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Top 20 Facts about the British Empire

The British royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, June 2013 by Carfax2 – WikiCommons

Originally published by Emma in March 2020, Updated by Emma in June 2021, and Updated by Charity K on April 2023.

Want to know how Britain came to be? There’s more to the story than you might think.

Learning about where you came from is important. Not just in the sense of your own immediate family, but your extended history. How did your ancestors live? Where did they come from? All of these questions rely on knowing important history about the past of your country – how it came to be, the trials and tribulations it underwent, and all of the twists and turns of history that created the modern country you鈥檙e living in or visiting today.

In the British Empire, the ancient history is nothing short of harrowing, interesting, and dramatic – just like your favorite Real Housewives episode. We have come up with the top 10 facts about the British Empire, some of which you may have heard before, and some which may shed some light on this increasingly popular tourist destination for foreigners all over the world. 

1) The British Empire came to be in the 16th century

Great Britain, under the administration of the British Government, wanted to expand during the 16th century to establish overseas settlements. Driven by competition with nearby France and consistent Maritime expansion, the Empire established settlements in North America and the West Indies by the late 17th century.

By 1670, there were colonies in New England, Virginia, and Maryland, with settlements in Honduras, Barbados, Bermuda, and Nova Scotia. Parts of Canada were taken over in the late 1670s, as well as Jamaica was taken by conquest. The East India Company started to create trading posts in India in 1600, creating a network to gain extra capital and trade routes.

The first permanent British settlement in Africa was on James Island in the Gambia River in the mid-17th century, showing the dominance Britain was now establishing over various areas in the world. Particular companies were able to exercise control via self-managing enterprises, with some help from the crown exercising rights of appointment and supervising the colonizations.

This being said, the formation of the sprawling empire was slightly unorganized due to the piece-by-piece acquisition, instead of a unified and structured method of obtaining pieces of land. The crown continued to exercise control well into the 17th and 18th centuries, gaining prowess in terms of trade and shipping, leading to the infamous slave trade. 

2) Competition with France throughout the 18th century

Africa 1808 – By Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=291331

After gaining more power during the 17th and 18th centuries, the colonies provided a crucial part of the English economy due to the raw materials provided and were granted monopolies for important products, like tobacco and sugar.

In exchange for the monopolies, the colonies were only allowed to trade in the British market. All colonial exports had to be shipped on English ships and come by way of England. In addition, the slave trade became economic importance for the Caribbean colonies.

Due to the growing importance of the British civilizations they had acquired, the rivalry with France became even more dramatic. The British military gained Canada and India for the crown – however, British and French colonies in North America began fighting in the first half of the 18th century.

Fortunately for the British, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years鈥� War in 1763, leaving Britain mainly in charge of Canada. The Seven Years鈥� War was a major conflict throughout the entire globe, with the fighting in the US called the French and Indian War.

The outnumbered French heavily relied on the Indians to succeed and were supported by various tribes during the fighting. France was also fighting against Prussia in Europe – and many of its resources were reallocated to this war instead, making them vulnerable in the US. Therefore, Britain was able to import more military resources and emerge victoriously.

The Treaty stated that France would renounce to Britain all the mainland of North America east of the Mississippi, excluding certain areas. The acquisition of this land by the British significantly shifted the global superpowers in favor of the British Empire. Britain also won their fighting in India in the 1750s, keeping the country dominant in the African continent.

3) Afghanistan Invasion

Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter – By Photo: Cpl Lee Goddard/MOD [OGL v1.0 (http://NationalArchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/1/)]

Trying to solve worldly issues in this country is difficult due to the independent warlords in charge, making it hard to contact the central government directly and work out an agreement.

In the 19th century, the British Empire, with an army comprised of British and Indian soldiers, defeated the Afghan ruler, Dost Mohammed, and installed an Indian leader in his place, Shah Shujah. Despite the original plan being to immediately withdraw all forces once he took the rule, two brigades held back in order to keep the peace and ensure the safety of civilian family members.

They felt comfortable and secure in their mission and decided to stay in Kabul a bit longer than planned. This caused the local population to revolt, as opposed to being occupied by a foreign country and ruler. The British then made the decision to send in all of their troops, around 4,500, and retreat to India in 1842, with a promise of safety from the local general. The Afghans proceeded to attack the army on their mission back to India, and all but one soldier was killed in the process, going down as a fatal failure in the history of the British Army. 

Read more about other Empires here.

4) 19th-century expansion led to complete control of Africa

Finley Map of the West Indies Finley 1827 – ByAnthony Finley [Public domain]

The British East Africa Company began operating in Kenya and Uganda, and the British South Africa Company took control in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The establishment of these various companies in the entire continent put Africa almost fully in control of the British.

Enhancing the reign was the win in the South African War, creating a chain of British territories from South Africa upwards to Egypt. By the end of the 19th century, the empire made up nearly a fourth of the world鈥檚 land surface. 

5) 1867 Sepoy Revolt

The Sepoy revolt at Meerut – By Illustrated London News [Public domain]

The sepoys came in to help – soldiers that were recruited from local populations to help the army maintain control of the territory. This plan was smart – until they rebelled against the army.

They filled the rifle cartridges with animal meat, as an offense to Hindus and Muslims, since you had to clean the cartridges with your teeth prior to reloading. The rebellion led to the deaths of numerous British civilians living in India and soldiers alike. The rebellion changed the way Britain dealt with its colonies and marked the end of the East India Company. 

6) British Influence on Germany and Nazi Ideology

The Nazis during the occupation of France – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Hitler was influenced by the British control of its overseas territories and wanted to emulate that method with his own country. He admired the British subjugation and wanted to take control of various countries of his own. He was cited as referring to Eastern Europe as 鈥淕ermany鈥檚 India鈥� to draw the comparison between Britain and how it seized India.

In addition, parts of the Nazi Ideology were already prevalent across governments in Europe, since many of the countries wanted to model their structure after the promising and profitable British Empire. Hitler admired the colonial system set in place, as a testament to Germanic superiority over lesser civilizations. He came to see the United Kingdom as an ally to Germany due to the similarities in governmental structure.

7) The Bengal Famine of 1943

Bengal Famine 1943 – By Wallace [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Some may think the drought was a result of natural causes – however, that wasn鈥檛 the case. The redirection of food resources to the war effort by the British caused the import of rice to be ceased, due to the Japanese invasion of Burma.

Bengal was apparently under no threat of drought, and the factors causing the famine were man-made. The result of this reallocation of food was catastrophic – Bengal remains one of the most severe famines in history. 

8) The British Empire still has territories around the world

Coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory – By vector version Masur [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]

9) Britain helped shape the Middle East today

Ottoman Empire in Asia – By Jughrafiya-i Osmani (1332 A.H. – 1914) [CC0]

The agreement divided the Ottoman provinces outside of the Arabian Peninsula into regions of both French and British control. The Sykes-Picot agreement is still a focal point and strategy for numerous terrorist groups in the Middle East looking to get rid of the territories. 

10) EIC was the first 鈥淓vil Corporation鈥�

Flag of the British East India Company, image sourced from Wikimedia Commons

The East India Company was basically a private firm in control of Britain鈥檚 colonies in South and Southeast Asia, having garnered control from the locals of the region. Despite the success of the empire, this corporation used an extractive business model, taking resources from the colonies while garnering support and military backing from the British Empire. EIC also incurred a wide-scale bailout in the late 18th century, when it ran into massive debt, causing an even bigger bailout than the Wall Street Bailout of 2008. 

Read more about other Empires here.

11) Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games – By By Scan Gumruch – Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10036598

The Commonwealth Games began in the early 20th century within the British Empire. This multi-national sporting event was first known as the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950 and later changed name to the British Commonwealth Games from 1970-1974. The creation of this competition was facilitated by the Inter-Empire Championships, a social gathering that was the biggest show ever held at The Crystal Palace in London by the time it occurred in 1911. 

12) Highly populated

Fort St George on the Coromandel Coast. Belonging to the East India Company of England – By By Jan Van Ryne (1712鈥�60); Publisher: Robert Sayer – Old source New source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=300161

The British Empire was once a highly-populated and dense area when compared to the rest of the world. The Empire ranked at an impressive #5 when it came to the rest of the world, with the population coming to 412 million people in 1913. By 1920, the population grew even more and increased the square footage to nearly 25% of the total area of the globe. 

During the Second World War – By By Chetwyn (Sgt), No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit – This is photograph E 18474 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 4700-32), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182419

Although Britain won the Second World War, the after-effects of this terrible time led to the decolonization and decline of the once-powerful Empire. Much of Europe was in debt, destroyed, and feeling the post-war depression in all aspects of society. Britain was bankrupt, owing nearly $4.4 billion to the United States, causing tension between both governments who were once allies.

14) The ‘wind of change’ dissolved the Empire

Imperial Conference – By By Unknown authorLAC does not have any information as to the identity of the photographer, so the {{PD-UK-unknown}} license tag is used. If the image were taken on behalf of the United Kingdom government, it would also be public domain as per {{PD-UKGov}}. – This image is available from Library and Archives Canada under the reproduction reference number C-000964 and under the MIKAN ID number 3362798This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons: Licensing for more information. Library and Archives Canada does not allow free use of its copyrighted works. See Category: Images from Library and Archives Canada., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3350205

The ‘wind of change’ that occurred in the 1960s led to the realization that the Empire was slowly dissipating. The priorities of the Empire shifted to gaining influence over other countries and societies in the world, with those in charge attempting to establish powers in France and Portugal. However, between 1945 and 1965, the number of people who were ruled by the British significantly declined. 

Read more about other Empires here.

15) Indian independence was a major issue within the British Empire

MILLENNIUM PHOTO: FREEDOM MOVEMENT, HISTORY’S BIGGEST MIGRATION. TRAIN LOADED TO CAPACITY, INDIA PAKISTAN PARTITION. ISSUED BY DIRECTORATE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, EAST PUNJAB – By By Unknown author – http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/partition/trains/trains.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31055554

As the British Empire slowly started to lose influence within the world, they had to figure out what to do with one important country – India. Indian independence was an important topic during the mid-20th century, being a series of influential events that eventually led to the decline of British rule in India between 1845 and 1947. 

India’s two major political parties had been trying to break from British rule since the mid-19th century but had simply not found the best way for the dissolution to occur. Civil unrest and mutiny occurred in 1946, paving the way for Indian independence and United Nations’ involvement in 1947. 

The British Empire has had a checkered past, with both positives and negatives spanning from their policies and ruling methods.

Despite conquering a vast amount of territory over numerous decades, the methods they used to acquire the land hurt civilizations, influenced Nazi rule and destroyed some cultures.

British Indian Empire 1909 – By Edinburgh Geographical Institute; J. G. Bartholomew and Sons. [Public domain]

16) British Empire and World Imperialism

By expanding its empire, Britain introduced a change to many communities around the world. Economically, industries were developed and raw materials began to be exported for processing. Socially, British culture was also adopted by many societies in the world. In addition, the Church of England expanded to many parts of the World as far as the empire grew. It is important to note that it was not easy, they encountered resistance from the communities they met and they pushed their agenda through the strategies their people applied.

17) The Population that was Ruled by the British Empire

Since it began in the late 1500s, the British Empire expanded and grew in population. Statistics show that by 1913, the empire has a total population of over 400 million people. This made it the largest empire that ever existed in the world. In particular, it is during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that the empire ventured into most parts of the world.

18) British Empire has the History of Controlling the World Economy

Apart from controlling many national politically, the British Empire was known for controlling the economies of countries like China, Siam, and Argentina. This was known as the Informal Empire by historians.

19) The British Empire Ruled More than Twenty Countries

The British Empire was strengthened by the fact that they ruled over many countries of the world. These countries include India, Canada, Egypt, France, Nigeria, Australia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Cyprus, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Swaziland, Barbados, Myanmar, Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Lesotho, New Zealand, and Sudan.

20) The Role Played by Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II in Building the British Empire

, , via Wikimedia Commons

Queen Elizabeth I, established the British Empire and advocated for the takeover of many nations under the British Empire. It is during her time that the British Empire expanded widely in the World. Queen Elizabeth II was devoted to diplomacy. She based her reign on state dinners and official international visits. It is during her regime that all nations gained independence from British colonization.

Read more about other Empires here.