-
the british empire
For the British, creating an empire was all about money. Britain spent centuries at war with other European nations before creating its empire. Millions of soldiers, commoners, and nobles died, thousands of battles were fought, and in the end, very little territory changed hands. -
the british empire
During the 16th Century (1500s) the Age of Exploration began and new, far-flung territories offered easier conquests. Many European empires scrambled to claim territories, including the Dutch, the French, the Portuguese, and the Spanish, as well as the British. -
the british empire
The British Empire lasted 346 years, from 1603 to 1949 A.D. At it's height in 1922, it was the largest empire ever in history, with a population of 458 million people across almost 34 million square kilometers. -
the british empire
After the “discovery” of North America, the French were much quicker to establish colonies and claim their territory in the new land. The British were probably very worried about what would happen in Europe if the French gained exclusive control over all of the riches of North America. -
the british empire
As stated previously, the British created their empire because of historic competition. The biggest competition for the British throughout history were the French. At many points in history, -
the british empire
The British became the most successful empire in history through a combination of resources and technology. Key to the success of the British was having the right resources. The British did not have massive amounts of gold, like the Spanish for example, but gold doesn’t help to construct ships. The British did have almost unlimited lumber ideal for ship building from Canada, and ships are more important for conquering territories than gold. -
the british empire
In summary, the answer to how did the British end up controlling nearly 1/4 of the planet is that they had a combination of the right resources and the right technologies. -
the british empire
In summary, the answer to why the British felt the need to have such a large empire was because of historic competition in Europe that got repeated in territories around the world -
british empire
Let’s compare the British example of tea to the Dutch example of silk. The Dutch were very involved in the silk trade in Asia. Silk, however, was a luxury good, and really only the very wealthy Dutch could afford it. -
the british empire
In other territories, like Asia and Africa, the British felt similar competition with the French again, but also the Dutch, and to a lesser extent the Spanish and Portuguese.
