The largest empire in the history of the world

The British Empire consists of territories, dominions, colonies, trusteeship countries and other regions administered by Britain. It is regarded by the international community and historians as the largest colonial empire in the history of the world, with a rule area of about 34 million square kilometers.

It is generally believed that the glorious revolution of 1688 overthrew the feudal rule. In the Bill of Rights promulgated by 1689, the kingship was clearly restricted by law, and a bourgeois constitutional monarchy was established. The establishment of the capitalist system has provided Britain with unprecedented productivity, made its economy, military strength, science and technology and culture develop rapidly, and marked the rise of Britain. 1763 The capture of Canada from France after the Seven-Year War marked that Britain became the undisputed maritime hegemon. 18 15 After defeating the First Empire of France led by Napoleon, Britain became the largest country in the world and dominated international affairs for a century. This period is called "British rule".

As the most powerful empire in the world, the contradiction with the emerging German Second Reich cannot be reconciled. 19 14 years, Britain participated in the first world war. During World War I 1922, German colonies were captured according to the Paris Peace Conference, reaching the largest territory, covering a quarter of the earth's land and a quarter of the population, becoming the country with the largest span in the history of the world. Because the empire's territory and possessions spread over seven continents and four oceans, including Antarctica, there is a saying that "the sun in Britain will never set", so it is described as the second "empire that the sun never sets" after the Spanish Empire.

By the middle of the 20th century, especially after World War II, with the rise of global nationalist movement and the decline of British national strength, the British Empire gradually disintegrated.

The development of history

Colonial background

The expansion of Britain and France

Since William I landed from Normandy and conquered England in 1066, England has been actively participating in European affairs for hundreds of years.

By the end of 14, the development of foreign trade from wool trade to Europe has become the most important national policy of Britain. England invaded Wales in 1282, Ireland in169, and temporarily controlled Scotland in 1296 (interrupted in13/4). The real reunification of the two regions will be achieved peacefully through the succession of 1603. Although the monarch of England lost the territory of Normandy in 1204, the ruler of England still owned a large area of land in France through marriage and inheritance until 1453. After that, until 1563, the English monarch only owned the port of Calais, a strategic place in northern France, but even the port of Calais was lost after that.

Development of overseas empires

Overseas British Empire-here refers to the British ocean exploration and immigration or colonization outside the British Island and the European continent-can be traced back to henry vii, and its ruling period was 1485 to 1509.

On the basis of the wool trade established in Richard, henry vii established a modern British maritime trade system, which greatly developed Britain's shipbuilding industry and navigation technology. This system also created conditions for the establishment of trading institutions in the future. Trading enterprises such as Massachusetts Bay Company and British East India Company made important contributions to the overseas expansion of the British Empire. Henry vii also ordered the construction of Britain's first dry dock in Portsmouth to strengthen the construction of the then small British navy. On August 5 of the same year, he declared Newfoundland a British colony in St. John's harbor.

1587, SirWalterRaleigh declared Virginia a British colony in Anacker. However, both groups are very short-lived. Due to lack of food, bad weather, shipwrecks and the invasion of unfriendly indigenous people in the American continent, England soon had to give up these two colonies.

Stuart dynasty

1588 (during Elizabeth I of Tudor dynasty), Britain defeated the Spanish Armada, but all four expeditions organized by Britain failed, which not only tasted more painful than Spain's loss of the Armada, but also hurt its national strength. What's more, Spain 1589-65438+ lost. In this way, the Spanish navy entered a relatively glorious period, as evidenced by Philip II's sending out powerful armada twice in 1596 and 1597. Note: Quinn and Ryan: British Ocean Empire, p. 1 15. This led to the war between Britain and Spain, which has been at a disadvantage since 1588. 1604, James I of the Stuart Dynasty signed the Treaty of London with Spain.

1607, Britain established its first overseas colony in Jamestown, Virginia. In the next 300 years, England expanded its sphere of influence overseas and consolidated the local feudal monarchy. 1707, the parliaments of England and Scotland merged in London to form the Parliament of Great Britain.

America and Australia in Colonial Period

The embryonic form of the British Empire was formed at the beginning of17th century. At this time, Britain has established many colonies in North America, including Atlantic provinces of the United States, Canada and some small islands in the Caribbean such as Jamaica and Barbados.

The Caribbean, which is rich in sugar cane, is highly dependent on slave labor. It was the most important and profitable colony in early England. The colonies in the southern part of the American continent provided tobacco, cotton and rice to Britain, while the northern part produced fur; Economically, they are not as important to England as the Caribbean islands, but the vast arable land attracts many British immigrants.

American colonies in Britain are gradually expanding through war and colonization. Through the Anglo-Dutch War, Britain won New Amsterdam (new york). Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, and in 1760, it occupied all areas of New France and controlled more areas in North America.

Subsequently, Australia (1788 was discovered by the British) and New Zealand (1840 became British territory) became another destination for British immigrants. At the same time, the indigenous populations of Australia and New Zealand also decreased by 60% to 70% in more than a century because of war and disease. These colonies have been self-governing since then, and they are also exporters of wool and iron ore.

free trade

/kloc-in the 0/8th century, the original British colonial system began to decline. During the period when the Whigs controlled the domestic political power for a long time (17 14 to 1762), the empire adopted a more active foreign policy, including the seven-year war of 1756- 1763. After the war, taxing the colonies to solve the war debt problem (mainly over-taxing the colonies) triggered the American War of Independence (1775- 1783), which caused Britain to lose its most populous colony, the thirteen states of British North America. This period is sometimes called the "First British Empire", that is, the expansion of Britain in America from 17 to 18 century. Britain's expansion in Asia and Africa from the18th century is called the "Second British Empire". Britain's loss of control over the United States shows that the control of the colonies does not necessarily have a decisive impact on the British economy: after giving up the defense and administration of the American colonies, Britain quickly resumed its dominant position in American trade.

Mercantilism is a theory of economics, which refers to the struggle for wealth between countries. This is the characteristic of Britain's first overseas colonial expansion. The experience Britain learned from the colonial independence of North America is that without colonial rule, trade can still bring economic prosperity. This is why Britain was willing to grant dominion status to Canada, Australia and other white colonies from 1840 to 1850, because the whites in these countries were regarded as the "motherland" people living in the colonies. On the other hand, Ireland's fate is completely different. Incorporated into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 180 1.

During this period, Britain announced the abolition of the slave trade (1807) and soon imposed this ban on other countries. By the middle of19th century, Britain had basically eliminated the slave trade on a global scale. Slavery itself was abolished in the British colony in 1834, and the situation became stable until around 1920. The end of the old colonial and slavery system was carried out together with free trade, and the principle of free trade reached its peak around 1840, which was marked by the abolition of the British Connor Act and the Navigation Act. Free trade completely opened the British market, which also prompted other countries to open their markets in the middle of the19th century.

Some people think that the rise of free trade only reflects Britain's economic status and has nothing to do with any philosophical point of view. In fact, Britain is always more keen to force other countries to implement a certain policy than to implement the same policy itself. Although Britain lost 13 American colonies, Napoleon's final failure on the European continent in 18 15 established Britain as the most successful international power. Although the industrial revolution made Britain an undisputed economic power, the Royal Navy dominated the ocean. Britain has always kept a distance from continental European affairs, so it was able to implement an expansion plan aimed at expanding its economic and political influence, which established an "informal empire" through free trade and strategic advantages.

From the Vienna Conference in 18 15 to the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Britain was the only industrialized power in the world at that time, and it was the producer of 30% of the world's industrial products (1870). As a "world factory", Britain can produce industrial products effectively and cheaply, which makes its products produced at home more competitive than those produced locally after being shipped abroad. As long as the political situation in overseas markets is stable, Britain can still benefit from free trade even without formal colonial rule.

global expansion

During the period of 1870- 19 14, the policy and ideology of colonial expansion were called "new imperialism". The most obvious trend in this period is that European powers "empire for the sake of empire", contending for and consolidating their own colonies overseas, and directly colonizing other nations regarded as inferior nations under the premise of racial superiority theory.

During this period, the total area of overseas colonies of European powers reached 23 million square kilometers. Until the1880s, few Europeans set foot in Africa, but during this period, Africa became the main target of imperialists. But the expansion in other areas is also very frequent, especially in the coastal areas of Southeast Asia and East Asia: in these areas, the United States and Japan have also joined the ranks of competing for colonies.

1875 is considered as a watershed of the British Empire. This year, the British government, headed by Benjamin Disraeli, bought shares in the Suez Canal from Egyptian Ismail. From then on, Britain consolidated its control over the canal, which had a decisive influence on the trade between Britain and India. 1882, the struggle between Britain and France for Egyptian territory ended in the victory of the British.

For centuries, the fear of the gradual expansion of the Russian Empire to the south also influenced British policy: 1878 Britain took control of Cyprus as a stronghold to protect the Ottoman Empire; Before that, Britain also participated in the Crimean War from 1845 to 1856, and tried to invade Afghanistan. All these actions are aimed at preventing Russia from further expanding southward, and ultimately threatening the British occupation of India. Britain launched three bloody wars against Afghanistan, but none of them succeeded. The resistance of the local people and the complex terrain defeated the British goal. 1842 the first anglo-Arab war was the most painful military defeat suffered by Britain in the Victorian era. The whole British army was defeated by the Pashtuns in Afghanistan supported by the Russian Empire. 1880 the second anglo-Arab war was also a painful experience. British troops were defeated in Kandahar, surrounded by Kabul, and finally retreated to India. 19 19 the third anglo-afghan war caused a tribal uprising in Afghanistan, completely defeated the British troops who had just experienced the first world war and drove them out of Afghanistan forever. Britain's adventure in the interior of Asia ended in 1903' s failure and totally unnecessary invasion of China and Tibet.

At the same time, many influential British politicians and businessmen believe that a formal empire is extremely important, especially for British goods whose market share in the world is declining. /kloc-in the 1990s, Britain adopted a new policy wholeheartedly and soon became an important predator of tropical African colonies.

The reason why Britain adopted the neo-colonial policy may be to seek a larger overseas market for British products and investments, or it may be regarded as a strategic pre-emptive measure to prevent the existing trade channels from being destroyed by other big countries, or to allow other countries to obtain more export markets under the increasingly closed international trade situation. At the beginning of 1900, Chamberlain tried to amend the British trade barrier bill, which met with great opposition and was finally forced to give up. This shows that even if Britain's interests were damaged, the British still supported the principle of free trade. Some historians believe that Britain's neo-imperialist policy is actually a manifestation of its declining influence, not the result of its rising influence.

The evolution of Indian colonialism is enough to warn us that the economic competition between western capitalist powers before the new imperialist era should not be regarded as the only reason for Britain to strengthen colonial control. 1858 India officially became a part of the British Empire, aiming at consolidating British rule over India, and it was also a direct response to the Indian mutiny, which was also caused by the opposition of Indian conservative forces to many British policies in the Indian subcontinent.

Expand Asia

1757 BattleofPlassey's victory gave the British East India Company the right to rule the Indian state of Bengal. 1770 The famine aggravated by excessive state taxes caused controversy in Britain. By the19th century, the East India Company almost controlled the whole of India. 1857 After the Indian national uprising, the territory under the jurisdiction of the company was handed over to the Queen's Government for management. Queen Victoria was declared Queen of India on 1876.

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Myanmar and Malaya were also included in the sphere of British influence in Asia. 184 1 After the Opium War, Britain took Hong Kong Island from China.

Britain's interest in China originated at the end of 18, and Britain became a tea importer in China. Tea imports have led to a huge trade deficit in Britain, so Britain hopes to balance its expenses by exporting opium from India to China, although this violates China's ban. The two opium wars triggered by opium trade ended in the victory of Britain.

After the Opium War, Britain maintained a complicated relationship with China. Although Britain acquired Hongkong, the trade between Britain and China was mainly conducted through several open ports in China. So what Britain wants to see is an independent China, because the collapse of China means that other western powers may carve up China with Britain and challenge Britain's privileged position.

At the same time, Britain does not want to see an overly powerful China, because it means that China will cancel or demand renegotiation of some originally signed treaties. This attitude explains Britain's seemingly contradictory China policy: on the one hand, it helped the Qing court suppress the Taiping rebellion, on the other hand, it joined forces with France to launch the second opium war.

African plunder

1875, European countries had only two main colonies in Africa, Algeria and Cape Colony. But by 19 14, all African countries except Ethiopia and Liberia had become colonies of European countries. This change from an "informal empire" that only controlled colonies economically to direct control of African colonies was actually realized by Britain's naked plunder of these African regions that were originally influenced by Britain.

When France, Belgium and Portugal colonized the lower Congo River, they actually threatened Britain's penetration into tropical Africa. The Berlin Conference from 1884 to 1885 tried to mediate the contradictions among the great powers, and put forward the standard of "actual occupation" to determine the ownership of the colonies of various countries. The adoption of this standard meant that European countries attacked the local tribes and people in Africa more unscrupulously in order to obtain a larger area of "actual occupation".

1882 British military occupation of Egypt (the most direct reason is to protect the Suez Canal) also established British control over the Nile region. This further led to the British conquest of Sudan from 1896 to 1898 and the Fashoda incident involving Britain and France in September 1898. From 65438 to 0899, Britain completed its full occupation of South Africa. This military action first began with the annexation of Cape Verde from 65438 to 0795. After invading Transvaal, a gold mining area in South Africa originally ruled by the Dutch, and the neighboring Orange Free State, the British South Africa Company, which was in charge of South Africa affairs, went further north and named the occupied area Rhodesia after the wealthy Cape of Good Hope businessman SirCecilRhodes.

Britain's victories in South Africa and East Africa prompted Sir Rhodes and AlfredMilner, the British ambassador to South Africa, to put forward the idea of establishing a British colonial empire from Cape Town to Cairo in Africa. They hope to achieve this goal by building a railway connecting the Suez Canal and South Africa's mining areas. However, due to Germany's colonization of Tanganyika, the British colonies in Africa were divided into two parts. Before the end of World War I, only telegraph lines were opened between African colonies, and railways could not be built.

Although it is the most active advocate of free trade, Britain, full of contradictions, is not only the largest overseas empire in 19 14, but also the biggest beneficiary of plundering Africa. From 1885 to 19 14, Britain put about 30% of the African population under its rule, while France only ruled 15% of Africans, 9% of Germans, 7% of Belgians and 1% in the same period. The population of Nigerian colonies in Britain is150,000, which is the total population of all French West Africa and all German colonies.