Polity · 1706 CE – 1999 CE
British Colonial Empire
British Empire
- Peak recorded area
- 19,690,400 km²
- 1920 CE
- Rulers on record
- 16
- from 1703 CE
- Data series
- 10
- 1860 CE–1960 CE
Overview
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories headed by the British monarchy. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and colonisation attempts by Scotland during the 17th century. At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it became the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
111 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1999 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Community Size6 obs · 1880 CE–1940 CE | 1ordinal1940 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Subsistence Agriculture12 obs · 1860 CE–1960 CE | 5ordinal1960 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Fishing12 obs · 1860 CE–1960 CE | 3ordinal1960 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Gathering12 obs · 1860 CE–1960 CE | 0ordinal1960 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Hunting12 obs · 1860 CE–1960 CE | 2ordinal1960 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Husbandry12 obs · 1860 CE–1960 CE | 0ordinal1960 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Agriculture Intensity11 obs · 1860 CE–1950 CE | 3ordinal1950 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Jurisdictional Hierarchy11 obs · 1860 CE–1950 CE | 1ordinal1950 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Political Succession11 obs · 1860 CE–1950 CE | 7ordinal1950 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
Development
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Class Stratification11 obs · 1860 CE–1950 CE | 1ordinal1950 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
Rulers
16 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ahmed IIIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1703 CE – 1730 CE
- Mahmud Isultan of the Ottoman Empire1730 CE – 1754 CE
- Osman IIIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1754 CE – 1757 CE
- Mustafa IIIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1757 CE – 1774 CE
- Abdul Hamid Isultan of the Ottoman Empire1774 CE – 1789 CE
- Selim IIIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1789 CE – 1807 CE
- Mustafa IVsultan of the Ottoman Empire1807 CE – 1808 CE
- Mahmud IIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1808 CE – 1839 CE
- Abdülmecid Isultan of the Ottoman Empire1839 CE – 1861 CE
- Abdülazizsultan of the Ottoman Empire1861 CE – 1876 CE
- Abdul Hamid IIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1876 CE – 1909 CE
- Murad Vsultan of the Ottoman Empire1876 CE
- Mehmed Vsultan of the Ottoman Empire1909 CE – 1918 CE
- Mehmed VIsultan of the Ottoman Empire1918 CE – 1922 CE
- Mehmed Abdülaziz Efendisultan of the Ottoman Empire1973 CE – 1977 CE
- Şehzade Ali Vâsibsultan of the Ottoman Empire1977 CE – 1983 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- English
- Currency
- pound sterling (GBP)
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock)Ethnographic Atlas (D-PLACE 2.3)
Kirby, K.R. et al. (2016). D-PLACE: A Global Database of Cultural, Linguistic and Environmental Diversity. PLoS ONE 11(7).
CC BY 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
British Colonial Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.