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Period: 1490 to 1500
British Colony
By 1500 the kings of England had lost control of all of Ireland except for coastal towns and an area around Dublin known as the 'Pale'. -
Period: to
English Colonies Were Formed
The first English colonies were formed in North America - in 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh organised a small settlement at Roanoke in Virginia, but it failed and in 1607, Captain John Smith founded a permanent colony at Jamestown in Virginia. -
Successful British Colonies
The first successful English colonies in the West Indies were founded in the 1620s. The settlers set up sugar and tobacco plantations and used slave labour. The sugar and tobacco were exported to countries under the British empire -
Period: to
Dutch Taken By British
In 1664, the English took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which included the state of New Amsterdam. The English renamed this New York. The English also took over New Sweden (which is now called Delaware). Florida became a British colony in 1763. -
Period: to
The shape of the British Empire by 1783
By 1783, Britain had established an empire which comprised of: colonies in Canada, America and the West Indies including New Zealand after Captain James Cook claimed it for the British crown in 1769. Trading posts in India, naval bases in the Mediterranean - Gibraltar and Minorca. However, Britain's defeat in the American War of Independence meant the loss of the American colonies and the end of the 'first British Empire'. -
Australia, new prisoners
Convicts were sent to Australia as their 'punishment'. -
Empress Of India
Queen Victoria declared empress of India. However, she declined the offer because she didn't want to move countries and have different types of food. -
The Second Boer War
The war began on October 11 1899, The Boers had refused to grant political rights to non-Boer settlers, known as Uitlanders, most of whom were British, or to grant civil rights to Africans. More important was the question of control over the gold mines of the Transvaal at a time when the international financial system, and the stability of the British pound, was based on the gold standard. The war was also about Britain's control of South Africa and therefore its 'great power' status.