The British Empire: Difference between revisions

''And guardian angels sang this strain:''

''"Rule, Britannia! Rule the waves:''

 

Formerly the world's largest colonial empire, covering a quarter of the globe and roughly the same again of its population. Because of the rotation of the earth illuminating different areas of the globe, it was often stated, and technically true (even today), that the sun NEVER set on the British Empire <ref>The traditional Irish retort was "because God can't trust an Englishman in the dark"</ref>. [[Up to Eleven|That's how big it was]]. Home of men in red coats and pith helmets, being served [[Spot of Tea|tea]] by the locals.

''Some'' Britons.

 

=== Particular sub-areas: ===

* [[Ireland]]: Although generally not counted as part of the British Empire the history of Irish-British relations has been iffy to say the least. Ireland was part of the UK itself during the 19th century and throughout the long shared history of Britain and Ireland there has been a significant population cross over with around 25% of modern Brits having at least one Irish grandparent. Nowadays Anglo / Irish relations are good, but there are certain issues such as Northern Ireland where people should [[The Irish Question|be very, very careful how they approach this topic.]]

* The Sudan: Britain's [[Darkest Africa]] setting. Notable for the Mahdist wars, in which Kitchener and a young Churchill fought against a fanatical Dervish army led by the Mahdi, an Islamic messiah-figure-thingy.

* British East Africa/[[Kenya]] Colony (then pronounced "Keen-yah" as opposed to the modern pronunciation "Ken-yah"). Older British people sometimes still use the former pronunciation.

* Bechuanaland Protectorate: Now [[Botswana]].

* Rhodesia: Now Zimbabwe and Zambia. Named for Cecil Rhodes, who colonised the region. A national hero in his day, he is occasionally perceived as a somewhat less pleasant individual [[Values Dissonance|by modern audiences]]. This area is still the cause of a whole lot of trouble.

** Historians sometimes refer to North America, and occasionally specifically North America prior to Britain gaining the French colonies in it as the "First Empire," and the "classic" version as the Second Empire.

 

{{examples|Works set in The British Empire:}}

* Many of the ''[[Sharpe]]'' stories.