About this map
From one colony on the James River to a quarter of the world's land, and back to a handful of islands: four centuries of British rule overseas, coloured by the kind of rule. Trading companies came first (the East India Company in Bengal, the Hudson's Bay Company in the Canadian north); the Crown took over; settler colonies became self-governing dominions; and after 1947 almost every territory became independent, most of them inside the Commonwealth. The peak is 1921, between the League of Nations mandates and the Irish Free State. Simplifications: territories follow modern borders, and small islands and ports are drawn as disks so they stay visible at world scale. Early colonies show roughly the settled or garrisoned area, not charter claims. Dominions count as independent from the Statute of Westminster (1931), although Australia and New Zealand adopted it later. Indian princely states are approximated by modern states. Informal influence (Oman, Afghanistan, Persia, treaty ports in China) is left out. Sources: Wikipedia articles on the individual territories, the Statute of Westminster and the member states of the Commonwealth; Natural Earth borders.
Text version: https://www.movingpolygons.com/map/chrisjager/the-british-empire-16001997.md
Timeline
| Date | What the map shows |
|---|---|
| 31 Dec 1600 | 1600 · England, Wales and Ireland |
| 14 May 1607 | 1607 · Jamestown: the first lasting colony |
| 17 Sep 1630 | 1620–30 · Plymouth, Boston, Barbados |
| 17 May 1655 | 1655 · Cromwell's fleet takes Jamaica |
| 18 Jul 1670 | 1664–70 · New York, Carolina, Hudson's Bay Co. |
| 24 Aug 1690 | 1661–90 · Bombay, Madras, Calcutta |
| 1 May 1707 | 1707 · Union with Scotland: Great Britain |
| 11 Apr 1713 | 1713 · Utrecht: Gibraltar, Acadia, Hudson Bay |
| 17 May 1756 | 1756 · Eve of the Seven Years' War |
| 10 Feb 1763 | 1763 · Treaty of Paris: Canada and Florida |
| 12 Aug 1765 | 1765 · The Company gets the revenues of Bengal |
| 19 Apr 1775 | 1775 · Lexington: the American colonies revolt |
| 3 Sep 1783 | 1783 · The Thirteen Colonies are lost |
| 26 Jan 1788 | 1788 · The First Fleet lands at Sydney Cove |
| 31 Dec 1801 | 1799–1801 · Mysore falls; union with Ireland |
| 10 Jan 1806 | 1803–06 · Delhi and the Cape taken |
| 9 Jun 1815 | 1815 · Vienna: Cape, Ceylon, Malta, Mauritius |
| 6 Feb 1819 | 1818–19 · Marathas beaten; Singapore founded |
| 24 Feb 1826 | 1824–26 · Assam and the Burmese coast; Malacca |
| 29 Aug 1842 | 1840–42 · New Zealand; Hong Kong ceded |
| 29 Mar 1849 | 1843–49 · Sindh, Natal and the Punjab annexed |
| 1 Nov 1858 | 1858 · After the Rebellion: Crown rule in India |
| 1 Jul 1867 | 1867 · Canada, the first dominion |
| 20 Jul 1871 | 1870–71 · Canada gets the North-West and BC |
| 12 Jul 1878 | 1874–78 · Fiji, Gold Coast, Transvaal, Cyprus |
| 13 Sep 1882 | 1882 · Britain occupies Egypt |
| 10 Jul 1886 | 1884–86 · Niger, Bechuanaland, Upper Burma |
| 14 May 1891 | 1888–91 · Kenya, Rhodesia, Zanzibar, Nyasaland |
| 31 Aug 1896 | 1893–96 · Uganda, Matabeleland, Malay states |
| 19 Jan 1899 | 1898–99 · Sudan retaken; Hong Kong enlarged |
| 31 May 1902 | 1900–02 · Australia federates; Boers annexed |
| 31 May 1910 | 1907–10 · New dominions: NZ and South Africa |
| 18 Dec 1914 | 1914 · War: Egypt a protectorate; Cyprus annexed |
| 11 Nov 1918 | 1918 · German colonies, Ottoman lands occupied |
| 1 Jun 1921 | 1921 · The peak: a quarter of the world's land |
| 6 Dec 1922 | 1922 · The Irish Free State leaves the Union |
| 11 Dec 1931 | 1931 · Statute of Westminster: dominions free |
| 3 Sep 1939 | 1939 · War again: Iraq and Egypt have gone |
| 1 Jun 1942 | 1942 · Japan takes Hong Kong, Malaya, Burma |
| 12 Sep 1945 | 1945 · Victory: colonies back, Italy's occupied |
| 15 May 1948 | 1947–48 · India, Pakistan, Burma, Palestine go |
| 31 Aug 1957 | 1956–57 · Suez; Sudan, Ghana, Malaya free |
| 1 Oct 1960 | 1960 · Wind of change: Nigeria, Cyprus, Somalia |
| 9 Oct 1962 | 1961–62 · Tanganyika, Uganda, Jamaica, Kuwait |
| 24 Oct 1964 | 1963–64 · Kenya, Malaysia, Zambia, Malta |
| 6 Sep 1968 | 1965–68 · Rhodesia rebels; Aden abandoned |
| 2 Dec 1971 | 1970–71 · East of Suez: the Gulf, Fiji, Tonga |
| 30 Jul 1980 | 1973–80 · Island nations; Zimbabwe |
| 1984 | 1981–84 · Belize, Antigua, Brunei; Falklands War |
| 1 Jul 1997 | 1997 · Hong Kong handed back to China |
Layers
England → Great Britain (1707) → United Kingdom (1801) · Colonies and Crown possessions · Chartered company rule (East India Co., Hudson's Bay Co. …) · Self-governing dominions · Protectorates, princely and protected states · League of Nations mandates and UN trust territories · Occupied or jointly administered · Independent Commonwealth members and their territories
Events
- 14 May 1607, Jamestown founded: First permanent English settlement in America, Virginia Company of London.
- 29 Nov 1612, Surat: first English factory in India: Best defeats the Portuguese at Swally; Mughal permission leads to the East India Company factory at Surat (1613).
- 21 Dec 1620, Plymouth Colony: Mayflower pilgrims land: Pilgrims settle after signing the Mayflower Compact (1620-11-21).
- 10 May 1655, Jamaica captured from Spain: Penn and Venables take the island; ceded at Treaty of Madrid 1670.
- 2 May 1670, Hudson's Bay Company chartered: Charles II grants Rupert's Land to the HBC; first posts on James Bay from 1668 (York Factory shown).
- 1 May 1707, Acts of Union: Great Britain formed: England and Scotland unite as the Kingdom of Great Britain; treaty signed 1706-07-22, Parliament of Scotland dissolved.
- 23 Jun 1757, Plassey: Company takes Bengal: Clive defeats Siraj ud-Daulah after Mir Jafar's betrayal; Company becomes kingmaker in Bengal.
- 13 Sep 1759, Quebec falls: Plains of Abraham: Wolfe defeats Montcalm; Montreal capitulates 1760-09-08.
- 4 Jul 1776, Declaration of Independence: Thirteen colonies declare independence at Philadelphia.
- 19 Oct 1781, Surrender at Yorktown: Cornwallis capitulates; decisive end of major fighting.
- 26 Jan 1788, First Fleet reaches Sydney Cove: Phillip raises the flag; NSW penal colony founded. Fleet had anchored at Botany Bay on 1788-01-18.
- 4 May 1799, Seringapatam: Tipu Sultan falls: Storming of Seringapatam ends the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War; Mysore partitioned and the Wodeyars restored under subsidiary alliance.
- 8 Jan 1806, Battle of Blaauwberg: Britain takes the Cape: British force under Baird defeats Dutch; Cape Town capitulates 10 Jan. Cape confirmed British in 1814.
- 6 Feb 1819, Singapore founded by Raffles: Raffles signs a treaty with Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong to build a trading post; full cession 1824.
- 1 Aug 1834, Slavery abolished in the British West Indies: Slavery Abolition Act (passed 1833-08-28) takes effect; full freedom after apprenticeship 1838-08-01.
- 6 Feb 1840, Treaty of Waitangi signed: Hobson and Maori chiefs sign at Waitangi; New Zealand becomes a British colony (separate from NSW 1841-05-03).
- 29 Aug 1842, Hong Kong Island claimed; Treaty of Nanking: Flag raised at Possession Point 26 Jan 1841; Treaty of Nanking ends the First Opium War and cedes the island and opens five treaty ports.
- 11 May 1857, Rebellion of 1857 breaks out in Delhi: Meerut sepoys reach Delhi and proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar; Cawnpore and Lucknow follow; Delhi retaken 20 Sep 1857.
- 1 Jul 1867, Confederation: Dominion of Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick federate.
- 25 Nov 1875, Suez Canal shares bought: Disraeli buys Khedive Ismail's 44% stake in the Suez Canal Company for 4 million pounds.
- 22 Jan 1879, Isandlwana: Zulu impi destroys a British column; Rorke's Drift defended the same day. Zulu kingdom crushed at Ulundi 4 Jul.
- 13 Sep 1882, Occupation of Egypt: Tel el-Kebir: Wolseley routs Urabi's army; Britain begins occupying Egypt, ruling through the Khedive (veiled protectorate).
- 26 Jan 1885, Fall of Khartoum: Mahdist forces kill Gordon; Anglo-Egyptian rule over the Sudan collapses until 1898.
- 2 Sep 1898, Battle of Omdurman: Kitchener's Anglo-Egyptian army destroys the Mahdist state, opening the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
- 11 Oct 1899, Second Boer War begins: Transvaal ultimatum expires; war against Transvaal and Orange Free State until Vereeniging, 31 May 1902.
- 1901, Federation of Australia: Six colonies become the Commonwealth of Australia; proclaimed in Centennial Park, Sydney.
- 24 Apr 1916, Easter Rising: Irish republicans seize the GPO in Dublin; rising crushed in six days.
- 2 Nov 1917, Balfour Declaration: Britain declares support for a Jewish national home in Palestine; Jerusalem falls 9 Dec 1917.
- 13 Apr 1919, Amritsar massacre: General Dyer's troops fire on a crowd at Jallianwala Bagh, killing about 379 by official count (more by Indian estimates).
- 6 Apr 1930, Salt March reaches Dandi: Gandhi picks up salt at Dandi, ending a 24-day march (from 12 Mar) that opens the civil disobedience movement.
- 11 Dec 1931, Statute of Westminster: Royal assent gives dominions legislative independence (Balfour Declaration 1926 principle).
- 15 Feb 1942, Fall of Singapore: General Percival surrenders about 80,000 troops at the Ford Factory; worst British defeat in history; Japanese occupation to 12 Sept 1945.
- 15 Aug 1947, Partition and independence of India and Pakistan: Pakistan (14 Aug) and India (15 Aug) become dominions; the Radcliffe Line splits Punjab and Bengal; millions displaced.
- 5 Nov 1956, Suez Crisis: Anglo-French landings: Britain and France invade after Nasser's nationalisation (26 Jul); UN and US force withdrawal by 22 Dec.
- 6 Mar 1957, Ghana independence: Gold Coast becomes first sub-Saharan colony to gain independence.
- 3 Feb 1960, Wind of Change speech: Macmillan tells South African parliament that African nationalism is a political fact.
- 11 Nov 1965, Rhodesia declares UDI: Smith's government declares independence; UN sanctions. Ends at Lancaster House Dec 1979; Zimbabwe 18 Apr 1980.
- 2 Apr 1982, Falklands War begins: Argentine invasion; British task force recaptures islands by 1982-06-14.
- 1 Jul 1997, Hong Kong handed back to China: After 156 years the colony returns to PRC sovereignty; Prince Charles and Governor Patten leave on Britannia.