Evolution of the British Empire
An anachronous map of British and, prior to
the Acts of Union 1707, English imperial
possessions
Animated map showing growth and decline of
the British empire
This is a list of the various territories that
have been under the political control of the
United Kingdom and/or
its predecessor
states[1]. Collectively, these territories are
traditionally referred to as the British
Empire.
From 1876 to 1947 the monarch of the
United Kingdom was formally known as Em-
peror/Empress of India. Currently Elizabeth
II of the United Kingdom is the monarch of
16 Commonwealth realms.
The natures of the administration of the
Empire changed both by time and place, but
its various territories as they existed in the
1920s (the time of its greatest territorial ex-
tent) can be fairly easily grouped into the fol-
lowing categories:
• The United Kingdom itself, made up of
England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
(Northern Ireland only from 1922
onwards).
• The "crown dependencies" of the Isle of
Man, Jersey, and Guernsey (the last two
are collectively referred to as the
"Channel Islands"). These islands, while
often considered to be part of the British
Isles, have never formed part of the
United Kingdom itself, or its predecessor
states. At the same time, they have never
been considered to be colonies; while the
British Government is generally
responsible for their defence and foreign
relations, each of the territories has its
own laws and political institutions. Strictly
speaking their relationship is with the
British Sovereign alone, rather than the
British Government.
• Colonies were territories that were
intended to be a place of permanent
settlement, providing land for their
settlers. The Crown claimed absolute
sovereignty over them, although they
were not formally part of the United
Kingdom itself. Generally their law was
the common law of England together with
whatever British Acts of Parliament were
also applied to them. Royal authority
would usually be represented in the
person of a Governor, app