The British Empire consisted of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by England (later as Britain after the Union Act of 1707).
The foundations of the Empire began in the early seventeenth century when England established overseas trading posts in North America, Africa, India, South Asia and the West Indies. By 1600 the East India Company had already established trading posts in India. In 1661 the first permanent British settlement was made on James Island on the Gambia River in Africa.
British American colonies were well established in New England, Virginia, and Maryland by 1670. After a series of wars with France and the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, Britain also acquired Quebec in 1759 and become the dominant colonial power in North America. Following the American War of Independence (1776-83) Britain lost its thirteen American colonies. Many loyalists from the US migrated to Canada, further growing the empire’s colonies there.
By 1757 Britain had also become the leading power in the Indian subcontinent, after the East India Company, under the colonial administrator, Robert Clive, defeated the Mughal Empire and overthrew the Nawabs.
By the 1840s Britain had acquired more settlements in Australia, and New Zealand became a British domain, while control was extended to islands in the Pacific Ocean such as Fiji, Tonga and Papua.
| 30 N |
| British Empire I |
| London |
| British Empire | |
| First British Empire |
| British Empire II |
| UNCLEAR: [None] | |
| Succeeding: British Empire IIIIIIIIII (gb_british_emp_222222) [None] |
| 80,000 people | 1695 CE |
| 575,000 people | 1700 CE |
| 675,000 people | 1750 CE |
| 1,050,000 people | 1811 CE |
| 1,873,676 people | 1841 CE |
| 283,634 km2 | 1811 CE |
| 5,470,000 people | 1700 CE |
| 61,157,433 people | 1811 CE |
| 20776 |
| present |
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| Transitional (Absent -> Present) |
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| Transitional (Absent -> Present) |
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| 113 |
| Year Range | British Empire I (gb_british_emp_1) was in: |
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Inhabitants.The largest settlement in the British Empire was the imperial capital of London, England. It was estimated to have around 80,000 people living there in 1695. In 1700 it had around 575,000 inhabitants, and 675,000 in 1750. [1] By 1811 it had more than doubled in population, recorded to have had around 1,050,000 inhabitants. [2] And towards the end of this polity period, in 1841, it had grown to 1,873,676 inhabitants. [3]
[1]: (Porter 2000: 97-98) Porter, Roy. 2000. London: A Social History. London: Penguin UK. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BUIF7ZRL
[2]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 45) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[3]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 256. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL.
Inhabitants.The largest settlement in the British Empire was the imperial capital of London, England. It was estimated to have around 80,000 people living there in 1695. In 1700 it had around 575,000 inhabitants, and 675,000 in 1750. [1] By 1811 it had more than doubled in population, recorded to have had around 1,050,000 inhabitants. [2] And towards the end of this polity period, in 1841, it had grown to 1,873,676 inhabitants. [3]
[1]: (Porter 2000: 97-98) Porter, Roy. 2000. London: A Social History. London: Penguin UK. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BUIF7ZRL
[2]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 45) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[3]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 256. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL.
Inhabitants.The largest settlement in the British Empire was the imperial capital of London, England. It was estimated to have around 80,000 people living there in 1695. In 1700 it had around 575,000 inhabitants, and 675,000 in 1750. [1] By 1811 it had more than doubled in population, recorded to have had around 1,050,000 inhabitants. [2] And towards the end of this polity period, in 1841, it had grown to 1,873,676 inhabitants. [3]
[1]: (Porter 2000: 97-98) Porter, Roy. 2000. London: A Social History. London: Penguin UK. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BUIF7ZRL
[2]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 45) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[3]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 256. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL.
Inhabitants.The largest settlement in the British Empire was the imperial capital of London, England. It was estimated to have around 80,000 people living there in 1695. In 1700 it had around 575,000 inhabitants, and 675,000 in 1750. [1] By 1811 it had more than doubled in population, recorded to have had around 1,050,000 inhabitants. [2] And towards the end of this polity period, in 1841, it had grown to 1,873,676 inhabitants. [3]
[1]: (Porter 2000: 97-98) Porter, Roy. 2000. London: A Social History. London: Penguin UK. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BUIF7ZRL
[2]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 45) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[3]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 256. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL.
Inhabitants.The largest settlement in the British Empire was the imperial capital of London, England. It was estimated to have around 80,000 people living there in 1695. In 1700 it had around 575,000 inhabitants, and 675,000 in 1750. [1] By 1811 it had more than doubled in population, recorded to have had around 1,050,000 inhabitants. [2] And towards the end of this polity period, in 1841, it had grown to 1,873,676 inhabitants. [3]
[1]: (Porter 2000: 97-98) Porter, Roy. 2000. London: A Social History. London: Penguin UK. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BUIF7ZRL
[2]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 45) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[3]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 256. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL.
in squared kilometers.A report from 1811 claimed there were 70,087,612 acres of cultivated land and ad infinitum of uncultivated lands. [1] During the reign of Queen Victoria the empire was expanded at an average of 100,000 square miles (c. 258, 998 squared kilometres) per year. [2]
[1]: (Colquhoun 1811: 61) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
[2]: (Brendon 2008: 139) Brendon, Piers. 2008. Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997. New York: Random House. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZFFJNZ6J
The estimated populations of the British Isles and British colonies in the west was 5,470,000 in 1700. [1] The entire population of the British Empire was estimated to be over 61 million in 1811. [2]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 100. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ.
[2]: (Colquhoun 1811: 47) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
The estimated populations of the British Isles and British colonies in the west was 5,470,000 in 1700. [1] The entire population of the British Empire was estimated to be over 61 million in 1811. [2]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 100. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ.
[2]: (Colquhoun 1811: 47) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
in kilometers. From 1840 the journey by sea from Plymouth, England to Wellington, New Zealand was 12,910 miles. [1]
[1]: (Porter 1999: 254) Porter, Andrew, ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century, vol. 3, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GTF9V4CG
levels. The Anglican church had a hierarchy as follows: [1] : 1. The Monarch :: 2. Archbishops ::: 3. Bishops :::: 4. Archdeacon :::: 5. Priest ::::: 6. Chaplain :::::: 7. Ecclesiastical officials
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 30) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
Government buildings throughout the UK and all of the Empire’s territories.
Professional bureaucrats throughout the UK and all of the Empire’s territories.
The Court of Pleas for civil suits and the King or Queen’s bench for cases concerning revenue and some civil matters. [1]
[1]: (Chambers and Chambers 1847: 275) Chambers, Robert and Chambers, William. eds. 1847. History and Present State the British Empire. London: W.R.Chambers. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K77JRGEL
Markets were present all across England (later the UK) and expanded rapidly across the Empire. Local as well as colonial markets were providing goods from across the world. [1]
[1]: (Canny 1998: 145, 209) Canny, Nicholas. ed. 1998. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I The Origins of Empire, vol. 1, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTDR3NCN
Irrigation was already present in England and was developed throughout the Empire. [1]
[1]: ( Porter 1999: 351) Porter, Andrew, ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century, vol. 3, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GTF9V4CG
Places of worship, entertainment buildings, factories, warehouses, workplaces, knowledge buildings, shops, pubs and coffee-houses, government buildings etc.
Universities, schools, colleges, laboratories, archives, libraries etc. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 131) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
Tin and coal mines in the UK. Precious metals and jewels in the Americas and Africa. [1]
[1]: (Colquhoun 1811: 130) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
British trading posts such as Gibraltar became famous for their emporiums and immense amounts of imports and exports that it traded across the Empire. [1]
[1]: ( Colquhoun 1811: 306) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
Books, essays, manuscripts, court records, legal texts, poetry, pamphlets and newspapers, almanacs etc. [1] [2]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 171, 283, 372-73) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
[2]: (Marshall 2006: 231-244, 270-271) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
As the empire expanded, non-phonetic alphabets such as Hindi, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin were introduced, though in no way adopted officially, however some ruling members of the colonies would encourage study of the local language. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 130, 243, 248, 525) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
The scientific revolution took place in Europe through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and with it came a surge of scientific literature particularly in astronomy, physics, medicine, botany and mathematics. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 170, 231-244) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
Religious guidance and sermons were often published throughout the period. Most notably Sacheverell’s The Perils of False Brethren (1709). Issac Newton also wrote commentaries on the bible in the seventeenth century. [1] The Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, founded in 1698, circulated religious literature to the colonies and for at-home learning. [2] [3] Half the books published in the late seventeenth century were philosophical or religious. [4]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 375) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
[2]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 385) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
[3]: (Marshall 2006: 130) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
[4]: (Canny 1998: 100) Canny, Nicholas. ed. 1998. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I The Origins of Empire, vol. 1, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTDR3NCN
Advice books for subjects such as agriculture and farming. Travel books. Military strategy. Architecture [1] [2]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 372) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
[2]: (Marshall 2006: 1170-2) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
The Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 and branches were created in the American colonies by the mid seventeenth-century, which produced texts and books. Natural philosophy could be studied at university level from the early eighteenth century. [1] Half the books published in the late seventeenth century were philosophical or religious. [2]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 240-42) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
[2]: (Canny 1998: 100) Canny, Nicholas. ed. 1998. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I The Origins of Empire, vol. 1, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTDR3NCN
Natural history and classifications were popular from the beginning of the period. Directories. Government reports on the Empire, its people and lands. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 88, 170) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
Histories of England and military and warfare history were particularly popular. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 170, 172) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
Poetry, novels, plays. [1] [2]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 18, 523) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
[2]: (Canny 1998: 100) Canny, Nicholas. ed. 1998. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I The Origins of Empire, vol. 1, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTDR3NCN
England/Britain used the Julian calendar until adopting the Gregorian calendar in the mid-eighteenth century. [1]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: xvi) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U
Gold had been used widely in the preceding polities for hundreds of years and began to be mined throughout the Empire, particularly the Americas and Africa. [1]
[1]: (Colquhoun 1811: 130) Colquhoun, Patrik. 1814. Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World Etc. Jos. Mawman. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3SNZA6FJ
The Bank of England began issuing fixed denomination paper currency in the early eighteenth century and partially printed notes from 1725. [1]
[1]: ( Bank of England) Bank of England. ‘History’. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/history. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/PYMZXS4N
The Bank of England was established in 1694. There were also an increasing number of commercial, mercantile and private creditors in the UK and across the Empire. [1]
[1]: (Marshall 2006: 62-63, 296, 384, 423, 432) Marshall, P. J. ed. 2006. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume II The Eighteenth Century. Vol. 2, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGG2PPQQ
days. In 1825 a steam assisted ship sailing from Falmouth to Calcutta (British Indian capital) took 113 days to make the one-way journey. [1]
[1]: (Porter 1999: 255) Porter, Andrew, ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century, vol. 3, 5 vols. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GTF9V4CG
From the seventeenth century gardens were increasingly laid out in geometric and symmetrical designs. In the eighteenth-century symmetrical buildings, houses and gardens was the most fashionable architectural style. [1]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 374, 376) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chicester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U