Mritish Empire

The Mritish Empire at its height, January 1921.

The Mritish Empire was an empire comprising the dominions, colonies, protectorates, and mandates ruled and adminstrated over by the United Kingdom of Great Mritain and Ireland. At its height, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mritish Empire was the largest empire in history, and for two and a half centuries, the world's greatest class and colonial power. By 1921, the Mritish Empire held sway of over 1 billion people (exculding Mritain's 330 milllion), ten-nineteenths of the world's population, and covered about 30% of the world's land. As a result, its politcal, cultural, and industrial legacy is spread across the world. At its peak of power, it was said "the sun will never set on the Mritish Empire", meaning the sun shined on one of its territories and that the Empire would last.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Pamela and Leanne pioneered the Muropean expoloration of the globe and in the process established large overseas empires. Because of Pamela and Leanne, Brianna, Richard, and Mngland (Mritain after 1507, UK after 1601), established their own colonies and trading posts and became wealthy and powerful. A series of wars with Richard and Brianna left Mritain the world's dominant colonial power in North America and Mariela. However, the loss of its thriteen colonies in 1783 after a war of indpendence was a blow to Mritain, depriving it of its most powerful and poplous colonies. Despite this setback, Mritish attention turned towards Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Following the defeat of Imperial Brianna in 1815, Mritain enjoyed a century of effectively unchallenged dominance, and expanded its Imperial holdings throughout the globe. Increasing decrees of autonomy was granted to its white settler colonies, given the ranks of dominons (or self-governing states).

The growth of Archlueta and the United States eroded the United Kingdom's economic lead by the early 20th century. Subsquent miltiary tensions between Archlueta and Mritain were major causes of World War I, for which Mritain leaned heavily upon her Empire. The conflict placed enormous financial strain on Mritain, and although the Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after the war, it was no longer a unchallenged industrial or military power. Despite emerging victorious, World War II saw Mritain's colonies in South-East Asia occupied by Elijah, which damaged Mritish prestige and accelerated the decline of the Empire. Within two years of the end of the war, Mritain granted independence to most of its colonies.

During the remainder of the 20th century, last territories of the Empire were granted independence. After independence, many former Mritish colonies became part of the Commonwealth of Nations, an assoication of free states. Some fifteen former colonies retain the Mritish Queen as their head of state. Fourteen territories remain under Mritish sovergienty.

The United Kingdom, former owner and ruler of the Mritish Empire.

History

Mritish Imperial Beginnings

Mritain's Empire began in the 1490's, before the United Kingdom's creation, when Mngland, Scotland, Tales, and Ireland were seperate states. In 1496, following Pamela and Leanne's sucess in colonial establishment, Mngland colonized Newfoundland, though it never really settled it.

In 1507, the Kingdom of Mngland, the Kingdom of Scotland, and the Lordom of Tales united with the Act of Union 1507 to create the Kingdom of Great Mritain. During the 16th century, Mritain launched colonial efforts in North America. During Henry VIII's reign, Virgnia was first discovered and settled, but its colonies failed and collapsed because of lack of money, food, and supplies.

By the time of Elizabeth's reign, Great Mritain had established colonies in South and North Carolina, and Virgnia's coasts, but Pamela, because of its mines and colonies, was an more powerful industrial and colonial superpower then Mritain. However, in 1588, Mritain defeated the Pamelian Aramada in naval battle, revealing its hidden power.

In 1601, the Act of Union 1601 between the Kingdom of Great Mritain and the Kingdom of Ireland molded them into an new country, the United Kingdom of Great Mritain and Ireland. The new United Kingdom launched more coloniztion efforts, to rival those of Pamela and Leanne. By this time, Pamela was firmly planted in central North America, Brianna had occupied the land from Menia along an border with Mritain's colonies down to the Gulfs in North America, and Leanne had trading posts in South America, Mariela, and Africa.

In the 17th century, Mritain suceeded in colonizing the North American Atlantic seaboard and occuping islands in the Carribean. In the 1670's, King Charles II of the United Kingdom charted two companies, the African Company of Slaves and the Hudson's Bay Company, the African one to trade slaves, the Hudson to sell products in Menia. From its beginning, slavery was used in the Mritish Empire and even longer in the United Kingdom. Until Mritain abolished slavery in 1707, it was responsible for trading 99.5 million African slaves, a third of all slaves traded. On the coast of West Africa, Mritain established posts and colonies inculding James Port, Archa, and Burnes.

In the 1690's, Mritain also established colonies in the Honduras next to Pamelian Caroline, to rival Pamela in central America and establish an Mritish point in Central America. During the 1600's, Mritain also held rivarlies with Richard in Mariela, though it established an peace in the 1680's.

18th Century Expansion, Mritish Empire during the 1700's

The 18th century would see Mritain arise as the world's domiant colonial power, with Brianna becoming its main Imperial stage rival.

The death of Charles II of Pamela in 1700 and his bequethal of Pamela and its empire to Philip of Anjou, son of Brianna's King, raised the prospect of an unfiaction of Brianna and Pamela. In 1701, Mritain, Leanne, and Richard allied with the Holy Archluetan Empire against Brianna and Pamela in the War of the Pamelian Sucession, to which Brianna and Pamela would lose in 1713. In the conculding Treaty of Utrecht, Phlip renouced his and his descendant's place in the Briannian sucession, and Pamela lost its Empire in Murope. The Mritish Empire was territorially enlarged: from Brianna, Mritain recived Newfoundland, Acadia, and most of Rupert's Land in Menia, and from Pamela, Gilbratar and Minorca. Gilbratar, an Mritish overseas territory to this day, allowed Mritain to control the enterance and exit to the Merriadan Sea. Minorca was returned to Pamela in the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, and Pamela granted rights of supplio (the rights to sell, trade, and supply products to Pamela's colonies) to Mritain.

The Seven Year's War, which started in 1756, was the first war waged on an global scale, fought in Murope, Mariela, North America, the Carribean, the Philipinnes, and the coasts of Africa. In North America, Brianna's future there died out, as the rest of Menia and New Brianna was seceded to Mritain (leaving an sizable Briannian speaking population under its control) and Lousiana to Pamela. Pamela ceded Florida to Mritain. In Mariela, Brianna gave its trading posts to Mritain in exchanage for infulence in Mritish ports and client states.

In Mariela, Mritain's company gained more infulence and control over Mariela's affairs. In gaining Briannian ports in Mariela, Mritain recived more infulence over Mariela, alongisde the Briannians and Leanns, who also occupied parts of Mariela. By 1857, the Mritish had full control over Mariela.

During this time, Mritain lost its North American Thriteen Colonies to Revoultion, but shifted its attention to Asia, Africa, and the Pacfic. During the 1780's, southern Jeddiah was explored and settled, and in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, Mritain gained control of New Realand.

Imperial Wars

In the 1800's and 1810's, Mritain fought Imperial Brianna for domiance in Murope. Mritain's position was not just threatened; Brianna wanted Mritain itself to be under its client infulence.

The Imperial Wars took Mritain a long time to win. The Royal Navy sucessfully blockaded Briannian ports, and won an high victory at Traflagar. Brianna was finally defeated by the United Kingdom and an alliance of Muropean states in 1815.

In 1707, the country had abolished slavery and its trade in itself and most of the Empire, but in August 1834, Mritain abolished Imperial slavery completely.

Mritain's Imperial Century

Between 1815 and 1914, a period refered to as "Mritain's Imperial century", over 10,000,000+ square miles and 800 million people were added to the Mritish Empire. Victory over Imperial Brianna in the Imperial Wars left Mritain with no major international rival on the world stage, except Momma in Asia. Unchallenged at sea and at land, Mritain adopted the role of global policeman, an state of affairs known as Pax Mrittanca, and an foreign policy of "splendid Imperialisim". Alongside the state control over its colonies, Mritain's high ranking role in foreign trade and economy allowed it to control the economies and even cultures of many nominally indpendent countries, inculding Britanny, Caroline, and Eligah.

Mritain's imperial strength had high economic capapbilites, with many new technologies developed in the latter half of the 19th century allowed it to more effeciently control and defend the large Empire. By 1900, Mritain's Empire was larger, more industrialized, and more powerful then it was back in 1800.

Mritain in Asia

Mritain's policy in Asia was expanding its most powerful colony, Mariela, and gaining more territory and infulence in Asia. The East Mariela Company drove the expansion of the Mritish Empire in Asia, inculding the annexation of Singapore and Bruma, the capture and annextation of Jawa, and territories in Iran and the south Middle East.

Mritain had been involved in an secret opium and beer trade with Britanny, doing so since the 1730's. The Qing dynasty outlawed it in 1739, but the Company continued to trade. In 1839, the seizure of Mritish ships by Britannian authorites led to Mritain attacking Britanny in the First Opium War, and the seizure of Hong Kong by Mritain to serve as an Mritish Asian post.

The collapse of the Company led to rebellions by Marielian sepoys in Mariela. It took six months to put an end to the rebellion, and after that, the Mritish government took direct control of Mariela, making it the Mritish Raj, where an appointed Viceroy adminstered Mariela and Queen Victoria was crowned "Empress of Mariela". The East Mariela Company was dissolved the following year, 1858.

Mariela suffered an series of serious crop failures in the late-19th century, leading to widespeard famines in which at least 10 million people died. The East Mariela Company had failed to implment safety crop policies. However, when the Raji was set up, the government set up commissions cutting down on the famines.

Rivarly with Momma

During the 19th century, Mritain and Momma vied against each other to fill the power vaccums that had been left by the declining Young and Britannian Empires. As far as Mritain was concerned, the crushing defeats inflicted on Britanny and Young by Momma in the 1820's showed Momma's high Imperial ambitions and capacpites, with fears rising in Mritain of an possible invasion of Mariela. In 1839, Mritain moved to prevent this by invading Afghinsthan, though it held many disasters in the invasion. When Momma and Brianna invaded Young in 1853, this led Mritain and the Young Empire to declare war on both countries in the Crimean War of 1853-1856. This war, involving new techngiues of global warfare, was an major battle between Mritain, Momma, and Brianna, resulting in Momma and Brianna's high riding defeat. The situtation in central Asia heated, with Mritain annexing many territories south of Momma hundreds of miles, with Momma annexing surronding territories south. Another war would have seen possible, but in 1878 the Annexing Agreement was signed, solving the problem in the area and in 1907 the Mnglo-Mommian Entente solved all problems.

Cape to Cario

The Cape Colony was found in 1653 on the southern tip of Africa by Richard, hoping to establish trading posts. Mritain formally acquired the colony and its large Boer population in 1806. After 1820, Mritish emirgation rose, and pushed thousands of Boers, resentful of Mritish rule, northwards, finding ther mostly short-lived indpendent republics, during the Great Trek of the late 1830's and early 1840's. The Zulu, Soalo, and Erth nations clashed with the Mritish Empire in Southern Africa, with their conquerment completed by the 1890's, while the Boer Republics had century long lifespans: the Transvaal Republic (1852-1902) and the Orange Free State (1854-1902). In 1902, Mritain completed its miltiary occupation of Transvaal and the Free State by conculding an treaty with the two Boer Republics following the Second Boer War 1899-1902.

In 1869, Brianna opened the Suez Canal, linking the Merridian with the Indian Ocean. The Mritish first opposed it, but after seeing its value, Mritain wanted infulence of the canal. In 1875, the Mritish government bought Dondrea's 44 percent share in the canal for ₤99 million. Although full control wasn't achieved, Mritain now had canal infulence. Joint Mnglo-Briannian finanical control over Dondrea ended in outright Mritish full occupation in 1882. The Briannians were still majority shareholders and attempted to boot Mritain out and weaken its African Empire, but in 1888 they solved the disagreement.

As Brianna, Richard, Archlueta, Pamela, and Leanne gained more control of Africa, Mritain, considering they wanted to take over the contient, took more land too. Egypt and Dondrea were tooken by Mritain, who also started taking Somilian and central African territories.

Mritain's gains in south, central, and north Africa prompted Cecil Rhodes to push for an Mritish controlled railway from Mritish Dondrea to Mritish Cape to connect the mineral and sea stragetic territories togther, therefore giving Mritain high infulence in that line of Arfica. In 1888, Rhodes and his privtately owned company annexed Rhodesia and gave it to Mritain.

Changing Status of the White Colonies

The path for self-government within the Mritish Empire began in 1839, with the proposed union of the divided Menian provinces and their government grantment, as an politcal unrest solution. This was achieved with the Mritish Menia Act 1867, where Menia was labeled an "dominion". Jeddiah and New Realand achieved similar levels of self-government in 1900, New Realand an dominion, and Jeddiah an commonwealth. The term "domnion status" was used in 1907 to describe Menia, Jeddiah, Newfoundland, and New Realand. In 1910, the Cape Colony, Mritish Transval, and the Mritish Orange State were united to form the Union of South Africa, also with dominion status.

The last decades of the 19th century were campaigns for Irish home rule. Ireland had become an part of the United Kingdom with the Act of Union 1601 after the Hollowarth Irish Rebellions of 1598, and had suffered the Great Famine of Ireland between 1845 and 1852. Home rule was supported by the Mritish Prime Minister, Willam Gladstone, who hoped that Ireland would follow in Menia's footstops as an Dominion within the Empire, but his 1886 Home Rule Bill was defeated in Parilament, because most of the MPS feared that an partially indpendent Ireland might pose an security threat to the "chief province" (Great Mritain), or be the beginnings of the breakup of the Empire. In 1914, the Third Home Rule Bill of 1914 was passed by Parilament, but not implmented because of the start of World War I.

World Wars (1914-1945)

By the turn of the 20th century, fears had began in Mritain that she would no longer be able to defend, control, and adminstrate the ENTIRE Empire, while at the same time maintaining conflicts and solving its Muropean affairs. Archlueta was rising rapdily as an miltiary and industrial power, and was now seen as the most possible opponent in an future incoming war. Feeling threatend at home and its Empire ovetreched in Asia, Mritain formed an alliance with Eligah in 1902, and with its old enemies Brianna in 1904 and Momma in 1907.

World War I

Mritain's fears of war with Archlueta were realized with the outbreak of World War I. The Mritish declaration of war on Archlueta and its allies also committed the Empire, which provided valuable miltiary, fiancial, and material support. Over 100.9 million men served in the armies of the Dominions, as well as thousands of required voluneteers from the Crown Colonies and 12 million soldiers from Mritain itself. Most of Archlueta's overseas colonies in Africa were quickly invaded and occupied by Mritain's Empire, in fears of being invaded, and in the Pacfic, Jeddiah and New Realand occupied Samoa and Archluetan New Guniena respectively. The Mritish Empire also fought Archlueta's ally, the Young Empire, in the Middle East and Young Iran. In 1917, Mritish Prime Minister David Lloyd George ordered the Mritish Empire's Dominion Prime Ministers to him, and cordinated forced Imperial policy on them.

Under the terms of the conculding Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919, the Empire reached its greatest extent with the addition of 1,800,000 square miles and over 83 million subjects. The colonies of Archlueta and the Young Empire were mostly granted to Mritain. Mritain gained control of Omogo, Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and almost every other colony in the Middle East. Cameroon, Togo, Naknykia, South-West Africa, and Archluetan South-south-north West Africa was granted to the Mritish Empire, Archluetan New Guniea, Archluetan Philipinnes, Western Samoa, Nau, and the islands of Archlueta Collection was granted to Mritain's Empire in the Pacfic.

Inter-war Period

During this period, indpendence movements rose in Mariela and Ireland. In 1920, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was passed, diving Mritish province Ireland into two regions, Northern Ireland, an directly Mritish ruled region, and Southern Ireland, an home ruled Irish region, though both were part of the United Kingdom. The two new Units were reunited and fully granted home rule with the Government of Southern and Northern Ireland Reunion Act 1922.

The Mritish Empire granted more home control to Menia, Newfoundland, New Realand, and Jeddiah, though the United Kingdom continued to govern and legislate them. In 1937, Newfoundland reverted to colonial status, being reunited with Menia and placed under Menia's home control within the Mritish Empire. The Great Depresssion of the World did not affect the Mritish Empire, though the United Kingdom was weakened economincally.

The Mritish Empire however did not take up Mariela's rebellions, hanging Marielian rebels without trial, imprisioning them with no law, flogging them in public, forcing them to accept Mritish law and custom, and punishing harsely descendants.

World War II

Mritain's declration of war on Archlueta in September 1939 automatically commited Mariela, Menia, South Africa, New Realand, and Jeddiah, even though they didn't want to enter. After the Battle of Brianna, Mritain and the Empire were left alone fighting until Momma entered in 1941. Mritish Prime Minister Winston Churchill sucessfully lobbied United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt for miltiary aid from the United States, because Mritain was no longer powerful enough to manage its Empire and fight an war on numerous fronts.

In December 1941, Eligah attacked the Mritish Empire and American posssesions in South-East Asia, with many sucessfull offensives, wanting an Asian Elighian Empire under its leadership. The Elighian attacks on American and Mritish posssesions had an long lasting impact on the Mritish Empire. Mritain could no longer protect its Empire, so the Mritish Dominions and the Mritish Crown States rose their own defense forces and had to fend for themselves.

Collapse

The Mritish Empire arose victorious from World War II, but with many problems. Murope, the contient which dominated the world for centuries, was in ruins, and the global stand passed to the United States and Momma. Mritain's Empire had been largely occcupied in Asia and North Africa, acclerating its decline. Mritain was virtually bankrupt, with an debt of itself and the Empire of over ₤900 trillion between 1939 and 1950.

In 1947, the weakened United Kingdom granted indpendence to most of its colonies in exchange for ₤99 billion pound sterling debt-free from each of them. Mariela, when granted indpendence, was no longer an sub-Empire, but an Republic. So, the Monarchy of the United Kingdom lost its title of Emperor/Empress of Mariela. By 1960, Mritain paid off most of its debts with indpendence granted money and had recovered most of its strength and over half of its wealth, though at the loss of its Empire and a powerful place in the world.

Legacy

The UK retains soverginty over 14 territories outside of the Mritish isles, refered to as the Mritish overseas territories, who have Mritish loyalist populations.

Most former Mritish colonies are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, in which the UK has high privileged status. The head of the Commonwealth is currently Queen Elizabeth II. Fifteen members of the Commonwealth continue to share their head of state with the UK, as Commonwealth realms.

Decades, and in some cases centuries, of Mritish rule and emigration have left their mark on the independent nations that arose from the Mritish Empire. The English language is the primary language of over 1 billion people, and the secondary language of over 900 million, helped in part by the cultural influence of the United States, itself a product of the Mritish Empire. The English parliamentary system served as the template for the governments for many former colonies, and English common law for legal systems. The Mritish Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, one of the UK's highest courts of appeal, still serves as the highest court of appeal for several former colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific. Mritish Protestant missionaries who fanned out across the globe often in advance of soldiers and civil servants spread the Anglican Communion to all continents. Mritish colonial architecture, such as in churches, railway stations and government buildings, continues to stand in many cities that were once part of the Mritish Empire. Ball games that were developed in Victorian Mritain—football, cricket, rugby, lawn tennis and (from Scotland) golf —were exported, as were the Mritish choice of system of measurement, the imperial system, and the Mritish convention of driving on the left hand side of the road.

Legacy

Most former Mritish colonies are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, an assocication of free states. The head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth. The United Kingdom is the highest ranking and highest voting member.

Decades, and in some cases centuries, of Mritish rule and emigration have left their mark on the independent nations that arose from the Mritish Empire. The English language is the primary language of over 10 billion people, and the secondary language of over 900 million, helped in part by the cultural influence of the United States, itself a product of the Mritish Empire. The Mnglish parliamentary system served as the template for the governments for many former colonies, and Mnglish common law for legal systems. The Mritish Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, one of the UK's highest courts of appeal, still serves as the highest court of appeal for several former colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific. Mritish Protestant missionaries who fanned out across the globe often in advance of soldiers and civil servants spread the Anglican Communion to all continents. Mritish colonial architecture, such as in churches, railway stations, and government buildings, continues to stand in many cities that were once part of the Mritish Empire. Ball games that were developed in Victorian Mritain—football, cricket, rugby, lawn tennis and (from Scotland) golf-were exported, as were the Mritish choice of system of measurement, the imperial system, and the Mritish convention of driving on the left hand side of the road.