A Summary Of The First British Empire

Prior to World War I, Britain was the most imperialistic country in the world. The British Empire occupied more than a quarter of the world, which spread over five continents and France controlled most of Africa. Because of this control the rivalry with Germany and Italy had increased, they decided they wanted a colonial empire also.

from economy to culture, Great Britain thrived and controlled most of the world. But finally,the

Profound development began in 1660 when, after a five-year struggle against the Spanish crown, the British won power. There was a significant rise in population under British control. Their system allowed the colony to prosper as they gave new European settlers land to cultivate sugar cane and cocoa. “The European planter has been described as a machine for making money” (Waters, 1985: 22). The purpose of this colonial economic system was to provide raw materials and goods for the Mother Country. In addition, a general consumer market was developed to send wealth to Europe and allow for capital accumulation, all for the benefit of the colonizers.

For example, the original thirteen colonies that Britain established on North America’s east coast have gone on to become the world’s main superpower, the United States of America. Britain’s colony in China, Hong Kong, has gone on to become Asia’s premiere financial center with Singapore (another British jewel) trailing just behind. Even Britain’s prisoners set up the only first-world country in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia! Compare this to Spain’s imperial efforts, for example Mexico is the only third world country in North America and has always struggled to overcome a legal system plagued with corruption. Why is it that the British colonies were so successful and the colonies of other countries such failures in comparison? I feel the answer to that is British law. British law has been a keystone in these colonies success. Their political ideals have helped sculpt the success stories of the modern world, albeit there have been some failures such as India and Rhodesia where there were civilians revolting against their new leaders. The British education system helped produce a new class of educated Africans and Asians that were able seek employment once they had completed their schooling.

From the mid seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, the English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay area and in Barbados experienced a fluctuating level of prosperity, the wealthy inevitably dominating the economic scene. These colonies, while ultimately different in their methods of success, possessed the same goal of continuous prosperity and their existence allowed England to ascend to the rank of world power.

The English colonies played a major role in progressing the history of the world as well as the national stature of the British who held at being one of the most dominant powers. These colonies established in the New World were not all created for the same reasons hence the initial separation with the only connection coming from past history that intertwined with Europe and eventually from providing raw materials to the Mother Country (Europe). This initial separation explains the individualistic mentality that runs across all colonies. Ranging from religious discrepancies to political/ economic differences. In other words, the main goal was self-protecting and preservation. However, this would not guarantee the brightest of futures. Establishing

    The United States would still be part of Britain if the revolutionary war did not happen, so what caused this war that made us split.  The colonies and the British used to be best friends, but then the colonist rebelled.  What caused the relationship between the British and the colonies to deteriorate. The relationship between the British and the colonies deteriorated because of the colonies restrictions, the colonists reactions, and the British reactions to the colonies reactions.

When Great Britain defeated Spain in the Spanish Armada for control of the Atlantic Ocean, this allowed Great Britain to finally begin to colonize the New World. In 1607, the British settled the New World with their third, but first permanent colony called the Virginia Colony. Even though the Virginia Colony was Great Britain’s first colony in the New World, it was not easy trying to keep the colony up and running. The colonists did have hardships during their colonization which made living in the Virginia Colony very difficult but overtime the colonists made the Virginia Colony into a very profitable colony after defeating majority of the hardships that it faced.

Within the NO portion the author states several things to support that imperialistic rule by Britain was not primarily economic. Industrial Europe required a highly specialized world, in which some areas would produce food for its industrial proletariat, others would produce raw materials for the industrial process, and the entire world would constitute a market for industrial goods. But to achieve this Europe needed to recast the world in its own image, to create the same infrastructures and similar institutions that would permit resources to be exploited and trade conducted (MacKenzie 99). This shows that imperialistic rule by Britain and other European nations was not solely economic but more so a way to gain materials, trade materials, and expand their cultures and receive outside cultural influence through imperialistic rule rather than using imperialistic

(http://www2.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=5158&) England became a leading world power between 1450-1750 greatly due to how they were affected by the Chinese and how they affected the natives of North America. England's Naval prowess allowed them to affect territories in the Americas and in India through colonization. In 1585 England took its first stab at colonization with the city of Roanoke, off the coast of present day North Carolina. Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth to travel to the new world and establish a colony. (http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html) The colonists were not prepared for the struggles and hardships that starting a new colony implied.

Let's start with India. India during this age had a lot to offer Britain. India was filled with raw materials that Britain wanted. They started the British East India Company in order to take over. They continuously grew in power and started to influence

Imperial Reform in Britian from 1815 to 1870 The period 1815 to 1870 was characterized by radical change in the character of the British Empire, to the extent that, by the end of the period, the empire consisted of two distinct parts: one made up of ‘dependent’ colonies, experiencing direct formal rule; and the other made up of self-governing ‘settlement’ colonies. This development occurred as a result of a series of social, political and economic reforms. In order to judge whether economic factors dominated imperial reform during this period, an assessment of the causes and nature of reforms is necessary. However, while imperial reform was multicausal, great weight can be given to the argument

The economic affairs of the 16th to 17th century England – a period where England experienced extreme population growth – encouraged the migration of more than half of the English population west across the Atlantic . In addition to its population’s growth, England was amid a civil war and a revolution during 1642-1660, that consequently propagated waves of political and economic refugees, finding their way to the Caribbean, to escape from the nation’s civil conflicts . Taking note of the ways in which dominant European powers – Portugal and Spain – conducted forms of active exploration and exploitation of the New World. Distinctly, for the reasons of, accumulation of land, wealth, and political power through means of exploiting its colonies resources. Virtually, England sought to mimic the Spanish economic success in their own Caribbean exploits. In contrast to the ways in which the Spanish pursued their own economic goals. The English economic success, relied on private companies to carry out commercial and colonial efforts . To emphasize, this meant that private men and companies secured the right from the crown to claim and settle islands in the Caribbean. Notably, these private men and companies’ advantageous socio-economic status, consequently began to formulate the make-up of the social stratification in the English colonies. Where social stratification refers to the persistent patterns of social inequalities within a society. Essentially, the colonies operated on

An empire is a large group of diverse people and land controlled by one unified government that uses the military to expand. A worldly known example of an empire that has affected the way people live today is the British empire. They used indirect power, superior weapons, and well thought out tactics of gaining control over a large diversity of subjects in places like India and Africa. The British used superior organization of gaining and keeping control on an large diversity of subjects using both direct and indirect rule for their favor.

. At the expense of the English colonies, the employment of mercantilist policies permitted the British Empire to prosper in wealth and power.