British Empire

E2886

colonial empire historical empire

The British Empire was a vast global colonial empire dominated by Britain that, at its height, controlled territories on every inhabited continent and profoundly shaped modern political, economic, and cultural history.

Aliases (14)

British North America ×3
British Empire in Asia ×2
British colonial empire ×2
British America ×1
British Empire (as ally of Tecumseh after 1812) ×1
British Empire (colonial period) ×1
British Empire (historically) ×1
British Empire in India ×1
British Empire in World War I ×1
British Empire in the War of 1812 ×1
British imperial government ×1
English colonial empire ×1
Indian Empire ×1
United Kingdom and former British Empire / Commonwealth ×1

Statements (93)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	colonial empire → historical empire →
alsoKnownAs	British colonial empire →
areaAtPeak	about 35,500,000 square kilometres →
capital	London →
coloniser	Australia → Barbados → Burma → Canada → Cyprus → Egypt → Fiji → Hong Kong → India → Iraq → Ireland → Jamaica → Kenya → Malaya → New Zealand → Nigeria → Palestine → Singapore → South Africa → Sudan →
continent	Africa → Antarctica → Asia → Europe → North America → Oceania → South America →
country	United Kingdom →
culturalLegacy	Westminster system → cricket → global spread of English language → parliamentary democracy → railway networks →
currency	Pound sterling →
dissolution	20th century →
economicSystem	capitalism → mercantilism →
finalMajorColonyTransfer	handover of Hong Kong in 1997 →
hasPart	Aden Colony → British Burma → British East Africa → British Egypt → British Guiana → British Hong Kong → British Malaya → British Mandate of Palestine → British Nigeria → British Raj → British Somaliland → British West Indies → Ceylon under British rule → Commonwealth of Australia → Dominion of Canada → Dominion of New Zealand → Straits Settlements → Union of South Africa →
headOfState	British monarch →
inception	16th century →
involvedIn	Atlantic slave trade → triangular trade →
language	English →
legalLegacy	common law →
majorCompany	East India Company → Hudson's Bay Company → Royal African Company →
metropole	Kingdom of Great Britain → United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland → United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
notableMonarch	Elizabeth II → George V → George VI → Queen Victoria →
peakPeriod	early 20th century → late 19th century →
politicalSystem	constitutional monarchy →
populationAtPeak	over 400 million people →
religion	Anglicanism → Protestantism →
significantEvent	Age of Discovery → American Revolutionary War → First World War → Napoleonic Wars → Scramble for Africa → Second World War → Seven Years' War → decolonisation →
slogan	the empire on which the sun never sets →
successor	Commonwealth of Nations →

Referenced by (426)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Aden Protectorate → Asia (colonial possessions) → Baghat → Bengal Presidency → Bombay Presidency → Borneo territories of the British Empire → British America → British America ("British colonial empire") → British Canada → British Ceylon → British Commonwealth forces → British Dominions → British Gold Coast → British Guiana → British India → British Indian Army → British Iraq Mandate → British Malaya → British North American colonies (except some territories) → British Sind → British Solomon Islands Protectorate → British West Africa → British West Indies → British Western Aden Protectorate sphere → British Western Pacific Territories → Burma (until 1937) ("British Empire in Asia") → Cape Colony → Colony and Dominion of Virginia → Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria → Colony of Aden → Colony of Pennsylvania → Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations → Crown colony → Delhi Durbar of 1911 → Dominion of Australia → Dominion of Canada → Dominions of the British Empire → Federation of South Arabia → Fort Victoria → Governor of Bombay → Governor of Ceylon → Governor of the Straits Settlements → Governor-General of Bengal → High Commissioner for Southern Africa → High Commissioner for the Western Pacific → Indian Civil Service → Kingdom of Ireland → Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada → Massachusetts Bay Colony ("British America") → Natal Colony → Newark → Province of Canada → Province of Carolina → Province of New England ("English colonial empire") → Province of New Jersey → Province of New Jersey ("British North America") → Province of New York → Province of North Carolina → Province of Quebec → Province of Quebec ("British North America") → Royal Governor of the Bahamas → Rupert's Land → Straits Settlements → Swan River Colony → Transvaal → Trust Territory of Togoland under British administration → United Colonies → Viceroy of India → Wei Hai Wei ("British Empire in Asia") →	partOf
Allied reconquest of British Somaliland → Battle of Alam el Halfa → Battle of Ctesiphon (1915) → Battle of Diamond Hill → Battle of El Alamein → Battle of Gazala → Battle of Imphal → Battle of Isandlwana → Battle of Jutland → Battle of Magersfontein → Battle of Medenine → Battle of Mons → Battle of Nibeiwa → Battle of Passchendaele → Battle of Qurna (1914) → Battle of Schuinshoogte → Battle of Sidi Barrani → Battle of Tweebosch → Battle of the Admin Box → Battle of the Somme → Burma campaign → Capture of Baghdad (1917) → East African campaign → Eastern Theater of the War of 1812 → Indian Ocean raid → Iraq campaign (1941) → Italian invasion of Egypt → Mesopotamian campaign (World War I) → New Guinea campaign → Operation Battleaxe → Operation Compass → Operation Crusader → Second Anglo-Afghan War → Second Battle of the Marne → Second Boer War → Siege of Havana (1762) → Siege of Ladysmith → Sinai and Palestine campaign → Tecumseh's War ("British Empire (as ally of Tecumseh after 1812)") → Third Anglo-Burmese War →	belligerent
1st Earl Alexander of Tunis → 2nd Canadian Division → 3rd Canadian Division → 4th Canadian Division → 4th Indian Division → 77th Indian Infantry Brigade → Arthur Currie → Arthur Percival → Australian and New Zealand Army Corps → Auxiliary Force (India) → British Indian Army 6th (Poona) Division → Canadian Corps → Canadian Expeditionary Force → Canadian Expeditionary Force → Canadian Forestry Corps → Canadian Machine Gun Corps → Claude Auchinleck → Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps → Indian Army engineer units → Indian Expeditionary Force D → Jan Smuts → Labuan Volunteer Defence Corps → Lord Raglan → Lord Roberts → Loyalist militias → Madras Army → Malacca Volunteer Corps → Mediterranean Fleet → No. 3 Squadron Australian Flying Corps → Robert Little → Roderic Dallas → Singapore Volunteer Corps → Sir John Monash → South American Division of the Royal Navy → Straits Settlements Volunteer Force → W. D. A. Lentaigne → Winnipeg Grenadiers →	allegiance
Aden Emergency → Begum Hazrat Mahal → Bhagat Singh → Boer forces → Christiaan de Wet → German Spring Offensive (1918) → Imperial Japanese Army 23rd Army → Indian independence movement → Italian conquest of British Somaliland → Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey → Koos de la Rey → Malayan Emergency → Middle Eastern theatre of World War I → Nana Sahib → Ottoman 6th Army → Tomoyuki Yamashita → Zulu Kingdom →	opponent
Britannia → Coat of arms of Bermuda → Colonial Office building, Whitehall → Colonial Secretary of New South Wales → Dominions Office → Earl Grey → Emblem of Ceylon → GCSI → High Commissioner for India in London → KCSI → Mary of Teck → Michael O’Dwyer → Statue of Jan Smuts, Parliament Square → Statue of Robert Clive in London → Union Flag → coronation of George VI →	associatedWith
Andaman and Nicobar Islands → Barrackpore → Barrackpore incident of 1857 → Batticaloa → Bengal → Bombay Island → Burma (until 1937) → Jaitpur → Jallianwala Bagh massacre → Katsina Emirate → Legislative Council of Ceylon → Madras Presidency → Nagapattinam → Negombo → Proclamation of the Colony of New South Wales →	colonialPower
Air Ministry → Board of Admiralty → British America → Committee of Imperial Defence → Coronation of George V → Empire Day → Imperial Economic Conference agreements → Minister of State for Colonial Affairs → Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs → Slavery Abolition Act 1838 → Slavery Abolition Act 1843 → Treaty of Vienna (1731) →	appliesToJurisdiction
Aden → Aden (until 1937, administratively linked) → Batticaloa Fort → Citadelle of Quebec → Fort Frederick → Fort Henry → Fort James → Jaffna Fort → Limassol Castle → Nagapattinam →	controlledBy
Azad Hind Government → Ghadar Party → Hindustan Socialist Republican Army → Hindustan Socialist Republican Association → Indian National Army → Iraq revolt of 1920 → Maritz Rebellion (1914) → Patriot (American Revolution) →	opposedTo
American Loyalists → Emperor of India → Empire Day → Imperial Conference of 1926 → Knight Grand Commander → Rupert's Land → Unfederated Malay States →	country
Charter Act 1813 → Colonial Office → Royal Commission of Inquiry into the rebellion → Slave Trade Act 1807 → Slave Trade Act 1843 → Slavery Abolition Act 1833 →	jurisdiction
Britain and Decolonisation: The Retreat from Empire in the Post-War World → Empire Day → The Empire Project → The End of the British Empire: The Historical Debate → The New World → Unfinished Empire: The Global Expansion of Britain →	mainSubject
Chapman and Hall → Columbia Graphophone Company → Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer → Murray family → Smith, Elder & Co. → William Blackwood and Sons →	regionServed
Natal → Natalia Republic → Nawabs of Awadh → Oudh → Sri Vikrama Rajasinha →	annexedBy
Anglo-Afghan Wars → Boer Wars → First Anglo-Burmese War → Second Anglo-Afghan War → Second Anglo-Burmese War →	conflictBetween
Airco DH.2 → Allied merchant shipping → Fort Frederick → Khyber Pass → Straits dollar →	usedBy
The Graphic → The New Monthly Magazine → The United Service Journal →	circulationArea
Cochin → Natal → Sind →	colonizedBy
Kandy → Kingdom of Benin → Sokoto Caliphate →	conqueredBy
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples → After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire Since 1405 → The Great Democracies →	focusesOn
Anti-British National Liberation War → Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay → Cambrai 1917 →	hasBelligerent
Frontier Wars → Middle East theatre of World War II → Middle Eastern theatre of World War I →	mainBelligerent
Great Trek → Operation U-Go → Ottoman Army →	opposedBy
Mughal Empire → Nayakkar dynasty → Talpur dynasty →	overthrownBy
Empire Day → Second Charter of Virginia → Suez Crisis →	relatedTo
Kandyan Convention → Nine-Power Treaty → Pangkor Treaty of 1874 →	signatory
Italian invasion of Greece → Northwest Indian War → Siege of Khartoum →	supportedBy
Tarawa Atoll ("British Empire (colonial period)") → Trust Territory of Cameroon under British administration →	administeredBy
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps → Royal Warwickshire Regiment →	alliance
Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak ("British Empire in the War of 1812") → Shuja Shah Durrani →	alliedWith
Navigation Acts → Ottawa Agreements →	appliesTo
Gcaleka polity → Thembu people →	colonialInteraction
Xhosa people → Zulu people →	colonialOpponent
Battle of Nassau → Legislative Council of Upper Canada →	countryAtTime
Bahadur Shah II → Zafar →	exiledBy
Lahore Central Jail, Lahore, British India → Steamer Point →	governingPower
Politicians and the War ("British Empire in World War I") → The Indian Struggle →	historicalContext
Galle Fort → St. George’s Castle →	laterControlledBy
Great Game → Xhosa Wars →	mainParticipants
Gwalior State → Hyderabad State →	overlord
Mason & Dixon → The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830–1970 →	subject
British ensign system → President of the Air Council →	usedIn
Kingdom of Great Britain → United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland →	wasPartOf
Tanjore → Tiruchirappalli →	wasRuledBy
Tecumseh →	ally
British Empire ("British colonial empire") →	alsoKnownAs
Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society →	areaServed
Burning of Washington →	attacker
Efik people →	colonialContact
Great Andamanese →	colonialContactWith
Eastern Arabia →	colonialInterest
Indians in South Africa →	colonialPowerAtFirstArrival
Afghanistan–Pakistan border →	colonialPowerInvolved
Salt March →	colonialPowerOpposed
Indo-Caribbean people →	colonialPowersInvolved
Empire Day →	commemorates
Natalia Republic →	conflictWith
New Zealand Legislative Council →	countryDuringExistence
Allied Powers of World War I →	countryMember
Sir John Monash →	countryOfCitizenship
Wakhan Corridor →	createdBetween
England’s Debt to India →	criticizes
Azad Hind Government →	declaredWarOn
Murray’s Handbooks for Travellers →	distributionArea
Shanghai International Settlement (British participation) →	economicImportanceFor
Mark Aitchison Young →	employer
Khoikhoi →	encounteredColonialPower
Ashanti Empire →	engagedInConflictWith
Thai–Myanmar border →	establishedBy
British Solomon Islands Protectorate →	establishedUnder
Kingdom of Kandy →	fellTo
Bihar and Orissa Province →	flagBearer
Qajar Iran →	foreignInfluenceFrom
Second Baldwin government →	foreignPolicyArea
Emirate of Afghanistan →	foreignRelations
Gilbert Islands →	formerColonyOf
Royal Army Ordnance Corps →	garrison
The Age of Revolution →	geographicFocus
Distinguished Service Order ("United Kingdom and former British Empire / Commonwealth") →	geographicScope
1930 British Empire Games →	geopoliticalEntityRepresented
Boston Massacre →	hasCountry
Anglosphere →	hasHistoricalRoot
British Crown →	hasJurisdictionOver
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom (historical) →	hasKeyInstitution
The Churchill Factor →	hasSubject
Rudyard Kipling →	hasTheme
John Darwin →	hasWrittenOn
Mohawk people →	historicalAllegiance
English-speaking Canada →	historicalColonialInfluence
Palestine →	historicalControlBy
Dhudike, Punjab, British India →	historicalCountry
England →	historicalEmpireCenter
British Merchant Navy →	historicalImportance
Ionian Islands →	historicalInfluence
Potawatomi →	historicallyAlliedWith
Great Britain →	historicallyCentralTo
Malabar Coast →	historicallyTradedWith
Secretary of State for India →	historicalPeriod
Fourteenth Army →	includedPersonnelFrom
Sand River Convention →	involvesEmpire
British Malaya →	locatedIn
Qajar Iran →	lostTerritoryTo
James Wright →	loyalTo
Age of Sail →	notablePower
Universities Bureau of the British Empire →	operatedIn
Parliament of Upper Canada →	parentOrganization
Hundred Days Offensive →	participant
Treaty of Pretoria (1881) →	party
Council of India ("British imperial government") →	politicalAlignment
Royal Titles Act 1876 →	politicalContext
90th Light Africa Division →	primaryOpponents
Brunei British protectorate →	protector
British Empire Games →	region
Slave Trade Act 1824 →	regionAffected
Great Britain ("British Empire (historically)") →	representsInOlympics
Treaty of Nanking →	requiredCessionTo
Kingdom of Kandy →	resisted
Portuguese Empire →	rival
6th Regiment of Foot →	service
The Life of George Washington ("British North America") →	setting
Commonwealth countries →	sharesHistoryWith
VIII Corps (United Kingdom) →	side
Treaty of Nanking →	signatoryParty
Fashoda Incident →	significantEventFor
Royal Titles Act 1876 ("British Empire in India") →	subjectMatter
Zulu Kingdom →	successor
Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg →	supportedSideInConflict
Japanese occupation of Singapore →	surrenderedParty
Order of the Indian Empire ("Indian Empire") →	territorialDesignation
Dutch Gold Coast →	transferredTo
Vereeniging →	treatySignatoriesAt
Home Rule movement →	under
Winburg, Orange Free State →	underControlOf
Indian princely states →	underSuzeraintyOf
Cape rixdollar →	usedByColonialPower
Under-Secretary of State for India →	usedDuring
Northern Nigeria →	wasAdministeredBy
Ohio Valley region →	wasContestedBy
Maalla →	wasUnderAdministrationOf