The British Empire, once the largest on earth, was the world’s first modern superpower. At one point, nearly one in four human beings was subject to British rule—around 500 million people.
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In 2018, economist Utsa Patnaik calculated the impact of two centuries of British rule on the Indian economy and came up with a staggering figure: Britain drained almost $45 trillion in today’s dollars from the subcontinent between 1765 and 1938. While the estimate is debated, the project illuminates the hidden, lasting effects of British imperialism in India. Learn the story here.
In 1926, Canada was granted dominion status, allowed to self-govern but still strongly encouraged to buy goods from the British Empire. To promote this trade, the Empire Marketing Board was created. More than 800 posters were printed up to be displayed in factories, schools, and shops between 1926 and 1933. This Flickr gallery, created by Library and Archives Canada, gathers together a few dozen of them.
This video from History Bombs promises to tell the story of 400 years of British Imperial history in just nine minutes—with no cuts. Recorded on a British sailing ship in a single take, the lesson features costumed actors playing the roles of figures like Sir Francis Drake, Pocahontas, and Cecil Rhodes, and a script written almost entirely as a series of rhyming couples.
Before 1917, British royals didn’t have last names—only dynastic titles. But during World War I, anti-German sentiment led King George V to replace “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” with “Windsor.” In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II added “Mountbatten” for some descendants, but the rule isn’t binding—future monarchs can change it.
Today, nearly one-third of the world's population lives in a British Commonwealth country. The group of now-independent heirs to the British Empire is one of the world's largest political forums, and its members aren't legally obligated to one another or to the British monarch. So, how did they go from a massive Empire to a congenial conference of nations? Watch a quick video explainer here.
History Channel Canada offers a video sketch of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and works in under three minutes. Using archival photos, newspaper clippings and video footage, it reveals the incident that sparked his activism, which eventually helped bring about the end of the British Raj. The video also shows how his method of nonviolent resistance inspired the likes of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.
Britain's global influence extends beyond the British Isles through 14 overseas territories, remnants of its once vast empire. At its peak, the British Empire covered a quarter of the world's land mass and ruled nearly a third of its population. This small island nation became the largest empire in history through exploration, colonization, and military dominance from the 15th to 20th centuries.
Once the largest on earth, the British Empire was the world’s first modern superpower. At one point, nearly one in four human beings was subject to British rule—around 500 million people—and its admirers coined the description “the empire on which the sun never sets.” Check out 1440's overview of the once-mighty behemoth in this three-minute overview.
Do you know the East India Company minted its own coins and even had its own flag? Find these and other historical facts about the East India Company at the nonprofit World History Encyclopedia. Its in-depth entry on the EIC includes links to video explainers and an interactive timeline tracing the company from its founding in 1600 to its formal end in 1874.
The “world’s most popular history podcast” hosts a nuanced discussion of the legacy of the British Empire with guest Sathnam Sanghera, a journalist and author of the books Empireland and Empireworld. The conversation goes beyond declaring empire wholly good or bad, instead contemplating issues including how empire is taught in British schools.
Weave together the many narratives of world history with our highly curated and expanding selection of diverse, fascinating resources designed to showcase the breadth and richness of Earth's story, from the earliest traces of human civilization to the dramatic developments of contemporary cultures.