// Early modern period
British Colonial Empire
- Period
- AD 1706 – AD 1999
- Duration
- approx. 293 years
- Greatest extent
- around AD 1900
- Area (max.)
- approx. 13.7 million km²
Period and duration
British Colonial Empire — according to the map data from AD 1706 to AD 1999, roughly 293 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.
Greatest extent
British Colonial Empire — greatest extent around AD 1900: the mapped borders then cover about 13.7 million km², roughly 9.2% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.
Predecessors and successors
States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:
Before (AD 1705)
No predecessors in the map data.
After
- Canada
- Commonwealth of Australia
- United States of America
Neighbours around AD 1900
The largest states in the region at the same time:
Learn more
- Open the world map in AD 1900 — tap the empire for a detailed description
- British Colonial Empire on Wikipedia
- All 300 empires at a glance
Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.