British Empire: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Discover the remarkable history of the British Empire...
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The British Empire comprised a bewildering collection of colonies, dominions, protectorates, and mandated possessions that spanned the planet. This was the largest empire in world history, at its peak ruling over more than 400 million people and covering almost one-quarter of the total land mass of the Earth. No wonder it became known as “the empire on which the sun never set.” How did this happen? How did England, a relatively small country, first come to dominate the neighboring countries of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland and then go on to build this mighty, global empire?

Through its empire, Britain came to dominate world trade and to control the economies of whole regions. Then, following the end of World War II, the British Empire began to decline with astonishing speed. The formal handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked the end of the empire, with only a scattering of islands and remote outposts remaining. This is the story of the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Discover a plethora of topics such asEnglish ExpansionFormation of Great Britain and Its EmpireSeven Years’ War and Revolution in The Jewel in the CrownThe Imperial CenturyDecolonization and DeclineAnd much more!
So if you want a concise and informative book on the British Empire, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Genres: History

61 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2023

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Kenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being a fairly bland historical summary, this affected me more than I expected.

When my parents were born in the early 1950s, Tanzania, my country of birth, was still a British colony.

I am now a citizen of, and have lived most of my life, in another former British colony, the United States of America.

Also, I realized, I have disproportionately visited and lived in other areas formerly (or currently?) part of the British empire, such as the US, Swaziland, Canada, South Africa, Ghana, the Bahamas and the UK itself.

And when I visited the few non-empire countries that I have visited (in my case, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Peru and Japan) I was able to communicate pretty easily mainly because I speak the language of Empire (except for Japan, English didn't get me too far in Japan).

The point is, the British Empire still looms pretty large, despite it being something we barely think or talk about since it was mostly dissolved in the 1960s.

At different points it had all of North America, half the Caribbean, half of Africa, half the middle East and Western Asia, all of South Asia, bits of South East Asia (e.g. Malaysia and Singapore), Australia and even bits of East Asia (Hong Kong).

The only areas mostly untouched were South America and Europe itself.

I mean, the very fact that I have spent the vast majority of my life thinking in and speaking a language that has zero relation to my ancestors is a testament to Empire.

But also I notice something different: even in my lifetime I can see the decline of British influence. I feel that as a kid in Tanzania most of the books we read were by British authors, Enid Blyton, Ian Fleming, Charles Dickens and many others. The culture, attitudes, perspectives and landscapes of England loomed large in our minds. Now it seems a lot less so.

England just doesn't seem to dominate the world imagination the way it once did, even for those of us who spend all of our time in English.

Of course most of us English speakers still know a lot more about British history and culture than we do of other equivalently large and rich countries like Germany, France or Japan, but at one point when I was young it felt like a lot of people actually looked up to Britain as "the mother country" in a way that I don't think they do now.

So yeah, even though the book didn't have lots of new information, it hit close to home as it made me think about how my own relationship to this Empire and how I might have thought and felt differently if it had never existed.

[jim mcelderry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Britain

Despite its control of many foreign lands, Britain could not overcome the immense loses she suffered in war. That coupled with its war debts she could not overcome her weaknesses. Fortunately she has allowed herself to be allied with the United States. We too can learn by her mistakes.

[Tim Deaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Useful Introduction

How do you cover the 500 years of history of one of the world's largest empires in a 48-page book? You barely scratch the surface, while trying to sprinkle in enough salt to make the reader thirsty for more.

[coli james campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best empire

First class history lesson great book 😌 well written and well res itearched I do not think America or Russia could have done better the empirewas lucky it was Britain at the helm

[Mr.k.a..jafri · Rating 4 out of 5]

British Empire is worth a quick read and I enjoyed reading it immensely

Many opinions will be made but historical facts are plainly there.Compared to some like or Dutch empire it is the softer option

[David Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Age of Exploration and birth of British Empire

In 1066, the Normans invaded England and it started conflicts between England and France that would continue until the WWI.
Through out history piracy built empires.

[Robert Barnhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary of the British Empire

This is a well written short summary of one of the largest empires in history. Provides a good analysis of the most important aspects in British history.

[dr jaydeep desai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening..

The lines .... The British empire was created to benefit Britan and not to benefit the colony ...So very true ...But karma has hit them finally ....With an Indian , being their Prime minister !!! Such a joke on them !!!

[Vincent Varghese · Rating 3 out of 5]

superficial book

this book only provides some details about the big picture of the british ermpire. it doesn’t provide the details and like they say - God is in the details. anyways. it’s good to skim through vast sections of British Colonial History in about an hour’s read.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sun never sets

This was an interesting article about the British Empire. There is a lot more to the story, but this works for now. It is a funny thing how victory in two world wars effected the British Empire, but it did.

[christopher johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

British Empire in a nutshell

If you like your history short and sweet,then this is the book for you. An easy read in about an hour. Covers most major points without going into too much detail.

[George Polansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survey of the British Empire. Well written.

[Rashid Alanzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good start

This book a good summary of British empire. A good starting point to read more about Ireland history . .

[William O. Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid recap on how the British Empire came to be and to its eventual decline. One cannot help but see the similarities of how the British Empire passed and how the United States influence is declining due to massive debt brought about my government spending and useless wars.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic review of the British empire's impact on world politics and sociology.