British Empire
Sun-never-sets dominion
The British Empire was the collection of territories, colonies, and dominions under British rule, at its height spanning roughly a quarter of the world's land and population.
The phrase evokes both maritime dominance and colonial exploitation: The sun never sets on the British Empire.
The empire largely dissolved during the twentieth century as former colonies gained independence, though Britain retains a handful of overseas territories.
Foreign territorial takeover
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- subjugationForcing into submission
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
- mercantilismTrade policy favoring exports
domination · protectorate · annexation · governance · administration · missionaries · extraction · East India Company
Ending imperial control
- Commonwealth GamesMulti-sport event for British-linked nations
- member statesCountries within a union
- dominionAuthority to rule
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
independence · partition · Ghana · India · Australia · Canada · South Africa · New Zealand
UK naval military branch
- AdmiraltyGovernment body governing fleets
- fleetVehicles under unified command
- NelsonEnglish family name
- Trafalgar1805 naval battle site
man-of-war · frigate · ship-of-the-line · dockyard · gunboat · blockade · privateer · press-gang
Defeating and seizing control
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- acquisitionAct of obtaining something
expedition · frontier · outposts · chartered companies · trading posts · spheres of influence · Hong Kong · Gibraltar
Long-reigning British empress
- Industrial RevolutionEra of mechanized production
- Great Exhibition1851 London industrial showcase
- Crystal PalaceIron-framed glass exhibition hall
- JubileeNamed royal anniversary event
telegraph · steamship · railways · Kipling · Disraeli · Gladstone · diamond jubilee · gunboat diplomacy
After foreign rule ends
- reparationsCompensation for historical wrongs
- repatriationFormal return to homeland
- WindrushLandmark immigration ship
- anglophoneNative speaker of English
cricket · English language · railways · borders · museums · Elgin Marbles · Kohinoor · cultural heritage
colonization
Foreign territorial takeover
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- subjugationForcing into submission
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
mercantilism · domination · protectorate · annexation · governance · administration · missionaries · extraction · East India Company · hegemony
decolonization
Ending imperial control
- Commonwealth GamesMulti-sport event for British-linked nations
- member statesCountries within a union
- dominionAuthority to rule
self-governance · independence · partition · Ghana · India · Australia · Canada · South Africa · New Zealand · Pakistan
Royal Navy
UK naval military branch
- AdmiraltyGovernment body governing fleets
- fleetVehicles under unified command
- NelsonEnglish family name
Trafalgar · man-of-war · frigate · ship-of-the-line · dockyard · gunboat · blockade · privateer · press-gang · naval bases
conquest
Defeating and seizing control
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
acquisition · expedition · frontier · outposts · chartered companies · trading posts · spheres of influence · Hong Kong · Gibraltar · Suez Canal
Queen Victoria
Long-reigning British empress
- Industrial RevolutionEra of mechanized production
- Great Exhibition1851 London industrial showcase
- Crystal PalaceIron-framed glass exhibition hall
Jubilee · telegraph · steamship · railways · Kipling · Disraeli · Gladstone · diamond jubilee · gunboat diplomacy · zenith
postcolonial
After foreign rule ends
- reparationsCompensation for historical wrongs
- repatriationFormal return to homeland
- WindrushLandmark immigration ship
anglophone · cricket · English language · railways · borders · museums · Elgin Marbles · Kohinoor · cultural heritage · diaspora
- 1800sVictorian era, Napoleon, Gilded Age, Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution
- empiresemperor, empress, imperial, Imperial China, Imperial Russia
- Former StatesPrussia, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, East Germany
- Australian HistoryCaptain Cook, Commonwealth, federation, explorers, Liberal Party
- Irish HistoryGreat Famine, Easter Rising, Irish nationalism, Irish War of Independence, Irish Civil War
- 19th Century MonarchiesQing Dynasty, Queen Victoria, Tsar Nicholas, Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor Meiji
British EmpireBritish India
Crown-ruled subcontinent territory
British Empiredecolonization
Ending imperial control
anti-colonialism · national liberation · self-determination · Mahatma Gandhi · Irish independence
British Empirehermit kingdom
Nation deliberately avoiding outside contact
nation-state · city-state · small nation · Bhutan · Switzerland
empire, British, Britain, imperialism, Great Britain, Britons, Briton, Britannica, Britishness