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British Empire topics 1-7
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Engelse taal en cultuur IIRevision topics First British Empire
James I: first Stuart king of England. Became a monarch in 1603 and was succeeded by Charles I in
1625. He was at the same time also king of Scotland, known as James VI of Scotland. In 1604, a year
after being crowned, he signs the treaty of London with the Spanish Phillip II and ends the Anglo-
Spanish wars that were ongoing during the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the Tudors.
Treaty of London (1604): signed by James I of England and VI of Scotland with Phillip II of Spain to
end the Anglo-Spanish wars that had been going on from 1585 till 1604. This Treaty is signed a year
later after James’ becoming king of England in 1603.
1588: the defeat of the Spanish Armada when it wanted to invade Britain. The Spanish Armada
wanted to invade one year earlier but couldn’t because of the Raid on Cadiz in 1587, led by Francis
Drake who sailed into Cadiz harbour, destroyed 30 ships and caused damage to the preparations of
the Armada.
John Cabot: Italian navigator/explorer who in 1497 accidentally discovered Newfoundland (Canada).
He was given the task by Henry VII to discover Asia but landed in Newfoundland thinking he reached
Asia. This was just an exploration. No colonies were established. John Cabot dies in 1498 on the
second voyage to the Americas.
John Dee: Was Queen Elizabeth I’s advisor. With his work from 1570, he says that Britain should
establish colonies in the New World and so build an empire. The word ‘British Empire’ is used for the
first time then.
Richard Hakluyt: English geographer who advised Queen Elizabeth I on where to colonise.
Francis Drake: A pirate (El Draque) to the Spanish but a hero to the Brits. He is the first Englishman,
second human on earth (after Ferdinand Magellan), to circumnavigate from 1577 to 1580. He was a
captain, privateer, pirate, slave trader and explorer under Elizabeth I. in 1581, after the
circumnavigation, Elizabeth I knighted him. In 1588, Drake becomes vice admiral in command of the
English fleet. On the way back, after a defeat in San Juan (Puerto Rico) in 1595, he dies from
dysentery in 1596.
Humphrey Gilbert: English navigator. In 1578, Elizabeth I gives him permission to explore overseas,
he probably wanted to establish a colony but failed and got back in 1579. In 1583, he goes to
Newfoundland, took possession for the Queen but on the way back died due to the heavily laden
ship that eventually sank.
Sir Walter Raleigh: English adventurer and writer. In 1584, he is given patent by Elizabeth I to
explore overseas. He obtained permission to colonise every territory that is not governed by
Christian people. In 1587, he explores the territory form North Carolina to Florida and calls it Virginia
in honour of the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I. He founded the Roanoke Colony in North Carolina but the
Colony failed in 1587 due to a lack of supplies.
St. Lucia: Island in the Caribbean. The First British Empire, under James I, made a first attempt to
colonise the place in 1605, but failed. In 1624, they try again and succeed.
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,Grenada: A first attempt to colonise this Caribbean island was made in 1609, unsuccessful. Grenada
was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French re-captured the island
during the American Revolutionary War. However, the island was restored to Britain with the Treaty
of Versailles in 1783.
St. Kitts: Caribbean island which was the first successfully colonized island there in 1624 after failed
attempts (St. Lucia, 1605 and Grenada, 1609).
Barbados: Second successfully colonized Caribbean island in 1627, after St. Kitts three years earlier.
Nevis: Third successfully colonized Caribbean island in 1628, after respectively St. Kitts (1624) and
Grenada (1627).
West Indies: Columbus called these islands the Indies because he thought he had finally reached
Asia (and the East Indies). Spain, when Columbus' mistake was discovered, (pardon the pun)
renamed them the West Indies, to distinguish them from the Spice Islands in the Pacific Ocean, (the
East Indies) which we now call Indonesia.
Jamestown: Jamestown was the first colony of the British Empire in 1607. It was named after King
James I.
Plymouth: North America was also interesting for refugees who fled English persecution. Worried
that their children would lose the English identity, Puritans moved from the Netherlands to
Plymouth in 1620.
Maryland: In 1634, Roman Catholics followed and settled in Maryland. They were refugees fleeing
English persecution.
Rhode Island: In 1636, people from all religions fleering English persecution moved to Rhode Island
because there was religious freedom there.
Connecticut: in 1939, Congregationalists settle in Connecticut, again, fleeing English persecution.
The East India Company: Established in 1600 by Elizabeth I and chartered as well. The EIC pursued
trade with the East Indies. Later on, it also founded colonies, but that was not the principal aim. 50%
of the world trade was done by the EIC, which is huge. Traded products were silk, spices, opium and
so on. The EIC was in constant competition with the VOC (Dutch EIC). Both merged in 1708 and
became even more powerful. The company colonised India and also had a private army which was
twice the size of the British army and so, very powerful. In 1874, the EIC ceased to exist and got
replaced by governmental institutions of British India.
The Virginia Company: Founded by James I in 1606 with two additional companies which are the
London Company and Plymouth Company. The company’s aim was to colonise North America.
Jamestown was the first colony in 1607. Tobacco was an important product of trade. In 1624, the
company fails but the colonies are given self-governance.
The Hudson Bay Company: Founded in 1670 by Charles II. Its aim was to trade fur with native
Americans. The territories granted to the company in North-East Canada are also known as Rupert’s
Land. The company still exists today and has a chain of clothing stores. Later, the French took over
Hudson Bay (territory) but gave it back after signing the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. This was a peace
agreement between France and on the other hand Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, …
The Royal Africa Company: Founded by Charles II in 1660 (immediately after the Restoration of the
monarchy). Its original aim was to exploit gold fields but they soon started trading slaves (who were
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,people in debt, criminals, …) The Gold Coast (Ghana) was the region rich in gold. Slaves were
commodified (became products) and were branded DY (Duke of York) or RAC (Royal African
Company). During the Anglo-Dutch war in 1667, the company fell into debt and trade decreased but
it re-emerged in 1672. It continued slave trade until 1731 when gold and ivory became more
important.
Act Against Slavery: 1793 & stipulates that the importation of slaves is banned and the offspring of
slaves should be freed when reaching the age of 25.
Slave Trade Act: 1807 & slave trade gets banned, but slave trade was still ongoing.
West Africa Squadron: From 1807 until 1860, the WAS patrolled to see whether ships transported
slaves despite the Slave Trade Act (1807).
Slavery Abolition Act: 1833 & aside from slave trade, slavery was now also banned.
Dutch East India Company: In 1602, the Dutch EIC (VOC) is established, two years after Elizabeth I
established the EIC. The Dutch EIC had some 5000 ships and traded with India and South-East Asia.
The DEIC also built their own ships which the British did not. The British only had some 2700 ships.
Anglo-Dutch Wars: Anglo-Dutch wars (1652-54; 1665-67; 1672-74) were all about trade and
colonies. There was no winner, both parties got exhausted, lost ships and men.
1688: William III marries Mary II and becomes monarch of Britain in 1688. This period is also known
as the Glorious Revolution (abduction of James II and gaining of power of Parliament and becoming
of a democracy without any blood getting spilt).
War of Spanish Succession: The War of Spanish Succession (1702-14) broke out because Charles II of
Spain dies without an heir and the throne went to Phillip V who is the grandchild of the French Louis
XIV. This upset Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands because they wanted the throne. A war
between the Catholic France and Spain against the Protestant Britain, Netherlands and Portugal
broke out.
Treaty of Utrecht: The treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ended the War of Spanish Succession (1702-1714)
and gave territories to Britain from Spain (Gibraltar and Menorca) as well as from France
(Newfoundland and Acadia).
Seven Years’ War: The Seven Years’ War (1756-63) was the first global war in history because the
countries involved had colonies in India, America and Africa. It was a war fought between Spain and
France against Britain. The reason for the breakout was again commercial and imperial rivalry.
Treaty of Paris: The Seven Years’ War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris which gave Britain New
France and Florida. This Treaty meant the end for the Spanish and French empires and the beginning
of British power in the 19th century as they had the entire east coast of America.
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, Suggested revision topics: Second British Empire
Mercantilism: dominant economic theory in the 18th century. Protectionism or economic
nationalism which is the opposite of free trade. Governments and companies work together. Britain
wants to protect their trade against other nations. Protection of home market. Mercantilists are
against importation of raw materials or commodities because this means that the nation cannot
produce those on its own and is dependent on other nations for such products. So, it makes the
nation vulnerable and the other nation rich. However, they are pro-export of commodities but not
raw materials because the latter could enforce foreign policies.
Free trade: Opposite of mercantilism. Free trade, also called laissez-faire, a policy by which a
government does not discriminate against imports or interfere with exports by applying tariffs (to
imports) or subsidies (to exports).
Adam Smith: Adam Smith published a book ‘The Wealth of Nations’ in 1776 which was the
beginning of modern economics. He argued that governments should stay out of economy. He also
came up with the theory of the invisible hand which says that if a market is left by itself, it will
regulate itself. Through competition, a market will find balance and a government is not needed to
find that balance. Smith was right, colonies became independent and the economy was better.
Smith was against colonisation because it was expensive and redundant.
Navigation Acts: 1650-1849 & laws enacted to restrict colonial trade. Declared that only English
ships would be allowed to bring goods into England, and that the North American colonies could
only export its commodities, such as tobacco and sugar, to England. This effectively prevented the
colonies from trading with other European countries. The act was followed by several others that
imposed additional limitations on colonial trade and increased customs duties.The Navigation Act of
1651 stipulated that goods imported or exported by English colonies in Africa, Asia, or America be
shipped on vessels constructed by English shipbuilders and sailed by crews that were at least 75 per
cent English. Goods imported from the colonies into England also had to arrive on English vessels.
1770: James Cook discovers the eastern coast of Australia and names it ‘New South Wales’. He also
claims New Zealand for the British Crown.
James Cook: British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy. He
made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during
which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and
the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
Joseph Banks: In 1778, Joseph Banks (Cook's botanist) presents evidence on the suitability
of Botany Bay for the establishment of a penal settlement.
John Wesley: In 1774, John Wesley’s text on slavery ‘Thoughts upon Slavery’ forms the beginning of
the anti-slavery movement. In that text he asks people whether they are human, feel compassion,
have a heart, etc. He concludes by saying that God will deal with one must one proceed enslaving
people.
1787: a society is established to make the Slave Trade Act which prohibits slavery.
1807: The Slave Trade Act comes into being and is implemented. However, slave trade still happens
so the West Africa Squadron is established to check whether ships transport slaves to trade. This
way, between 1807 and 1860, some 150 000 Africans have been freed and saved from slavery.
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