Timeline of the British Empire

From the Act of Union to the Great War

Foundation of Empire (18th century) Height of Empire (19th century) Ireland Canada Australia and New Zealand India and Asia Colonial Africa The Great War (20th century)

Foundation of Empire (1707 to 1815)

The Act of Union, to the Battle of Waterloo

Date	Event
1707	England and Scotland unite to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1714	George I appointed first Hanoverian King; Walpole becomes Prime Minister.
1715	Old Pretender precipitates first Jacobite rising in Scotland.
1739-1748	War of Austrian Succession begins—Britain allies with Austria to fight France.
1745	—Young Pretender incites second Jacobite rising in Scotland.
1748	—Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of Austrian Succession, but brings no important changes.
1756-1763	Seven Years War (a.k.a French and Indian War in America, and Carnatic War in India) results in colonial conquests for Britain.
1757	—Clive's victory at Plassey wins Bengal for Britain.
1759	—Wolfe's capture of Quebec wins Canada for Britain.
1759	—Hawke's victory at Quiberon Bay destroys French Sea Power.
1755	Samuel Johnson publishes Dictionary of English Language.
1766	William Pitt the Elder becomes Prime Minister of England.
1764	James Hargreaves invents the Spinning Jenny.
1771	Captain James Cook discovers Australia, New Zealand.
1776	Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations which revolutionizes ideas about commerce, taxes, and economics.
1776	Declaration of Independence precipitates the American Revolutionary War.
1783	Lord Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown; Britain loses most of New World colonies.
1782	William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minster of England.
1784	James Watt invents the Steam Engine—ushers in the industrial revolution.
1793-1802	French Revolutionary Wars ends in a stalemate.
1797	—Battles of St. Vincent and Camperdown give Britain control of the sea.
1798	—Battle of the Nile destroys Napoleon's plans to take over Egypt.
1801	—Battle of Copenhagen destroys French naval power in the North Sea.
1798	Irish Rebellion is put down by Britain.
1801	Irish Parliament dissolved;—Ireland, unwillingly, joins the United Kingdom.
1804	Napoleon Bonaparte makes himself emperor of France.
1802-1914	Napoleonic Wars drag all of Europe into turmoil.
1805	—British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar under Lord Nelson destroys French naval power.
1808	—Start of Peninsular War in Spain—Duke of Wellington helps drive the French out of Spain.
1812-1814	—War of 1812 with the United States.
1815	—Wellington and Blucher defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Height of Empire (1815 to 1902)

Aftermath of Napoleonic Wars, to the Second Boer War

Date	Event
1821	George Stephenson invents the locomotive; ushers in age of railways.
1829	Catholic Emancipation in Ireland—Catholics allowed to vote.
1832	First Reform Act—Whigs take control of Parliament.
1833	Abolition of Slavery in British colonies.
1837	Queen Victoria ascends to the throne of England.
1842	Massacre at Kyber Pass—British army retreats from Afghanistan
1846	Potato Famine, Repeal of the Corn Laws, Free Trade
1851	Great Exhibition opens in the Crystal Palace in London
1852	David Livingstone begins his first expedition into Africa
1854-1856	Crimean War—Britain allies itself with Ottomans to oppose Russian expansion.
1857	Indian Mutiny—rebellion of Sepoys put down with great slaughter.
1859	Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species.
1865	Henry Bessemer process greatly improves production of steel.
1858	First Transatlantic Cable laid.
1868-1874	First Ministry of William Gladstone—promotes a liberal reform agenda.
1874-1880	Second Ministry of Benjamin Disraeli—promotes a conservative imperial agenda.
1879	Anglo-Zulu War—British prevail over Zulus after suffering a massacre at Isandhlwana
1880	First Boer War—British concede to Boer demands after suffering serious defeats.
1875	Egyptian Share of Suez canal sold to Britain.
1882	British put down Arabi's Rebellion at the Battle of Tel-al-Kebar.
1870	Death of Charles Dickens, British novelist.
1885	Death of Charles Gordon at the Siege of Khartoum—British relieving force fails to arrive in time.
1887	Fiftieth year Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
1898	Horatio Kitchener defeats the rebel Mahdists of Sudan at the Battle of Omdurman.
1899-1902	Second Boer War—Hard fought British victory forces the Boers to submit to British rule.
1901	Death of Queen Victoria

Ireland (450 to 1922)

St. Patrick brings Christianity to Ireland, to Irish Independence

Date	Event
450	Saint Patrick converts Ireland to Christianity.
850	Brian Boru drives Vikings out of Ireland, and briefly unites tribes.
1169	Norman Invasion puts Ireland under nominal English control.
1315	Edward Bruce, brother of Robert I of Scotland, attempts to drive English out of Ireland.
1497	Lambert Simnel, pretender to English throne, lands in Dublin.
1536	Henry VIII begins reconquest of Ireland under Protestant rule.
1594-1603	Nine Years War—English conquer Northern Ireland and assume control of Ulster.
1641	Catholic Uprisings during English Civil War; massacre of Protestants in Ulster.
1649	Oliver Cromwell invades Ireland—infamous Siege of Drogheda.
1688-1691	Williamite War in Ireland, following the "Glorious Revolution" in Britain.
1688	—Siege of Londonderry is relieved by Protestant army.
1690	—James II returns to France after the Battle of Boyne.
1691	Penal laws enforced which oppress, dispossess Irish Catholics.
1782	Henry Grattan establishes independent Irish Parliament.
1798	Irish rebellion.
1801	Ireland (unwillingly) merged into the "United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland";
1829	Catholics allowed to vote.
1845-1849	Irish potato famine.
1869	Disestablishment of the Anglican Irish State Church
1882	Murder of Cavendish in Ireland.
1893	Parnell's Home Rule Bill defeated by small majority.
1916	Easter Rising in Dublin raises sympathy for Irish Rebels.
1919-1921	Irish War of Independence.
1922	Partition of Ireland: Formation of Irish Free State.

Canada (1497 to 1949)

Cabot's first voyage to North America, to Union of Canada and Newfoundland

Date	Event
1497	John Cabot claims Newfoundland for England.
1576	Sir Martin Frobisher searches for the Northwest Passage.
1583	Sir Humphrey Gilbert attempts to found colony in Newfoundland.
1608	Samuel de Champlain establishes Quebec.
1611	Henry Hudson is left adrift by a mutinous crew in Hudson Bay.
1670	Hudson Bay Trading Company chartered by Charles II.
1688-1713	First and Second French & Indian Wars.
1744-1763	Third and Forth French & Indian Wars.
1755	Defeat of General Braddock at Battle of Fort Duquesne.
1755	Acadians from Nova Scotia forced to relocate.
1759	At the Battle of Quebec General Wolfe delivers most of New France to the British.
1789	Alexander Mackenzie discovers his river and the Arctic Ocean.
1791	French Quebec partitioned into Lower and Upper Canada.
1792	George Vancouver discovers British Columbia.
1837	Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada against British rule.
1840	Act of Union unites Upper and Lower Canada.
1867	New Brunswick and Nova Scotia join Canadian Federation.
1870	Manitoba and British Columbia join Canadian Federation.
1885	Completion of Canadian Pacific Rail, Montreal to Vancouver.
1905	Saskatchewan and Alberta join Canadian Federation.
1931	Statute of Westminster grants British provinces self-government.
1949	Newfoundland joins Canadian Federation.

Australia and New Zealand (1770 to 1931)

First Voyage of Captain Cook, to the Statute of Westminster

Date	Event
1642	Abel Janszoon Tasman discovers Tasmania, New Zealand and the Fiji islands.
1770	Captain James Cook rediscovers Australia and New Zealand for Britain.
1788	First settlement in Australia, a Penal Colony, established at Botany Bay.
1801	George Bass and Matthew Flinders first expedition around the coast of Australia.
1839	New Zealand annexed to the British empire.
1850	Discovery of gold in Australia.
1845-1872	Maori Wars between British settlers and natives of New Zealand
1888	New Guinea becomes a crown colony.

British India and China (1600 to 1901)

First Charter of British East India Company, to Boxer Rebellion in China

Date	Event
1526	Baber founds the Moghul empire in India.
1600	British East India Company granted a charter.
1612	First British trading post established at Surat.
1650	Trading posts established at Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
1618-1707	Reign of Great Mogul Aurangzeb—strict adherence to Islamic law alienates Hindu subjects.
1674	Shivaji founds the Maratha empire in the Deccan as the Moghul empire began to collapse.
1746	Beginning of Carnatic Wars in India; British fight French with Indian allies.
1751	—Siege of Arcot is Clive's first great success in India.
1756	—Over a hundred British citizens perish in the "Black Hole of Calcutta".
1757	—With the help of a traitor, Clive wins Bengal for Britain at the Battle of Plassey.
1773	Warren Hastings appointed first Governor of India. Later, tried in Britain for corruption.
1775-1803	Mahratta Wars—British victories in the Deccan increase Britain's influence in central India.
1799	Death of Tipu Sultan ends the Mysore Wars in southern India.
1839-1842	First Opium War with China—Hong Kong ceded to Britain.
1842	First Anglo-Afghan War—Massacre at Khyber Pass.
1845	Anglo-Sikh Wars results in the annexation of Punjab.
1852	Burma is annexed to British territory.
1857	Indian Mutiny—worst rebellion in history of the British empire.
1858	East India Company is dissolved—India made colony of the British Empire.
1856-1860	Second Opium War with China—destruction of Summer Palace
1860	General Charles Gordon aids the Chinese Government against Taipings.
1899-1901	Boxer Rebellion in China.

Colonial Africa (1770 to 1910)

James Bruce discovers the Blue Nile, to Union of South Africa

Date	Event
1770	James Bruce discovers the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.
1795	British take control of South Africa during French Revolutionary Wars.
1796	Mungo Park discovers source of the Niger and explores the Niger basin.
1807	Prohibition of slave trade enforced by British navy.
1815-1835	The Zulus, under Chaka, become the predominant tribe in Southeast Africa.
1833	Slavery prohibited in English colonies
1835-1845	Great Boer Trek, from Cape Colony to Natal and then Transvaal
1837	Zulus, under Dingan, murder 400 Boers but were later defeated at the Battle of Blood River.
1843	First British settlement in Natal.
1852	Livingstone's first journey across southern Africa.
1855	Paul du Chaillu embarks on his first independent journey into Gabon and Congo.
1858	John Hanning Speke and Richard Burton discover Lake Victoria.
1859	Livingstone's Zambezi Expedition.
1864	Third Anglo-Ashanti War, for control of trade in the Gold Coast.
1867	Discovery of diamond mines in Kimberly.
1874	H. M. Stanley starts his expedition down the Congo River.
1879	After suffering a horrendous massacre at Isandhlwana, the British subdue the Zulus.
1880	First Boer War ends in victory for the Boers.
1880	Cecil Rhodes opens De Beers mining company and corners the diamond market.
1885	Discovery of gold in the Transvaal.
1885	Rhodes establishes a British Protectorate for Bechuanaland.
1896	Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War.
1899-1902	Second Boer War—hard fought struggle ends in a British victory and loss of the Boer republics.
1910	Union of South Africa.

The Great War (1900 to 1922)

Prelude to Aftermath of the Great War

Date	Event
June 1914	Murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
Aug 3, 1914	Germany declares War on France.
Aug 20, 1914	Germans enter Brussels.
Sept 6, 1914	First Battle of Marne—French Victory.
Dec 24, 1914	First German Air-raid on Britain.
April 17, 1915	Battle of Ypres—First use of Poison Gas.
Apr 25, 1915	Allied troops land on Gallipoli
May 7, 1915	British Passenger Liner Lusitania sunk by the Germans.
May 23, 1915	Italy enters war on the side of the allies.
Oct 13, 1915	Germans execute Edith Cavell, a British nurse
Oct 14, 1915	Bulgaria enters the war.
Dec 19, 1915	Withdrawal from Gallipoli.
Feb 21-July, 1916	Battle of Verdun.
May 31, 1916	Naval battle of Jutland.
July 1-Nov, 1916	Battle of Somme.
Aug 29, 1916	Hindenburg takes supreme command of German armies.
Mar 11, 1917	Baghdad captured by British.
Apr 6, 1917	America declares War on Germany.
July 20, 1917	Kerensky succeeds as premier of Russia
Nov 7, 1917	Overthrow of Kerensky by the Bolsheviks—Russia withdraws from the war.
Apr 9, 1918	German offensive between Ypres and Arras.
May 27, 1918	German offensive near Chateau-Thierry and Marne River.
June 11, 1918	American offensive in Belleau Wood.
July 18, 1918	Second Battle of Marne—Allied Victory.
Sept 22, 1918	British victory over the Ottomans in Palestine.
Oct 1, 1918	Hindenburg Line taken by the French.
Oct 1918	German Losses at Laon, Ostend, Lille, Aleppo.
Nov 11 1918	Armistice signed between Allies and German powers.