Colonies of Great Britain - many territories around the world that were captured, taken under the protectorate or acquired in some other way between the 16th and 18th centuries of one of the most powerful empires in the past - the British.
The goal was its territorial development. During this period, there was strong competition for sources of resources and potential markets for producers between England and its continental rivals - Spain, France and the Netherlands. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I began to create trading companies in Turkey, Russia, the East Indies, explored the coast of North America.
According to historians, the territorial expansion of the country began from the moment when Elizabeth I granted the right to her favorite Sir Walter Raleigh to establish English colonies in North America.
Initially, the policy of the empire was based solely on the ideas of mercantilism. Under the Stuarts, James I and Charles I, and Oliver Cromwell, the construction of an empire based on trade schemes became more apparent. A favorable trade balance (import-export) was believed to provide the wealth necessary to expand and maintain the empire.
In 1707, after the unification of England and Scotland into a single sovereign state, many British colonies (including former Scottish ones) became the basis of the famous empire.
The first overseas settlements of the British were founded in Ireland. The systematic capture of the country was carried out under Oliver Cromwell. After successful wars with the Dutch, French and Spaniards in the seventeenth century, Great Britain managed to take control of most of the east coast of North America, the St. Lawrence River basin in Canada, Bermuda, the West Indies and Africa to acquire slaves and gain a foothold in India.
Some historians argue that in general Wales should be considered the first English colony, since the term itself does not necessarily mean foreign territory.
At the end of the eighteenth century, British colonies in America were lost. Although the discovery of Australia did not serve as a kind of compensation, since the distant lands served mainly as a place of exile for convicted people, this loss affected the so-called “swing to the East” - the acquisition of strategic bases along the trade routes between India and the Far East. By the end of the eighteenth century, British control of India extended to Afghanistan and Burma.
As a result of the Napoleonic Wars - the last global wars between empires - Great Britain was in a very difficult position, but no doubt having a strong position. For example, the Dutch Cape Colony (Republic of South Africa) was acquired . Despite the fact that the main concern of Victorian foreign policy was the expansion of the Russian Empire, which threatened its interests in India, almost all traditional competitors had lost their significance and greatly reduced in size, thus, the imperial position of Great Britain was undeniable. In addition, it became the leading industrial country in Europe, more and more territories in the world were concentrated under the domination of its commercial, financial, naval power.
However, the situation could not be called stable. An empire based on the ideas of mercantilism was weakened in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by a number of factors. In 1807, slavery was abolished in England itself, a movement led by the evangelists demanded radical changes elsewhere in the empire. Since 1833, for the sake of economic prospects (largely thanks to the influence of Adam Smith's ideas), some British colonies began to switch to self-government and free trade, which minimized the influence of the old oligarchic and monopolistic trading corporations. And at the same time, during the Victorian era, the acquisition of territories and further trade concessions continued, promoted by strategic considerations and justified by philanthropic motives. Great Britain’s aggressive policy reached its peak when Queen Victoria, lured by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, proclaimed herself Empress of India in 1876.
In the empire, however, nationalist movements continued to develop, sooner or later, foreshadowing its collapse. The process accelerated after the First World War, although in the post-war period the empire increased for some period in size when the former German and Turkish territories fell under the British protectorate.
Colonies of Great Britain Canada and Australia gained dominion status in 1907. In 1931, the Commonwealth of Nations was formed , which included Great Britain and self-governing dominions Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, the head of which was recognized as the monarch of Great Britain. Dominions actively supported Britain during the Second World War. Many historians today are wondering whether it would be possible to win this terrible war without the support of the colonial forces of the Allies. They participated in every theater of operations. But the losses of the British in the Far East made it clear that Great Britain no longer has that imperial power capable of maintaining the classical order in the world. The British were gradually replaced by the Americans.