The British Empire By Huda Ahmad 1492 Columbus discovers American 1577 Sir Francis Drake sails to the west Indies 1588 Elizabet been a queen i rules in England and Ireland 1600 Britain starts to trade with India 1607 Jamestown, Virginia is the first English settlement in north America 1776 13 colonies in the USA become independent 1788 First prisoners sent to Australia 1795 Cape Town, South Africa is taken from the Dutch
