Group of realms · 1706–1997
British Empire
British Empire brings together several realms, from 1706 to 1997. At its greatest recorded extent, in 1918, its lands covered about 29.27 million km².
England's overseas expansion began with Atlantic claims and colonies in Virginia, New England and the Caribbean, built by chartered companies, sugar plantations and the slave trade. After union with Scotland in 1707, Britain beat France for North America and India in the Seven Years' War, then lost thirteen colonies in the American Revolution. It rebuilt in Asia, Africa and the Pacific: the East India Company conquered India, convicts and settlers founded Australia, and in the scramble for Africa Britain took Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and lands from the Cape towards Cairo. More about British Empire.
See British Empire on the map in 1918
- On the map
- 1706–1997
- Greatest extent
- 1918, about 29.27 million km²
- Read more
- Wikipedia: British Empire · Wikidata Q8680
Territory through time
| Years | Area drawn |
|---|---|
| 1706–1708 | 174 km² |
| 1709–1712 | 568,863 km² |
| 1713–1717 | 759,540 km² |
| 1718–1720 | 825,061 km² |
| 1721–1726 | 977,199 km² |
| 1727–1733 | 982,259 km² |
| 1734–1737 | 992,632 km² |
| 1738–1740 | 1.02 million km² |
| 1741–1743 | 1.06 million km² |
| 1744–1751 | 1.08 million km² |
| 1752–1756 | 1.19 million km² |
| 1757–1761 | 1.21 million km² |
| 1762 | 1.73 million km² |
| 1763–1768 | 2.41 million km² |
| 1769–1771 | 2.70 million km² |
| 1772–1774 | 2.74 million km² |
| 1775 | 1.89 million km² |
| 1776–1777 | 1.78 million km² |
| 1778–1779 | 1.90 million km² |
| 1780 | 2.04 million km² |
| 1781–1782 | 1.77 million km² |
| 1783–1787 | 1.58 million km² |
| 1788–1790 | 1.56 million km² |
| 1791 | 1.58 million km² |
| 1792–1793 | 1.60 million km² |
| 1794–1795 | 1.65 million km² |
| 1796 | 2.03 million km² |
| 1797–1798 | 2.04 million km² |
| 1799 | 2.29 million km² |
| 1800–1802 | 2.40 million km² |
| 1803–1804 | 2.39 million km² |
| 1805 | 2.73 million km² |
| 1806 | 3.01 million km² |
| 1807–1808 | 3.01 million km² |
| 1809–1810 | 3.02 million km² |
| 1811 | 3.44 million km² |
| 1812–1813 | 3.58 million km² |
| 1814 | 3.30 million km² |
| 1815–1819 | 3.41 million km² |
| 1820–1821 | 4.49 million km² |
| 1822–1823 | 4.79 million km² |
| 1824 | 4.84 million km² |
| 1825–1827 | 5.07 million km² |
| 1828–1829 | 5.26 million km² |
| 1830–1833 | 5.27 million km² |
| 1834–1835 | 5.35 million km² |
| 1836–1839 | 5.45 million km² |
| 1840–1841 | 5.96 million km² |
| 1842–1845 | 5.86 million km² |
| 1846–1847 | 6.11 million km² |
| 1848 | 6.25 million km² |
| 1849–1852 | 6.48 million km² |
| 1853–1855 | 6.83 million km² |
| 1856 | 7.78 million km² |
| 1857–1858 | 7.88 million km² |
| 1859 | 10.37 million km² |
| 1860–1861 | 10.57 million km² |
| 1862 | 11.17 million km² |
| 1863 | 12.49 million km² |
| 1864–1865 | 12.48 million km² |
| 1866–1867 | 12.52 million km² |
| 1868–1869 | 13.30 million km² |
| 1870 | 13.65 million km² |
| 1871–1872 | 13.79 million km² |
| 1873–1876 | 13.96 million km² |
| 1877–1879 | 14.98 million km² |
| 1880–1884 | 15.42 million km² |
| 1885–1889 | 20.05 million km² |
| 1890–1894 | 21.17 million km² |
| 1895–1897 | 23.02 million km² |
| 1898–1899 | 23.20 million km² |
| 1900–1904 | 27.34 million km² |
| 1905–1907 | 21.27 million km² |
| 1908–1910 | 22.03 million km² |
| 1911–1912 | 26.37 million km² |
| 1913 | 26.37 million km² |
| 1914 | 26.43 million km² |
| 1915 | 26.74 million km² |
| 1916 | 27.80 million km² |
| 1917 | 28.60 million km² |
| 1918 | 29.27 million km² |
| 1919 | 29.18 million km² |
| 1920–1921 | 29.00 million km² |
| 1922–1923 | 28.08 million km² |
| 1924–1925 | 28.06 million km² |
| 1926 | 28.02 million km² |
| 1927 | 28.02 million km² |
| 1928–1929 | 28.02 million km² |
| 1930–1931 | 27.55 million km² |
| 1932–1935 | 15.23 million km² |
| 1936–1937 | 15.16 million km² |
| 1938 | 15.16 million km² |
| 1939 | 15.13 million km² |
| 1940 | 15.05 million km² |
| 1941 | 16.95 million km² |
| 1942 | 15.65 million km² |
| 1943 | 14.86 million km² |
| 1944 | 15.90 million km² |
| 1945 | 16.71 million km² |
| 1946 | 16.66 million km² |
| 1947 | 12.00 million km² |
| 1948–1952 | 10.93 million km² |
| 1953–1955 | 9.37 million km² |
| 1956–1957 | 7.20 million km² |
| 1958–1959 | 6.82 million km² |
| 1960 | 6.17 million km² |
| 1961–1962 | 4.24 million km² |
| 1963–1968 | 3.21 million km² |
| 1969–1991 | 806,458 km² |
| 1992–1996 | 261,073 km² |
| 1997 | 260,034 km² |
Member realms
- British Colonial Empire 1706–1991
- Kingdom of Great Britain 1709–1800
- British Empire 1757–1858
- Freetown Colony 1788–1796
- British Cape Colony 1796–1884
- United Kingdom since 1801
- Trucial States 1820–1894
- British Raj 1859–1947
- British Gold Coast 1873–1960
- British Africa 1885–1960
- British Overseas Territories since 1992
Related
- British Empire empire
- Seven Years' War 17 May 1756 – 15 February 1763
- American Revolutionary War 19 April 1775 – 3 September 1783
- Napoleonic Wars 18 May 1803 – 20 November 1815
- First World War 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
- Second World War 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945
- The world in 1815: Waterloo and the Vienna Settlement chapter
- The world in 1880: Steam, Rail and Empire chapter
- The world in 1900: Dawn of a New Century chapter
- The world in 1914: The World Goes to War chapter
- The world in 1920: A Peace of Exhaustion chapter
- The world in 1930: The Great Depression Begins chapter
- The world in 1938: The Road to War chapter
- The world in 1945: Victory, Ruin and the Atom chapter