The British Empire
From the 16th century to the 20th century
The expansion of the British Empire is often split into two parts: the First Empire and the Second Empire. The First Empire started in the 16th century when Great Britain began to establish territories overseas. In 1783, the Empire consisted of colonies in North America and the West Indies. The first British settlement in Africa was on James Island in the Gambia River in 1661. It is said that the First Empire ended when the British lost control of the American colonies in 1783.
The British Empire expanded significantly in the second part of the 19th century. During this period the British subjugated more land in more corners of the world than ever before. By the end of the century, the British Empire comprised almost a quarter of the Earth’s total land area and over 25 percent of the world’s population. During the last 20 years of the 19th century, the British had claimed over 30 percent of the African population.
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Kart over Det britiske imperiets
The end of the British Empire
From 1945 until today
Following the two World Wars, the British Empire was slowly but surely coming to an end. The wars had taken their toll on Britain’s economy. India set the tone for change when the country declared independence in 1947.
In the 1950s the British government granted independence to Sudan, the Gold Coast and Malaysia. They didn’t want to risk a colonial war like the one that France had ended up in with Algeria. Many British colonies had by this point already become self-governing as a result of decolonisation.
Canada became Britain’s first self-governing state in 1867, followed by Australia in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907. These former colonies were in principle still attached to the British Crown, but were granted a level of autonomy. Over the next 20 years most of the Caribbean also gained its independence. Barbados became independent in 1966, and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean islands followed in the 1970s and 1980s.
To this day, the Union Jack is still a central part of the Australian flag.
The end of the Empire, many would say, was marked by Hong Kong becoming an administrative region under China in 1997.
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Det australske flaget heist opp i en flaggstang
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