This paper discusses the British Empire from social, political and cultural perspectives, describes the scope in terms of land and power of the Empire and examines some of the negative aspects of Imperialism.
The British Empire was the greatest political entity known to human history. At its height it embraced much of Africa, all of the Indian subcontinent, the continent of Australia and much of the immense archipelago that links it to Southeast Asia, much of North America, not to mention numerous small but important territories scattered around the world. In addition, of course, it embraced the British Isles themselves. It ruled about a third of the world’s people and perhaps half its wealth. For five generations …