British Empire

(proper noun)

The United Kingdom, together with its dominions, colonies, dependencies, trust territories, and protectorates became the Commonwealth of Nations following the independence of many of its constituent countries.

Related Terms

Examples of British Empire in the following topics:

  • Conclusion: Patterns of British Settlement in the Colonies

    • The 18th century witnessed the birth of Great Britain (after the union of England and Scotland in 1707) and the expansion of the British Empire.
    • Its economic sway ranged from India, where the British East India Company had gained control over both trade and territory, to the West African coast, where British slave traders predominated, and to the British West Indies, whose lucrative sugar plantations, especially in Barbados and Jamaica, provided windfall profits for British planters.
    • Anglo-American colonists considered themselves part of the British Empire in all ways—politically, militarily, religiously (as Protestants), intellectually, and racially.
    • Slavery formed a cornerstone of the British Empire in the 18th century.
    • Successful and well-to-do, they display fashions, hairstyles, and furnishings that all speak to their identity as proud and loyal British subjects.

  • Conclusion: The Consequences of the British Parliamentary Acts

    • An increasing tide of unrest rose in the British American colonies from 1763-1774 as the British government imposed a series of imperial reform measures.
    • Each step the British took, however, generated a backlash.
    • Over time, imperial reforms pushed many colonists toward separation from the British Empire.
    • The British Empire had gained supremacy in North America with its victory over the French in 1763.
    • While the architects of the Stamp Act saw the measure as a way to defray the costs of the British Empire, it nonetheless gave rise to the first major colonial protest against British imperial control as expressed in the famous slogan “no taxation without representation.”

  • The Expansion of England's Empire

    • The English, and later the British, were among the most important colonizers of the Americas.
    • Three types of colonies existed in the British Empire in America during the height of its power in the eighteenth century.
    • In effect, with the Union they became British colonies.
    • British colonies in North America, 1763 to 1775, published in 1911.
    • This map depicts the North American holdings of the British Empire in the 17th Century.

  • Unifying Experiences among the Colonies

    • British culture, styles, commerce, and society forged ties between residents of the different colonies.
    • Although the colonies were very different from one another, they were still a part of the British Empire in more than just name.
    • To many of their inhabitants, the seaport cities of colonial America were truly British cities.
    • The relations between the British military establishment and the colonists were not always positive, setting the stage for later distrust and dislike of British troops.
    • The British and colonists triumphed jointly over a common foe.

  • A World War

    • Part of the war arose from the heated colonial struggle between the British Empire and French Empire, which as they expanded, met and clashed with one another on two continents.
    • The British had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent.
    • Prussia was the rising power in central Europe and the British paid Frederick substantial subsidies to support his campaigns.
    • A British attempt at relief was foiled at the Battle of Minorca and the island was captured.
    • A battle during the Seven Years War between British and Indians in North America

  • The War and Its Consequences

    • Early in the war in 1755, the British had expelled French settlers from Acadia, some of whom eventually fled to Louisiana.
    • One of the biggest problems confronting the British Empire in 1763 was controlling land speculators whose activities often led to frontier conflicts in both Europe and the British colonies.
    • Many American Indian peoples—primarily in the Great Lakes region—had a long and close relationship with France and were dismayed to find that they were now under British sovereignty.
    • The proclamation created a boundary line (often called the proclamation line) between the British colonies on the Atlantic coast and American Indian lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
    • Indeed, the Royal Proclamation itself called for lands to be granted to British soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War.

  • The War's Aftermath

    • British losses in the war were about 1,600 killed in action and 3,679 wounded; 3,321 British died from disease.
    • The War of 1812 was a 32-month military conflict between the United States and the British Empire and their allies which resulted in no territorial change, but a resolution of many issues remaining from the American War of Independence.
    • British losses in the war were about 1,600 killed in action and 3,679 wounded; 3,321 British died from disease.
    • The British settled some of the newly freed slaves in Nova Scotia.
    • American fears of the Indians ended, as did British plans to create a buffer Indian state.

  • Origins of the War of 1812

    • The War of 1812 (1812–1815) was fought between the United States and the British Empire as well as Britain's American Indian allies.
    • One major cause was the British practice of impressment, whereby American sailors were taken at sea and forced to fight on British warships; this issue was left unresolved by Jay’s Treaty in 1794.
    • The British then boarded the ship and took four sailors.
    • Another underlying cause of the War of 1812 was British support for American Indian resistance to U.S. western expansion.
    • Although the British had technically ceded the area to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 (a treaty that ignored any rights of the American Indians already living there), it was in the best interest of the British to prevent further American growth.

  • Conclusion: The Fight for Independence

    • The petition followed the Battle of Bunker Hill in which the British suffered massive casualties.
    • Following Saratoga, the British looked to Loyalist supporters in the South as a last hope.
    • The Commission offered the colonists self-rule within the British Empire, but refused to acknowledge the full independence of the states.
    • Congress predictably refused the British peace terms.
    • With the crippling surrender at Yorktown, the British war effort ground to a halt.

  • Empires in Conflict

    • The British and the Dutch vied over the colony of New Netherland, the British and the Spanish fought the War of Jenkins' Ear, and the British and the French fought in a series of wars that concluded in 1763 with the French and Indian War.
    • The Spanish became suspicious that British ships were overreaching, and began boarding and seizing British ships.
    • The expedition never materialized, but the British did supply their allies with firearms, which the Tallapoosas used in their siege of Pensacola.
    • The war ended with a British victory in 1713.
    • France was required to recognize British authority over the Iroquois.