BRITISH EMPIRE

DEFINITION

A worldwide system of dependences –colonies, protectorates, and other territories– that over a span of three centuries wasbrought under the sovereignty of the crownof Great Britain and the administration of theBritish government

The policy of granting or recognizingsignificant degrees of self-government bydependencies led to the development by the20th century of the notion of “the BritishCommonwealth

British Empire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgXO_6pV-AI

Origins of the BritishEmpire

Because of its insularity the maritime trade

has always played an important role in thehistory of Great Britain

It was sustained by Naval Acts, first being givenby the Parliament under the rule of Richard II

Elisabeth I takes the first effective measuresbecause the British naval force was welldeveloped

16th century –marked the beginning ofcompanies: private commercial ventures,chartered and encouraged by the crown

They had certain powers of political controland commercial monopolies over designatedgeographical areas

In the areas they started setting up fortifiedtrading posts. Where there was no strongindigenous government the English extendedtheir power over the surrounding area

Scattered post were established in India, EastIndies, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay

1606 – an attempt to establish Englishcolonies in America, two companies arefound

1600 Elisabeth I grants a charter to aCompany of Merchants trading into the EastIndies

1614 East India Company owns 24 ships

1606 – James I supports new efforts toestablish colonies along the coast of America,a charter is given to London Company whichlater becomes Virginia Company

By 1670 there were British American coloniesin New England, Virginia, Maryland andsettlements in Honduras, Bermudas, Antigua,Barbados and Nova Scotia

1655 Jamaica was obtained by conquest

1670s the Hudson’s Bay Company establishedin present northwestern Canada

1600 East India Company began establishingtrading posts in India and the StraitsSettlements: Penang, Singapore, Malacca,Labuan

1661 – the first African colony James Island

Sierra Leone – slave trade had begun

Later Britain acquired Cape of Good Hope

Nearly all the early settlements arose fromthe enterprise of particular companies andmagnates rather from any effort of the Britishcrown. The crown exercised some rights ofappointment and supervision, but thecolonies were essentially self-managingenterprises

Conclusion:

The formation of the empire was anunorganized process

In accordance with the mercantilistphilosophy of the time the colonies wereregarded as a source of raw materials forEngland and were granted monopolies fortheir products on he British market

They were expected to conduct all their tradeby means of English ships

The Navigation Act of 1651 as well as thesubsequent acts set a closed economybetween Britain and its colonies

The slave trade was important for Britain’scolonial economy

It was abolished in 1807

British naval power gained many victoriesagainst France: in India, Robert Clive’smilitary victories provided Britain accessionof territory and ensured Britain’s supremacyin India

1763 the Treaty of Paris ensured thedominance over Canada after the SevenYears’ War

17th century – there was a great demand forsugar and tobacco which determined thegrowth of plantations on the islands ofCaribbean and in the SE of North America

These colonies together with thoseestablished in NE North America attractedmany European settlers.

First they were organized by charteredcompanies, later they developed institutionsmodeled on the English lines

The need of cheap labour on the plantationsled to the growth of slavery and to newchartered companies settlement on Africancoasts

The 18th century meant a revitalization of oldchartered companies

The British government attempted to assert agreater control over its empire. This led tofrictions between the governors and thecolonial assemblies.

The Second Empire

The second phase of territorial expansion wasdetermined by the voyages of James Cook toAustralia and New Zealand (1770s) and newconquests in India

The loss of the American colonies wascompensated by Trinidad and later Tobago,Mauritius, Santa Lucia, Malta, Malacca,Singapore and in India United Provinces ofAgra and Oudh, Central Provinces, EastBengal and Assam