Rise of an Empire
The overseas expansion of the empire began with King Henry VII. He funded Italian voyager John Cabot, who claimed land in Newfoundland which became Britain's first overseas colony in 1497. Henry VII's son Henry VIII built upon his fathers plan by tripling the size of the British navy during his reign and developing warships with heavier artillery making the British navy one of the best in the world. Queen Elizabeth helped push the British into the market of establishing colonies by funding many voyages. In 1587, the British had their first colony in the land that would later become the United States. The colony was established in Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh. Though the colonies of Virginia and Newfoundland were later abandoned, they gave hope to the British that colonizing on North America was a worthy endeavor. During Elizabeth's rain, she continued what Henry VIII started and continued to expand the navy and the term "British Empire" was created during her rule as well. This lead to a rivalry between Spain and England, two of the great seafaring countries during the time. The rivalry between the two lasted until 1604 when King James I negotiated the treaty of London, which put an end to the rivalry. In 1607, the permanent colony of Jamestown in Virginia was established. This helped lead to the growth of British colonies in North America.
Ireland
One of the first pieces of land that the British tried to conquer was Ireland. The history dates all the way back to the 12th century when the Normans were interested in Ireland's land. The Normans were lords and very land hungry. To try and claim some of the land, they intermarried into the royal families of Ireland and profit off of their connections. Ironically, the ancestors of these people were very against the interference of England in the affairs of Ireland and resisted English rule. England's plan to gain control over Ireland began as a war free ploy. In One of King Henry VII's Lords went and convinced Irish parliament to need the approval of the King of England before any laws were passed. After this, there were many, many revolts against British rule by the people of Ireland. War after war, revolt after revolt were fought between these two countries, until 1948. In 1948, Ireland finally left the commonwealth of England and became their own republic. Even when they left England, there still was some resentment and hatred between the two nations.
ScotlandThe first history between these two began when Scotland tried to establish a colony in Panama in 1698. The territory at the time belonged to the Spanish and the Spanish didn't want the Scots there. They attacked the Scottish colony and the English couldn't help the Scots. The Scots were also attacked internally by disease and lack of food. After this catastrophe, Scotland joined England and was part of the Empire for a little over 300 years and still hasn't been granted independence.
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Golden AgeThe British Empire continued its world conquest after the settlement in Virginia by claiming Australia in the 1780's and New Zealand in the 1840's. Even before that, the British began colonizing in Asia. They started claiming land in India in 1757 and ruled most of India by the 1850's. Between 1834 and 1860, the British were also able to acquire Hong Kong in China and add their presence to China. The empire took a big hit in 1783 when America declared independence and became a free nation, but they continued to conquer.
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Fall From Grace
The British Empire began to decline in the late 1850's when rebellion broke out in India. Canada gained theirs in 1923 and Australia in 1940.