Polity · 1757 CE – 1858 CE
British Empire
- Peak recorded area
- 4,177,950 km²
- 1856 CE
- Rulers on record
- 7
- from 1754 CE
- Data series
- 26
- 1780 CE–1850 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
42 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 1858 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 Size2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Largest Settlement Pop | 900Kpersons1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Population | 8.03score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Population | 107.5Mpersons1814 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Economy
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agriculture Intensity2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Agriculture2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 0ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Fishing2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Gathering2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 5ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Hunting2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 4ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Subsistence Husbandry2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 0ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Levels | 11levels1780 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Sophistication | 1score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Polity Territory | 7.36score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Territory km² | 22.7Msq km1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Jurisdictional Hierarchy2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Political Succession2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Admin Levels | 9levels1780 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 7 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Class Stratification2 obs · 1799 CE–1850 CE | 1ordinal1850 CE · D-PLACE Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock) |
| Government Complexity | 0.8182score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels | 8.83score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity | 0.8462score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure | 1score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Largest Settlement Pop | 5.95score1800 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Rulers
7 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- 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
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
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
British Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.