The History Hub.
The British Empire
What was the British Empire?
There was a saying in the Victorian era - 'The sun never sets on the British Empire'. This explained the fact that the British Empire had conquered and controlled land all over the world so when it was night time in England, the sun was shining on a British colony elsewhere in the world, and vice versa. It also explained the fact that the empire was seen as a leading and shining light of British leadership in the modern world.
The question is, what is an empire and what is a colony? An empire is a group of countries ruled by one ruler or government. More often than not these countries have been conquered. The most famous of all empires is probably the Roman Empire. Sometimes the ruler would send out groups of people to settle in land that was empty or rule lands thatwere newly joined to the empire. These new settlements were called colonies. The building of the British Empire had been started long before Queen Victoria took the throne but she made the empire much larger and more powerful.
How did the empire begin?
The British Empire evolved over a period of time. In the 1600's the British established trading posts in and around India under a company called The East India Company. At the same time the British established colonies in the Carribean and over time the Empire grew to include countries like Canada, America, India and Australia. There was competition for these lands from other European countries such as France and Spain but the British were able to emerge victorious. Battles such as Tafalgar and Waterloo, along with their victorious commanders Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington became synonymous with the strength of Britain. The great advantage the British had was in their navy and Britain ruled the waves throughout this period. Songs such as 'Rule Britannia' (you can listen to this on the panel to the right) come from this time. There was a dark side; much of this power was built on the back of slave labour. It wasnt until 1833 that slavery was finally ended in England, though the slave trade was outlawed in 1807. The movement to end slavery was famously led by William Wilberforce. The song 'Amazing Grace' was composed around this time by John Newton, a former member of the Royal Navy and a slave trader who had seen the error of his ways (you can listen to this song on the panel to the right).
The Empire in the Victorian Era
America had defeated Britain in the War of Independance in the 1780's. It was no longer a part of the Empire. Britian continued to grow its empire and looked to other parts of the world for new opportunities. Trade was established with many South American countries and new colonies such as New Zealand were brought into the Empire. Raw materials such as coal, timber (wood), cotton, sugar, iron ore, whale fat and much more were brought to Victorian Britain to be processed in the factories and made into goods to be sold or traded. For example Seal Skins were traded for tea from China. Later in the Victorian Era, between 1880 and the early 1900's the continent of Africa became the focus for overseas expansion (growing the empire). There was still competition between European countries for land and this competition for land in Africa is known as the 'Scramble for Africa'. Here, vast territories in Africa were conquerored and taken into the Empire so that Britain could use its natural resources and sell its products to new populations. During the Victorian Era the British Empire conquered and ruled around 25% of the world. It was responsible for instilling British values and culture around the world. This is one reason British sports such as Cricket, Rugby and Table Tennis are played the world over. It established trade links with many countries. The modern world was shaped by the British Empire.
