The British Empire

History: KS3, topic 6.1.1

What Was The British Empire?

The British Empire grew to become the largest and most powerful empire the world has ever seen.

An empire is a collection of different countries that are controlled by one monarch or ruler. The country that controls the other countries within the empire is sometimes referred to as the ‘mother country’.
Countries within an empire that are controlled by the ‘mother country’ are known as colonies.
Throughout history, there have been various empires, in all different parts of the world. Some empires lasted for only a few years, while others lasted for hundreds of years.

The British Empire, which had its origins in the late-1500s and crumbled in the mid-1900s, was the largest empire in history when it was at its height.
For a time, it controlled a quarter of the globe, and a fifth of the world’s population.
Britain was the mother country, and the British Empire had colonies all across the world: in the Americas, Africa, Australia and the Pacific, and Asia.

Millions of Brits migrated across the empire, settling in far-flung parts of the globe, particularly places like Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada.

Since the fall of the British Empire, millions of people from Britain’s former colonies have settled in Britain, particularly from countries like India, Pakistan, the Caribbean and West African countries.

Bear in mind that Britain was not created until 1707 when England, Wales and Scotland united.
So any time before 1707 will mention England’s colonies, whereas any time after 1707 will talk of Britain’s colonies and the British Empire.