11- THE BRITISH EMPIRE and THE

COMMONWEALTH

This is how it all started.... 

Elizabeth I​ (1533-1603), daughter of Henry VIII, was queen of 

England for 45 years. She never got married, and is sometimes called 
the "Virgin Queen". she was clever, successful and popular. in a war 
against Spain, she told her soldiers and sailors: "I have the body of a 
weak woman. But I have the heart and stomach of a king." 
During her reign English sailors went to many far-away places. Sir 
Francis Drake sailed all the way round the world. Sir Walter Raleigh 
brought potatoes and tobacco from America. It was the beginning of 
the British Empire. 

The Empire: for and against 

Why were the British so interested in putting up their flag all over the 
world? They started with Ireland in the 16th century, and by 1770 
they had the biggest empire in history. Why did the British want all 
these countries? The short answer is money and land. The long answer 
is more complicated. Each country was different. For example, India 
was a rich market - it was full of customers for British goods. Jamaica 
was a good military base against the Spanish. Australia was a big 
"empty" country for the British people to go and live in. 

Of course, Australia wasn´t really empty. There was a population of 

Aborigines. All the countries in the Empire had people in them when 
the British arrived. In some places, like India, the British kept military 
control for a period of time, and then left. In other places, like 
Australia, they occupied the land itself. They built farms, cities, roads 
and railways. So they were in competition with the native people. This 
happened in Canada, the USA, South Africa, Australia and New 
Zealand. 

The result was that the Inuit, Native Americans, Zulus, Aborigines and 
Maoris lost their land. Many also lost their lives - in fighting or from 
illness (the newcomers brought new viruses like smallpox, typhoid and 
cholera). Today many of these native people still look back to a golden 
age when their countries belonged to them. 

ANSWER:
1. What did the British trade from the colonies?
2. Did they promote "fair" trade?
3. Which products were very valuable?
4. COMPLETE your study notes in your ​PORTFOLIO ​and create your
own map of the empire.

At the beginning of the 20th century​, the British Empire contained

more than one quarter of the world’s population, and covered one
quarter of the world’s land surface.
The Empire fell into two distinct parts: Britain and the dominionssuch as
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa; and those regions that
were wholly or partly governed from London – Africa, India, the West
Indies and the Far East.
From the mid-19th century onwards, those areas of the world under
British administration began to be coloured red or pink. For many
people, even today, these ‘pink bits’ are the most potent symbol of the
extent of the British Empire.
A history of the British Empire and the Commonwealth is not an
exclusively British history. It is a history of many nations – including
Britain. While the British Empire had a substantial impact upon the
countries it included, the influence was seldom one way.
More than five and a half million non-British soldiers, including Indians,
Canadians, West Indians, Africans and Australians, fought for Britain
during the two world wars.
As today’s Commonwealth, their countries are united by history,
language and promoting the values of democracy, freedom, peace, the
rule of law and opportunity for all. There are 54 countries in today’s
Commonwealth, the most recent members are Rwanda (2009), Cameroon
and Mozambique