostilities between the two countries. England now stopped preying on the Spanish and began establishing its own colonies namely, in the Caribbean and North America in 1607 where the England's first permanent settlement, Jamestown, was established. The slave trade over these areas became very profitable and important to the British Economy. This period of time until the loss of the thirteen colonies is known as the First British Empire.
SECOND EMPIRE (1783-1815)
Melbourne was the richest city in the world (cunts!)
Disagreements over matters such as rights of American colonists and taxation caused the Thirteen colonies to declare the American War of Independence in 1775. The following year, colonists declared independence and the US won the war in 1783. Losing such a populated territory shifted Britain's attention away from America and towards Asia, the pacific and Africa. This defined Britain's transition from the First Empire to the Second. Since 1718, transportation to the North American colonies was a punishment for criminal offences in Britain. However, the loss of the Thirteen colonies resulted in the need for a new alternative. The British government focused on newly discovered Australia. In 1770, James Cook discovered Eastern Australia and claimed it for Britain. In 1778, James Cook sent evidence of suitability of Botany Bay for settlement. In 1788, the first ships arrived at Sydney Cove. Convicts were sent to New South Wales until 1840. Australia became profitable exporters of wool and gold. The Victorian Gold rush made Melbourne the richest city in the world and the second largest city in the British Empire after London. New "Fush end chups" Zealand was also founded around this time in 1769-1770. European settlement began during the 19th century and in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed which acted as the founding document of New Zealand. In 1807, the Slave Trade Act was enacted and in 1833, the Slavery Aboliton Act was passed.
IMPERIAL CENTURY (1815-1914)
The Red Line, a network of telegraph cables that linked the British Empire
This period of time was known as the Imperial Century as Britain had gained over 26 000 000km squared of territory and 400 million people. Britain had virtually no rivalry over any country except for Russia. Britain acted as a global policeman. It's position in world trade meant that it controlled the economy of many countries. Britain's imperial strength expanded with the development of new technologies such as the steamship and the telegraph. In 1902, virtually the entire British Empire was linked by telegraph cables, coined the All Red Line. However, this time period also saw the path to independence for White colonies. In Canada, self government was achieved in 1848 whilst countries such as Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self government with events such as federation in 1901 in Australia.
WORLD WARS (1914-1945)
WW1
With the world wars, fears that the British Empire could not defend itself grew. Germany's rising industrial and military power prompted Britain to form alliances with Japan and former enemies such as France and Russia. In 1914, war broke out with Germany with WW1. Britain and the allies colonies provided huge support. German colonies were invaded and occupied. The war marked countries such as Australia and NZ as countries rather than colonies. The treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919 saw the addition of 4700000 km squared of land. This saw the granting of German territories such as German New Guinea to Australia. In 1939, war broke out against Nazi Germany. The crown colonies committed. It saw the Soviet Union and US enter. Churchill saw this as reassurance to the future of the British Empire. However, the realisation that Britain could not defend the empire, saw countries such as Australia and New Zealand side with global superpower, the United States in agreements such as the 1951 ANZUS agreement.
DECLINE (1945-1997)
HK independence ceremony
Although Britain was victorious from WW2, the effects were profound. Europe, formally the world superpower, had fallen into decline with the powers shifting to the United States and Soviet Union. Britain was bankrupt and resulted in a loan from the US in 1946 which was just recently fully repaid in 2006. The wind of change resulted in the disengagement of colonies. On the other hand, countries such as France and Portugal spent heaps of effort in maintaining their colonies. Between 1945 and 1965, the number of people under British rule fell from 700 million to only 5 million, of which, 3 million were in Hong Kong. In 1982, Canada ended its last legal link with Britain in 1982 with the Canada Act and Australia and New Zealand followed in 1986. Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China in 1997, marking the end of the empire.