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John Cabot a British explorer crossed the Atlantic fron England in 1497 and after that, so did others Europeans explorers, looking for new lands.They all wanted more territory and trade.
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Spain was very powerful and already had an empire in America. But the defeat of its Armada in 1588 at the time of Elizabeth I gave Britain the chance and the confidence to develop her own influence in different continents.
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In 1600 the East India Company was formed to develop trade in Southeast Asia and India.
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The New World played a big role in the early years of Britain's empire. In 1607 English settlers founded Virginia, the first of thirteen permanent colonies along the east coast of North America.
Caribbean islands were also taken by Britain during de 1600s -
This rivarly had led to the massacre of British merchants in the Spice Islands in 1623. After that the company concentrated on India, and by the end of that century had important trading stations around the coast.
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France was a big rival for India too and once again the Seven Year's War helped to give advantage to the British. Bengal came under the control of the East India Company in 1757, and then others areas followed.
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In this war Britain and France were on opposite sides, and when Britain and her allies won, France had to give Britain most of her land in North America (mostly where is now Canada)
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In 1776 the American colonies decided to fight for their independence and they won it. But this couldn't stop Britain's power growing around the world.
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Those explorations by sailors like James Cook led to the huge new colony of Autralia in 1788 and New Zealand and many others smaller territories some years after that.
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The only permanent European settlement in Africa was the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. In 1806 the Cape was taken by the British, and then later in the 19th century missionaries, explorers and merchants helped to open the way north into the centre of the continent.
The British had competition from others European contries like Portugal, France and Germany. But they were the big winner. -
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The East India Company ruled India until 1858, when the British goverment finally took over India officially.
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By the early part of the 20th century Britain ruled over a quarter of the world and had the largest empire in history.
