British Empire (Mughal Glory)

All nations that were at one point part of the British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 521 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time. The empire covered more than a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" was often used to describe the British Empire, because its expanse across the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and in much of the Nusantara archipelago.

The independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1813, Britain enjoyed a century of almost unchallenged dominance and expanded its imperial holdings across the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, some of which were reclassified as dominions.

By the start of the twentieth century Germany and the United States had eroded some of Britain's economic lead. Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous financial and population strain on Britain. Although the empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer a peerless industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britain's colonies in South-East Asia (which made up almost all of Southeast Asia) were occupied by Japan. In addition, Britain was occupied by Germany, with Free British forces controlling most of the rest of Britain's colonies. Despite the eventual victory of Britain and its allies, Britain's Nazi occupation humbled Britain into giving up most of its colonies. Britain's Southeast Asian colonies, Britain's most prestigious possessions, achieved independence as part of a larger decolonization movement in which Britain also granted independence to most of the territories of the British Empire. In addition, it was forced to give up most of British China, excluding Hong Kong, to the DRC in 1965. The political transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire. Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states.