Introduction: The Significance of the British Empire     8
Timeline     10
The Early Empire 1500-1763     14
English and British: The consolidation of the British Isles     18
Exploring and Exploiting: European expansion to the mid-16th Century     20
Chasing the Pack: English oceanic enterprise to 1630     22
Virginia     24
New England     26
The Thirteen Colonies     28
The African Impact: Britain and the slave trade     30
Sugar and Slaves: The conquest of the Caribbean     32
Conflict in Canada: Anglo-French rivalry to 1763     34
The Infiltration of India: British expansion to 1765     36
The Late Georgian Europe 1763-1837     38
Trade and Enterprise: Overseas trade to 1854     42
Conquest of the Cape: Southern Africa to 1844     44
Opening up the Pacific     46
The Settlement of Australasia     48
On the Move: Early migration to the Empire     50
America Rebels: The American Revolution 1776-83     52
The Consolidation of Canada     54
British West Indies: Exploitation and emancipation     56
Indian Riches: The East India Company's conquests     58
The Victorian Empire 1837-1901     60
Heyday of Empire     64
Naval Power and Gunboat Diplomacy     66
Peopling the Empire: Imperial migration 1815-1924     68
Eastern Promise: Imperial trade and the Far East     70
The Scramble for Africa     72
South African Supremacy: The Anglo-Boer wars     74
Egypt and the Route to the East     76
The Raj: The heyday of British India     78
The Great Game: Russia and British India     80
The White Dominions: Canada and Australasia     82
Imperial Themes     84
World Wide Web: Telegraphic Communications to 1902     88
The Ties that Bind: Britain's steamship network     90
Creating Countries: Overseas investment to 1914     92
Imperial Exploitation: Overseas trade and resources     94
Exhibiting the Empire: Imperial exhibitions to 1953     96
Hunting to Kill: Game and exploitation     98
Plant Hunting: The gardens of Empire     100
Searching for Souls: Protestant missions to 1914     102
Colonial Wars: The army and Imperial defence     104
Climax and Decolonization 1901-97     106
Climax of Empire     110
The First World War     112
The Second World War     114
Securing the Canal: The Middle East to 1945     116
A Free Ireland: Ireland's long road to independence     118
Independent Dominions     120
Colonial Revolts     122
The Road to Suez: The Middle East 1945-56     124
The End of the Eastern Empire     126
Wind of Change: Nationalism and white rule in Africa     128
India and Partition     130
The Commonwealth and the Rump     132
Imperial Legacies     134
Main Territories of the British Empire     136
Further Reading     138
Index     139
Acknowledgements     144