1770s
1774
Great Compromise enacted to avoid possible armed conflict between Britain and her colonies. Britain grants self-rule and representation in parliament to the North American colonies. The colonies are organized into the Commonwealth of British North America.
1780s
1780
The British adopt a breech loading rifle invented by an American. This will give them an edge over other nations.
1782
Watt invents steam engine.
1783
Russia's annexation of Crimea causes a declaration of war from France. The war proves costly for the French and in the end does not stop Russia from expanding.
1789
Great Peasant Revolt begins in France.
1790s
1790
Fighting escalates between loyalists and rebels in France.
1791
Quebec is separated from the CBNA while still remaining part of the British Empire. They are allowed to speak French in public and to practice Roman Catholicism without persecution. English remains the language of government and business. In return Quebecois leaders renounce all claims to the Great Lakes region.
1792
Britain begins mobilizing troops in preparation to invade France. Regiments are raised in the CBNA and sent to Britain.
Russian annexation of Trebizond.
Cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney.
1793
Britain declares war on France after the execution of Louis XVI. British troops land in France and quickly overwhelm the revolutionary army. In a matter of months France is under British control. In other parts of the world British troops capture French territory.
British settlement of Australia begins. CBNA convinces Parliament to begin settling debtors there instead of in the CBNA.
1794
After a year of British occupation, George III is crowned King of France, creating the United Kingdom of Britain and France. The rest of Europe, creating a coalition to overthrow British control of France, protests this assumption of power. The Imperial Wars have begun.
1795
British (includes French troops) troops overrun the Lower Countries in Europe. In the rest of the world the Cape Colony is occupied by the British while American troops capture New Orleans and Florida from the Spanish.
1796
British forces overrun southern Italy. French commander Napoleon Bonaparte gains recognition as a military expert. In North America, British and colonial forces capture Mexico City after a bloody siege. Tens of thousands of Mexicans die of famine and disease.
Mass production of steam engines begins in the British Empire for use in manufacturing.
1798
British navy wins control of the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt from Alexandria to Cairo is occupied. Plans begin to construct a canal on the Suez Peninsula to better connect Europe with Asia.
Ireland is granted dominion status like the CBNA, sending their representatives to the Imperial Parliament.
1800s
1800
Thomas Jefferson becomes Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of British North America.
Cotton becomes one of the most important exports of the CBNA.
1802
A ceasefire is recognized between Britain and the Coalition. British control is recognized in the Low Countries, Italy, Malta, Spanish North America, the Dutch colonial empire, and Egypt. However, the coalition refuses to recognize George III as King of France.
First steam ship developed. The Royal Navy likes the idea of what it can do and invest large sums of money in creating new steam warships for the next war.
1803
War begins again between Britain and the remaining free European nations. Rebellions begin in South America; British support is given to the rebels.
1804
The Haitian Incident leads to Parliament to declare the gradual ending of slavery in the Empire. All of Haiti’s slaves are set free and the slave trade is ended.
1805
Spain and Portugal surrender to Britain thanks in part to the new British steamships outperform the European ships putting all of Europe under a blockade. British troops are moved to fight the Prussians, Russians and Austrians.
1806
Establishment of the United Empire of Britain (a.k.a. the British Empire) with George III being crowned George I, Emperor and Protector of the World. A new Imperial Parliament is created with voting representatives from across the empire can discuss and vote on the laws of the empire. Founding members include Britain, Ireland, the CBNA, Quebec, France, Greater Netherlands, Mexico, and Egypt.
Nations outside the empire become “Allied States.” Mostly in Europe and South America, these nations are allowed a measure of autonomy and support from the Empire as long as they respect the authority of the Emperor and the Imperial Parliament.
1808
Prussia and Austria surrender to the British Empire and agree to become allied states. Russia is the last member of the free Europeans still independent.
The Suez Canal finally opens.
1810s
1811
General Andrew Jackson arrives in Europe to serve under the new General Napoleon Bonaparte who is leading a massive army of British, Colonial and European troops for a planned invasion of Russia.
1812
General Napoleon commences his invasion of Russia. It is a success but causes a huge loss of life among British forces. In the end Russia surrenders and becomes an allied state, ending the power of the coalition. All of Europe is now under Imperial control.
1813
British forces under Napoleon invade the Ottoman Empire after they demanded Egypt be returned to them.
1815
The last organized forces of the Ottoman Empire are defeated but it cost the life of General Jackson. The last nation that could challenge the Empire has been defeated.
The European territories of the Ottoman Empire are given independence as British allied states. Britain takes direct control of Thrace, Constantinople and Cyprus.
Veterans from the wars in Europe and the Middle East are given generous land grants across the new British colonial territories to help hold them down. There is a rather large number that settle in the Texas province of Mexico.
1816
Slavery ends in the Empire. Many free slaves are given resources to settle new colonies in Africa to increase Imperial control of the continent. The Empire also declares slavery illegal for all of the allied states as well.
1820s
1820
Emperor George II is crowned.
1821
Free black settlements in West Africa being expanding into the interior.
1822
First ironclad steamship sails.
1823
British expand into Burma from India.
1827-30
Britain secures control of North Africa from Morocco to Libya.
1828
War hero Napoleon Bonaparte becomes the first non-British prime minister of the Imperial Parliament. He would be remembered for both his legal and educational reforms throughout the empire.
1830s
1832
American Indians forcibly resettled in Permanent Indian Territory of the CBNA.
1833
Mexico attempts to restrict open settlement of territories to white settlers from the CBNA but backs down after a ruling from the Imperial Parliament.
1835
Boers go on Great Trek to escape being ruled by the Imperial government.
1836
The Mexican territory of Texas requests to be a separate province of the Empire. Even with protests from Mexico, the Imperial Parliament approves.
1837
Mexico declares independence from the Empire. Imperial troops invade and overthrow the rebel government. Mexico is partitioned, giving Texas everything north of the Rio Grande and creating the United Provinces of Central America in the south. Mexico temporarily loses membership in the Imperial Parliament, but both Texas and the UPCA send members immediately.
Empress Victoria I becomes queen.
Electric telegraph invented.
1838
British invade Afghanistan and absorb it into India. Resistance in the new territory would last for several decades.
First railways built, screw propeller invented.
1839-42
Opium Wars in China. In the end China agrees to become an allied state of the Empire.
1840: Australia (which includes New Zealand) is granted membership in the Imperial Parliament.
1841: British claim Congo River territory in Africa.
1842: British colonize Polynesia, with most colonies being absorbed into Australia.
1845: Possible famine in Ireland avoided.
1848: The German War begins when Prussia and several other German states rebel against Imperial authority requiring the use of the Imperial Army to defeat the rebel states. Prussia is divided into several smaller states, though some territory is ceded to Poland.
1849: Gold Rush in the California province of Texas leads to a major immigration to the area from different parts of the Empire.
1850: Revolt in China over the governments allied status to the Empire leads to British intervention, splitting China into separate territories of the Empire. The first machine gun, the Gatling gun, is used in combat here.
1852: Free Boer Republic is established outside the authority of the Empire.
1853: Japan annexed by the Empire.
1854-1856: Russia becomes the next nation to rebel against its allied status. In the end Russia is defeated after a massive invasion is launched from several different directions. The Baltic States, Belarus, and Ukraine all gain independence as allied states. The Empire annexes Russian Central Asian, Alaska (given to the CBNA), the Russian Pacific coast, and the Caucus peninsula. Russia returns to its allied status.
1857: Indian leaders threaten a massive revolt if they are not allowed to participate in the Imperial Parliament. Tired from the rebellions over the last decade, the British agree and India sends its representatives to Britain.
1859: Darwin’s Origin of the Species is published.
John Brown, of the CBNA, begins his term as a representative in the Imperial Parliament.
1860: The Italian allied status requests to form a united nation but the British deny this proposal. In response Garibaldi leads a revolt in Naples and strikes north, but a British expeditionary force stops them. Garibaldi is executed.
1861: Commonwealth of British North America renames itself the Union of North America.
1862: The British annex all of Southeast Asia.
1865: Abraham Lincoln becomes the first American Prime Minister of the United Empire of Britain. Parliamentarians overlook his lowly birth in a brief flowering of egalitarianism that quickly dissipates. Snobbishness returns with a vengeance.
1866: Founding of the secessionist political party Sons of Liberty in the UNA. Calling for independence from the Empire by peaceful means, though it would last to present day it would only remain a minor power in the Continental Parliament.
Louis Pasteur discovers a vaccine for malaria. This will allow farther expansion into the African interior for the empire.
1867: Diamonds discovered in the Free Boer Republic and the Cape Colony.
The Torrent sinks with all hands and 130 troopers when it strikes a reef off southern Alaska. Divers will rediscover the remains of the vessel in 2007.
1868: Axum/Ethiopia annexed by the Empire.
1870: The western German states request admittance into the Empire as one state, not as an allied state. The Empire accepts the proposal and welcomes its newest member Hanover.
1874: Persia annexed into the Empire.
1876: The Permanent Indian Territory request to be split from the UNA as the Great Spirit Alliance. The Imperial Parliament agrees and they send representatives to them.
1877: War with the Free Boer Republic ends in victory for the Empire, annexing the small state into the Empire.
1879: Zulus defeated in South Africa.
1880: Boer Liberation Army carries out a failed revolt. They will remain a constant threat in the area for some time.
1881: Sudan annexed by Empire and given to Egypt. This provokes Sufist Mahdi rebels in central Sudan and Darfur to rise up against British authority. British troops restore order, carrying out brutal administrative massacres shocking even to imperialist press. The Imperial Parliament grants Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina independence as allied states to assuage Muslim opinion elsewhere.
The World Zionist Organization is founded to create a homeland for Jews somewhere in the Empire.
1883: Southwest Africa is claimed by the empire and merged with South Africa by diktat. Non-white populations are not consulted.
The Cape Town-Cairo railway is completed using massive direct and indirect colonial government subsidies. As with the Suez Canal, unpaid native labor is conscripted to complete the public works project.
1889: In an effort to hurt the cause of BLA in South Africa, the Union of South Africa is formed as a full member of the Empire and is allowed to extend their border farther north.
1890: Otto Von Bismarck becomes a figurehead for uniting the remaining German states with Hanover, which becomes quite popular. After some negotiations with German leaders and the Imperial Parliament, it is agreed and Hanover unites all of Germany.
In another part of the world, the Imperial Parliament sets aside the Territory of East Africa to Jewish settlement as long as they respect the rights of the natives. The WZO begins financing settlement of the area.
1891: The Grand Railway is completed. It stretches across Eurasia connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
1893: Sons of Liberty sponsors sister organizations in Texas and Quebec.
1894: East Africa becomes a full member of the Empire, thanks to increased Jewish settlement and investment. It stretches from Ethiopia all the way to Zanzibar and than into the interior.
Madagascar annexed by the Empire. Promoters begin lobbying Parliament to consider construction of a floating bridge between the island and the mainland.
1895: Formosa/Taiwan absorbed into Japan. Last remaining Portuguese settlers are compelled to evacuate at bayonet point to Macau. The first Japanese governor is assassinated by a Boxer, believed to have been hired by a departing Portuguese magnate.
1897: Imperial military officer Alfred Dreyfus of East Africa while vacationing in the UNA comes upon a plot by a radical group of the Sons of Liberty to assassinated the Imperial Family. The Sons of Liberty deny any involvement with the rogues, but they lose credibility in the eyes of the Empire. Dreyfus is knighted for his services.
1898: First heavier-than-air flight takes places in Kent.
William Jennings Bryan becomes Prime Minister of the UNA.
1899: Another rebellion in China, this time by a group known as the Boxers, is put down. China is split further into separate states. Manchuria soon becomes the wealthiest and applies for membership in the Empire, but Parliament decides to wait on granting membership until things calm down in the region.
1900: Airships become more popular for travel across long distances.
1901: West Africa is granted full membership and allowed to expand into Nigeria.
Emperor Edward I begins his reign.
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