The British colonial empire

About the birth of the British colonial empire and its growth until the end of the

nineteenth century

Birth of the British Empire

• After the Hundred Years’ War England lost nearly all its continental territory. So the country had to look for other sources of wealth. In the context of the Age of Discovery, England developed its trade.

• Under the reign of Elizabeth I, England fought against Spain and Portugal to obtain new territories. During this period, there were some important sailors such as Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh or John Hawkins. In 1600, the East India Company was created to administer colonies and overseas trade.

• At the beginning of the 17th century, the king James I of England, concluded the Treaty of London with Spain. At peace with its main rival, England began to develop its empire all around the world.

American colonies

• The English settled in North America and the first permanent settlement was Jamestown, founded in 1607. The second permanent settlement was Plymouth, founded in 1620 by the English pilgrims.

• The number of American colonies continued to increase during the century and these territories were managed by English landlords who created plantations.

• Because of the need of workers in these plantations, the Royal African Company was created in 1672 and it received the monopoly of the trade of black slaves between Europe, Africa and America. This was the triangular trade.

• So slavery became the basis of the British Empire in America. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to America.

Assertion of British power

• From the beginning of the 17th century, England and the Netherland were competing for the spice and textile trade in India. They finally reached for an agreement and decided that the spice trade was left to the Netherland and the textile trade to England. But the textile trade soon became more profitable than the spice trade and the British company had overtaken the Dutch by 1720.

• The British Empire became the dominant colonial power but it still was in competition with France. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris after the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), France had to cede its colonies in North America to England, especially the Canadian territory. England became the world’s most powerful maritime power.

Loss of the American colonies

• From the second half of the 18th century, relations between the thirteen American colonies and Britain became strained.

• The American colonists were revolted because British Parliament wanted to govern and overtax them without their consent. In fact, American colonists were not represented at the Parliament so they decided to reject English authority.

• In response, England decided to send troops in America to impose its rule.

• In 1775 began the American War of Independence and the United States declared its independence in 1776.

• The war lasted until 1783 and the Peace of Paris recognized the American independence.

Exploration of the Pacific Ocean

• Since 1718, American colonies were a place of exile for British criminals. But after the loss of the thirteen colonies, the British government decides to turn to the newly discovered lands of Australia.

• In fact, the captain James Cook claimed the Australian continent for Britain in 1770.

• A penal settlement was established and the first shipment of convicts arrived in 1788. Britain continued to transport convicts to Australia until 1840.

• The Australian colonies became very profitable, especially because of the wool exportation and the gold rushes in the colony of Victoria. This contributed to an important population growth in big cities such as Sydney or Melbourne.

Napoleonic France

• France challenged again Britain under Napoleon who wanted to invade Britain.

• Unable to fight against Napoleonic European powers, Britain decided to focus on maritime forces.

• The British Royal Navy won a decisive victory over French and Spanish Navies during the battle of Trafalgar in Spain in 1805.

• Napoleon attacked and occupied British colonies but he was finally defeated and Britain was again the beneficiary of peace treaties.

East India Company in Asia

• The East India Company drove the expansion of the British Empire in Asia and joined its force with the Royal Navy to invade new territories such as Singapore or Malacca.

• The Company had been engaged in a very profitable opium export trade in China since the 1730s. This trade, forbidden by the Chinese emperor, helped Britain to recover the money spent on the British importation of tea. Britain gained the island of Hong Kong after the First Opium War (1839-1842).

• During the late 18th century and the early 19th century, a series of Acts of Parliament were passed to regulate the East India Company’s affairs.

• After the Indian rebellion of 1857 which failed, the company was dissolved. Queen Victoria was crowned Empress of India in 1876. This was the peak of the British Empire’s power.

The colonial heritage in the world

• The British colonial Empire had a strong impact on its many colonies. After the decolonization, civil wars broke out in Africa.

• Moreover, old colonies' economy was weakened by the end of British influence because they weren't independent enough and local governments had difficulties to rule their countries.

• As a conclusion, the British Empire had impacts all over the world even after the progressive decolonization of the 19th century.

• In fact, it was the largest colonial empire ever known and was also called the “empire on which the sun never sets”.