Territorial evolution of the British Empire

The territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, many territories around the world have been under the control of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, the latter country's colonial possessions passed to the new state. Similarly, when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to form the United Kingdom, control over its colonial possessions passed to the latter state. Collectively, these territories are referred to as the British Empire. When much of Ireland gained independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State, the other territories of the empire remained under the control of the United Kingdom.

From 1714 to 1837, the British throne was held by a series of kings who were also the rulers of the German state of Hanover. However, this was purely a personal union, with Hanover maintaining its political independence otherwise, and so it is not usually considered to have formed part of the British Empire.

The nature of the territories (and peoples) ruled as part of the British Empire varied enormously. In legal terms the territories included those formally under the sovereignty of the British monarch (who held the additional title of Emperor/Empress of India from 1876 to 1947); various "foreign" territories controlled as protectorates; territories transferred to British administration under the authority of the League of Nations or the United Nations; and miscellaneous other territories, such as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium with Egypt. No uniform system of government was applied to any of these.

Several countries (dominions) within the British Empire gained independence in stages during the earlier part of the 20th century. Much of the rest of the empire was dismantled in the twenty years following the end of the Second World War, starting with the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, and continued until the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. There remain, however, fourteen territories around the world known as the British Overseas Territories which remain under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

Many of the former territories of the British Empire are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fourteen of these (known, with the United Kingdom, as the 15 Commonwealth realms) retain the British monarch (currently Charles III) as head of state. The British monarch is also Head of the Commonwealth, but this is a purely symbolic and personal title; members of the Commonwealth (including the Commonwealth realms) are fully sovereign states.

From the 16th to the 20th centuries, the British Empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1920 to over 35,500,000 km² (13,700,000 sq mi), the largest empire in the world.^[1] In terms of population, on the eve of World War II, Britain and her colonial possessions totaled 500 million inhabitants. The British Empire had an enormous impact on world history. The United Kingdom had about 120 colonies throughout its history, the most colonies in the world, the French colonial empire came second, which had about 80 colonies.^[2] Around 54 countries gained independence from the United Kingdom throughout its history, the most in the world, ahead of the French colonial empire, which 40 countries gained independence from France.^[3]

The British Empire refers to the possessions, dominions, and dependencies under the control of the Crown. In addition to the areas formally under the sovereignty of the British monarch, various "foreign" territories were controlled as protectorates; territories transferred to British administration under the authority of the League of Nations or the United Nations; and miscellaneous other territories, such as the condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The natures of the administration of the Empire changed both by time and place, and there was no uniform system of government in the Empire.^[4][5]

Colonies were territories that were intended to be places of permanent settlement, providing land for their settlers. The Crown claimed absolute sovereignty over them, although they were not formally part of the United Kingdom itself. Generally, their law was the common law of England together with whatever British Acts of Parliament were also applied to them. Over time, a number of colonies were granted "responsible government", making them largely self-governing.

A Crown colony: a type of colonial administration of the English and later the British Empire, whose legislature and administration was controlled by the Crown.^[6][7]

Crown colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch. By the middle of the 19th century, the sovereign appointed royal governors on the advice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. This became the main method of creating and governing colonies.^[8] Most Crown colonies, especially the white settler colonies had a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house usually called the Legislative council, which members were appointed and served a similar purpose as the British House of Lords. There also existed lower houses which were usually named the Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly. The lower house was usually elected, but suffrage was restricted to free white men only, usually with property ownership restrictions. Since land ownership was widespread, most white men could vote.^[9] The governor also often had an Executive Council which had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the colonial lower house. They held a consultative position, however, and did not serve in administrative offices as cabinet ministers do. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the lower house but were usually members of the upper house.^[10] Later as the white colonies gained more internal responsible government, the lower house began to supersede the (usually unelected) upper house as the colonial legislature, and the position of Premier emerged.^[11]

Charter colony is one of the three classes of colonial government established in the 17th-century English colonies in North America. In a charter colony, the King granted a royal charter to the colonial government establishing the rules under which the colony was to be governed and charter colonies elected their own governors based on rules spelled out in the charter or other colonial legislation.^[12]

A number of colonies in the 16th and 17th centuries were granted to a particular individual; these were known as proprietary colonies. Proprietary colonies in America were governed by a Lord Proprietor, who, holding authority by virtue of a royal charter, usually exercised that authority almost as an independent sovereign. Eventually these were converted to Crown colonies.^[13][14]

A chartered company is an association formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonization. Chartered companies were usually formed, incorporated and legitimized under a royal charter. This document set out the terms under which the company could trade, defined its boundaries of influence, and described its rights and responsibilities. Groups of investors formed companies to underwrite and profit from the exploration of Africa, India, Asia, the Caribbean and North America, under the patronage of the state. Some companies like the East India Company (the most famous), the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Royal African Company ruled large colonial possessions (especially in India), but the Hudson's Bay Company took control of the Hudson Bay drainage basin in Canada as Rupert's Land, and the Royal African Company started to ship slaves from West Africa to the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade.^[15][16]

A protectorate is a territory which is not formally annexed but in which, by treaty, grant or other lawful means, the Crown has power and jurisdiction. A protectorate differs from a "protected state". A protected state is a territory under a foreign ruler which enjoys British protection, over whose foreign affairs she exercises control, but in respect of whose internal affairs she does not exercise jurisdiction.^[5]

Dominions were semi-independent polities that were nominally under the Crown, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the later part of the 19th century.^[17][18] The dominions had been previously Crown colonies, and some of the colonies had been united to form dominions such as Union of South Africa and Commonwealth of Australia. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 clarified the status of the dominions, recognizing them as "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations." The Statute of Westminster 1931 converted this status into legal reality, making them essentially independent members of what was then called the British Commonwealth. Initially, the Dominions conducted their own trade policy, some limited foreign relations, and had autonomous armed forces, although the British government claimed and exercised the exclusive power to declare wars. However, after the passage of the Statute of Westminster, the language of dependency on the Crown of the United Kingdom ceased, and the Crown itself was no longer referred to as the Crown of any place in particular but simply as "the Crown". Arthur Berriedale Keith, in Speeches and Documents on the British Dominions 1918–1931, stated that "the Dominions are sovereign international States in the sense that the King in respect of each of His Dominions (Newfoundland excepted) is such a State in the eyes of international law". After then, those countries that were previously referred to as "Dominions" became Commonwealth realms where the sovereign reigns no longer as the British monarch, but as monarch of each nation in its own right, and are considered equal to the United Kingdom and one another.^[19]

Mandates were forms of territory created after the end of the First World War. A number of German colonies and protectorates and Ottoman provinces were held as mandates by the United Kingdom (Tanganyika, British Cameroons, Togoland, Palestine and Mesopotamia); and its dominions of Australia (New Guinea, Nauru), New Zealand (Western Samoa), and South Africa (South West Africa). These territories were governed on behalf of the League of Nations for the benefit of their inhabitants. Most converted to United Nations Trust Territories in 1946.^[20]

The Indian Empire was the imperial political structure in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, comprising British India (a Crown colony: presidencies and provinces directly governed by the British Crown through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) and Princely States, governed by Indian princes, under the suzerainty of the British Crown exercised through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India.^[21]

Within twenty years of the partition and independence in 1947 of India (considered to be the most important colonial possession), most of the Empire's territories had achieved full independence. Today 14 former colonies (since 2002 known as British Overseas Territories) remain under British rule; the term "colonies" is no longer officially used to describe these, although some parts of UK legislation still refer to the term "colony" (see for instance the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s.255(2), which explicitly reads that "Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that this Part shall extend (...) to (a) any of the Channel Islands, (b) the Isle of Man, or (c) any colony").

Almost all of the British Overseas Territories are islands (or groups of islands) with a small population; some are in very remote areas of the world. Of the territories with a permanent population, all have at least some degree of internal self-government, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and external relations.

The fourteen British Overseas Territories are:

•  Anguilla
•  Bermuda
•  British Antarctic Territory
•  British Indian Ocean Territory
•  British Virgin Islands
•  Cayman Islands
•  Falkland Islands
•  Gibraltar
•  Montserrat
•  Pitcairn Islands
•  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
  •  Saint Helena
  •  Ascension Island
  •  Tristan da Cunha
•  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
•  Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
•  Turks and Caicos Islands

!±!	Crown dependency		Part of the United Kingdom
:±:	Commonwealth realm, with King Charles III as head of state		Overseas territories
£IMP	Currency pegged to the GBP	CYP	Pound sterling derived currency
!T!	Common law legal system to various extent	[X]	Westminster style parliamentary system
abc	English as a dominant or an official language	/\\/	Left-hand traffic

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Anguilla	1650–1696	Colony under St. Christopher
	1696–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	Part of colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1832–1871	Part of colony of Leeward Islands as colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1871–1882	Part of the presidency of Saint Christopher (within the Leeward Islands)
	1882–1956	Part of the presidency of Saint Christopher and Nevis (within the Leeward Islands)
	1956–1967	Part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
	1967–1969	Unilateral declaration of independence as Republic of Anguilla
	1969–1980	Part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
	1980–1982	Self-governing colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Antigua (incl. Barbuda from 1860)	1632–1671	Colony
	1671–72	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1672–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	Part of colony of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat
	1832–33	Colony
	1833–1871	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1871–1956	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1956–1958	Colony
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1967	Colony
	1967–1981	Associated state
	1981	Independent as Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat	1816–1832	Colony
	1832	Dissolved
Bahamas	1670–1684	Proprietary colony
	1684	Occupied by Spain
	1718–1964	Crown colony
	1964–1969	Self-government
	1969–1973	Commonwealth
	1973	Independence
Barbados	1624–1627	Claimed by England
	1627–1652	Proprietary colony
	1652–1663	Colony
	1663–1833	Crown colony
	1833–1885	Part of colony of Windward Islands
	1885–1958	Colony
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1966	Colony
	1966	Independence
Barbuda	1628–1832	Colony
	1632–1671	Dependency of Antigua
	1671–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	Part of colony of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat
	1832–33	Colony
	1833–1860	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1860	Annexed to Antigua
	1976–1980	Autonomous
	1980	Unilateral declaration of independence[citation needed]	–
	1981	Independence as part of Antigua and Barbuda
Bay Islands[22]	1643–early 18th century	Sporadic, short-lived settlements
	1742–1748	Colony of Port Royal (Roatan). Spanish sovereignty recognized in 1748
	1749–1782	Illegal but well-established English settlements. Spanish occupation and expulsion of settlers in 1782
	1852–1860	Colony of the Bay Islands. Surrendered to Honduras in 1860
Belize – see under "British Honduras"
British Honduras	1665–1742	Settlement
	1742–1840	Settlement subordinated to Jamaica
	1840–1862	Colony subordinated to Jamaica
	1862–1884	Crown colony subordinated to Jamaica
	1884–1954	Crown colony
	1954–1964	Autonomy
	1964–1981	Self-governing colony
	1973	Renamed "Belize"
	1981	Independence
British Virgin Islands	1666–1672	Occupation
	1672–1713	Part of colony of Leeward Islands as part of Antigua
	1713–1816	Crown colony part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	Part of colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1832–1871	Part of colony of Leeward Islands as colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1871–1956	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1956–1960	Part of territory of Leeward Islands
	1960–1967	Colony
	1967–1982	Self-governing colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Cayman Islands	1670–1958	Colony; administered from Jamaica
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1982	Crown colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Dominica	1763–1778	Occupation
	1778	Ceded to France
	1784–1871	Colony
	1871–1939	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1940–1958	Colony within the Windward Islands
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1967	Colony
	1967–1978	Associated state
	1978	Independence
Grenada	1762–63	Occupation
	1763–1779	Part of colony of South Caribbean Islands
	1779	Occupied by France
	1783–1802	Part of colony of South Caribbean Islands
	1802–1833	Colony
	1833–1958	Part of Windward Islands
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1967	Colony
	1967–1974	Associated state
	1974	Independence
Old Providence	1628–1630	Initial settlement by English colonists
	1630–1641	Chartered colony under the Providence Island Company
	1641	Captured by Spain, became part of New Granada
Jamaica	1655–1670	Occupation
	1670–1953	Colony
	1953–1958	Self-governing colony
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962	Independence
Leeward Islands	1671–1816	Colony
	1833–1871	Colony
	1871–1956	Federal colony	Comprised the presidencies of Antigua (incl. Barbuda), Dominica (to 1939), Montserrat, Nevis, Saint Kitts (incl. Anguilla, and combined with Nevis in 1883), and the Virgin Islands
	1956–1960	Territory
	1960	Dissolved
Montserrat	1632–1667	Colony part of Antigua
	1667	Occupied by France
	1668–1782	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1784–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	Part of colony of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat
	1832–33	Colony part of Antigua
	1833–1871	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1871–1956	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1956–1958	Colony
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1982	Colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Mosquito Coast	1668–1786	Protectorate
	1787–1861	Protectorate
	1861	Incorporated into Nicaragua and Honduras
Nevis	1628–1671	Colony subordinated to Barbados
	1671–1701	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1701–1704	Part of colony of Leeward Islands under Antigua
	1704–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1833	Part of colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1833–1871	Part of Leeward Islands as colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1871–1883	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1883	Amalgamated with Saint Kitts to form the presidency of Saint Christopher and Nevis (within the Leeward Islands)
Redonda	1860s–1967	British possession
	1967	Dependency of Antigua
St. Christopher (Saint Kitts)	1623–1666	Colony
	1666	Occupied by France
	1671–1701	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1701–1704	Part of colony of Leeward Islands under Antigua
	1704–1782	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1782	Occupied by France
	1783–1816	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1833	Part of colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1833–1871	Part of Leeward Islands as colony of St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands
	1871–1882	Part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1882	Amalgamated with Nevis to form the presidency of Saint Christopher-Nevis (within the Leeward Islands)
St. Christopher and Nevis	1882–1958	Presidency within the Leeward Islands
	1958–1962	Part of province of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla of West Indies Federation
	1962–1967	Part of colony of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
	1967–1980	Part of associated state of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
	1980–1983	Associated state
	1983	Independence	:±:
St. John	1801–02	Occupation
	1807–1815	Occupation	Now part of the United States Virgin Islands
St. Lucia	1605–1640	Settlement
	1640	Abandoned
	1664–1667	Occupation
	1762–63	Occupation
	1781–1783	Occupation
	1794–95	Occupation
	1796–1802	Occupation
	1803–1838	Colony
	1838–1958	Crown colony part of colony of Windward Islands
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1967	Crown colony
	1967–1979	Associated state
	1979	Independence
Saint Martin	1690–1699	Occupation
	1801–02	Occupation
St. Thomas	1801–02	Occupation
	1807–1815	Occupation	Now part of the United States Virgin Islands
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	1627–1636	Claimed
	1672	Claimed
	1762–63	Occupation
	1763–1776	Colony
	1776–1779	Crown colony
	1779	Occupied by France
	1783–1833	Crown colony
	1833–1958	Part of colony of Windward Islands
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1969	Colony
	1969–1979	Associated state
	1979	Independence
South Caribbean Islands	1763–1802	Colony
	1802	Dissolved	Included the present-day countries of Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the island of Tobago
Tobago	1762–1764	Part of colony of Windward Islands
	1764–1781	Colony
	1781	Colony of France
	1793–1802	Occupation
	1802	Colony of France
	1803–1833	Crown colony
	1833–1888	Part of colony of Windward Islands
	1889	Amalgamated with Trinidad
Tortuga	1631–1635	Colony
	1635	French possession	Now part of Haiti
Trinidad	1802–1888	Colony
	1889	Amalgamated with Tobago as "Trinidad and Tobago"
Trinidad and Tobago	1889–1958	Colony
	1958–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962	Independence
Turks and Caicos Islands	1799–1848	Colony part of Bahamas
	1848–1874	Colony
	1874–1959	Colony part of Jamaica
	1959–1962	Province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1982	Colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Virgin Islands – see under "British Virgin Islands"
West Indies Federation	1958–1962	Federation of colonies
	1962	Dissolution	Included the present-day countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados; Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, and the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands
Windward Islands	1833–1956	Colony
	1956–1960	Territory
	1960	Dissolution	Included the present-day countries of Barbados (to 1885), Grenada, Dominica (from 1940), St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and (until 1889) the island of Tobago

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	1960–present	Sovereign Base Areas
Alderney	1198–1204	Lordship
	1204	Fiefdom
	1205	Fiefdom
	1206–1279	Fiefdom
	1279	Briefly occupied by France
	1279–1660	Part of bailiwick of Guernsey
	1660–1825	Seigneurie
	1825	Subordinated to Guernsey
	1940–1945	Occupied by Germany
	1945	Restored to Britain
Cyprus	1878	Administration while nominally remaining part of the Ottoman Empire
	1914	Annexation
	1925	Crown colony
	1960	Independence	Two sovereign base areas remain under British sovereignty; see under "Akrotiri and Dhekelia"
Dunkirk	1658–1662	Town and surrounding hinterland
	1662	Incorporated into France
England	927	Kingdom formed
	1282	Conquest of principality of Gwynedd (last remaining independent Welsh principality)
	1536	Annexation of Principality of Wales and Marcher Lordships into England
	1603	Personal union with Scotland
	1649	Republic as the Commonwealth of England. Scotland and Ireland united with England
	1660	End of Republic. Scotland independent again but in personal union with England
	1707	Political union with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain	Treaty of Union 1706 and Acts of Union 1707
Gibraltar	1704	Captured by Britain
	1713	Colony	Ceded by Spain Treaty of Utrecht 1713
	1983	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory	Sovereignty claimed by Spain
Great Britain, Kingdom of	1707	Formed by union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland
	1801	Union of Great Britain with Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Guernsey (incl. islands of Brecqhou, Herm, Jethou, Lihou, and Sark)	1198–1204	Lordship
	1204–1205	Fiefdom
	1206–1279	Fiefdom
	1279–1940	Bailiwick
	1940–1945	Occupied by Germany
	1945–present	Bailiwick
Heligoland	1807–1814	Occupied
	1814–1890	Colony
	1890	Incorporated into Germany
	1945–1952	Occupied
United States of the Ionian Islands	1809–1815	Occupied
	1815–1864	United States of Ionian Islands, under British protection
	1864	Incorporated into Greece
Ireland	1172	Lordship	Papal Bull Laudabiliter 1155
	1541	Kingdom subordinated to the English (later British) Crown
	1801	Merged with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	Act of Union 1800
Irish Free State	1922	Independence from the United Kingdom	Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921
	1949	Declared a Republic
Isle of Man	1266–1290	Fiefdom under Scotland
	1313–1317	Fiefdom under Scotland
	1328–1333	Fiefdom under Scotland
	1333–1504	Fiefdom
	1504–1594	Lordship
	1594–1610	Direct Crown rule
	1610–1649	Lordship
	1649–1660	Commonwealth and protectorate
	1660–1765	Lordship
	1765–1827	Possession
	1827–present	Crown dependency
Jersey	1204	Fiefdom subordinated to Guernsey
	1204–1205	Fiefdom subordinated to Guernsey
	1206–1279	Fiefdom subordinated to Guernsey
	1279–1380	Bailiwick subordinated to Guernsey
	1382–1461	Bailiwick subordinated to Guernsey
	1468–1487	Bailiwick subordinated to Guernsey
	1487–1940	Bailiwick
	1940–1945	Occupied by Germany
	1945–present	Bailiwick
Malta	1800–1813	Protectorate
	1813–1921	Crown colony
	1921–1933	Self-governing colony
	1933–1947	Crown colony
	1947–1958	Self-governing colony
	1958–1961	Crown colony
	1961–1964	Self-governing colony
	1964	Independence
Menorca	1708–1713	Occupied
	1713	Ceded to Britain
	1714–1756	Colony
	1756	Occupied by France
	1798–1802	Colony
	1802	Restored to Spain
Rockall	1955	Annexed as the latest territorial addition to the United Kingdom.
	1972	Made part of Scotland under Island of Rockall Act 1972.
Sicily	1806–1815	Protectorate
	1816	creation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Scotland	1603	Personal union with England
	1649	United with England and Ireland as the Commonwealth of England.
	1660	Independent again but in personal union with England
	1707	Political union with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain	Treaty of Union 1706 and Acts of Union 1707
United Kingdom	1801	Formed by the union of the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland
	1922	Secession of the Irish Free State
	1927	Formal name changed from "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" to "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"
Wales (Cymru)	1282	Occupied
	1535	Annexed into England by Act of English Parliament
	1999	Devolved National Assembly established (renamed to Senedd (Parliament) in 2020)

(Territories south of 60° S)

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
British Antarctic Territory	1962–1982	Colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Enderby Land	1930–1933	Claimed
	1933	Transferred to Australia	Now part of the Australian Antarctic Territory
Graham Land	1832	Annexed
	1908–1962	Dependency of Falkland Islands
	1962–present	Part of the British Antarctic Territory
South Orkney	1821–1908	Claimed
	1908–1962	Dependency of the Falkland Islands
	1962–present	Part of the British Antarctic Territory
South Shetland	1819–1908	Claimed
	1908–1962	Dependency of the Falkland Islands
	1962–present	Part of the British Antarctic Territory
Victoria Land	1841–1933	Claimed
	1933	Transferred to Australia	Now part of the Australian Antarctic Territory

(Islands in the Atlantic Ocean)

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Ascension Island	1815–1922	Possession
	1922–2009	Dependency of St Helena
	2009–present	Part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Bermuda	1612–1684	Colony
	1684–1968	Crown colony
	1968–1982	Self-governing colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Falkland Islands	1766	West Falkland settled
	1774	Settlement withdrawn
	1774–1833	Claimed
	1833	Settlement re-established
	1841–1892	Crown colony
	1892–1908	Colony
	1908–1962	Colony
	1962	The Falkland Islands Dependencies of South Shetland, South Orkney, and Graham Land are established as the separate colony of British Antarctic Territory
	1962–1982	Colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (formerly known as "St. Helena and its Dependencies")	1588–1673	St Helena claimed
	1673–1815	Possession of the East India Company
	1815–1821	Crown colony
	1821–1834	Possession of British East India Company
	1834–1982	Crown colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands	1775–1908	Claimed
	1908–1985	Dependency of the Falkland Islands
	1985–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Tristan da Cunha	(1816–1938)	Dependency of the Cape Colony
	1938–2009	Dependency of St. Helena
	2009–present	Part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

(Islands in the Indian Ocean)

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	1789	British take possession of the Andaman Islands
	1848	British take possession of the Nicobar Islands
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation
	1947	Became part of India upon its independence	Now a union territory of India
Ashmore Island	1878	Annexed
	1931	Transferred to Australia	Now administered as part of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Cartier Island	1909–1931	Annexed
	1931	Transferred to Australia	Now administered as part of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands
British Indian Ocean Territory	1810–1814	Occupied
	1814	Ceded to the United Kingdom by the Treaty of Paris
	1814–1903	Part of the colony of Seychelles
	1903–1965	Part of colony of Mauritius
	1965–1982	Colony
	1976	The Aldabra Group, the Des Roches islands, and the Farquhar Group/Des Roches are restored to the Seychelles
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Christmas Island	1888	Annexed
	1889–90	Leased
	1900–1942	Dependency of the colony of Straits Settlement
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation
	1945–46	Military administration
	1946–1958	Dependency of the colony of Singapore
	1958	Crown colony
	1958	Transferred to Australia
Cocos Islands	1825; 1826–1831	Settlement
	1831–1857	Fiefdom
	1857–1878	Crown colony
	1878–1886	Part of Ceylon
	1886–1942	Part of the colony of the Straits Settlements
	1942–1946	Part of Ceylon
	1946–1955	Dependency of the Colony of Singapore
	1955	transferred to Australia	Now the Australian territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	1833–1947	Claimed
	1947	Transferred to Australia	Now the Australian territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Maldives	1796–1953	Protectorate
	1953–54	Republic
	1954–1965	Protectorate	See also the United Suvadive Republic (1959–1963)
	1965	Independence
Mauritius	1809	Occupation of Rodrigues
	1810–1968	Colony
	1814	Formal cession by the Treaty of Paris
	1965	The Chagos Archipelago is transferred to the British Indian Ocean Territory
	1968	Independence
Seychelles	1794–1810	Occupied
	1810–1814	Colony subordinated to Mauritius
	1814	Formal cession by the Treaty of Paris
	1814–1903	Colony
	1903–1970	Crown colony
	1970–1975	Self-governing colony
	1975–76	Self-rule
	1976	Independence

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Australia	1901–1942	Dominion
	1942	Adopted the Statute of Westminster into domestic law
Baker Island	1886–1934	Claimed	Now a territory of the United States
Bonin Islands	1827–1876	Claimed
	1876	Annexed by Japan
British New Guinea	1884–1886	Protectorate
	1886–1906	Colony
	1906	Transferred to Australia	Now part of Papua New Guinea
Cook Islands	1888–1891	Protectorate
	1891–1900	Federation
	1900	Annexed by New Zealand
	1965	Self-governance
Coral Sea Islands	1879–1969	Part of Queensland, Australia
	1969	Became an Australian external territory
Fiji	1874–1877	Colony
	1877–1952	Colony administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1952–1970	Colony
	1970	Independence
Friendly Islands (Tonga)	1889–1900	Tripartite protectorate
	1900–1952	Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1952–1970	Protectorate
	1970	Independence
Gilbert and Ellice Islands	1892–1916	Protectorate
	1916–1975	Crown colony administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories until 1971
	1975	The Gilbert and Ellice Islands are split into the two separate colonies of the Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu (formally in 1976)
Gilbert Islands	1975–76	Crown colony (with the same Governor of the Tuvalu colony)
	1976–1979	Colony
	1979	Independent as "Kiribati"
Howland Island	1886–1935	Claimed	Now a territory of the United States
Jarvis Island	1889–1935	Annexed	Now a territory of the United States
Lord Howe Island	1788–1834	Claimed
	1834–1855	Settlement	Now part of New South Wales
Macquarie Island	1810–1890	Part of the colony of New South Wales
	1890–present	Part of Tasmania
Nauru
	1920–1942	League of Nations mandate (Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom)
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation (de jure League of Nations mandate)
	1945–1947	League of Nations mandate (Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom)
	1947–1968	United Nations Trust Territory (Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom)
1968	Independence
New Hebrides	1824–1878	Protectorate
	1878–1887	Neutral territory
	1887–1906	Joint naval commission
	1906–1976	Condominium with France, administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1976–1980	Condominium
	1980	Independent as "Vanuatu"
New South Wales	1788–1900	Colony
	1901–present	State of Australia
New Zealand	1769–1788	Claimed
	1788–1835	Part of New South Wales
	1835	Declared independence
	1835–1840	Protectorate
	1840–41	Part of New South Wales
	1841–1907	Colony
	1907–1947	Dominion of New Zealand
	1947	Adopted the Statute of Westminster into domestic law
Niue	1889–1900	Tripartite protectorate
	1900–01	Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1901	Annexed to New Zealand (as part of the Cook Islands)
Norfolk Island	1788–1844	Part of New South Wales
	1844–1856	Part of Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania)
	1856–1897	Subordinated to New South Wales
	1897	Dependency of New South Wales
Palmyra Atoll	1889	Annexed
	1898	Annexed by the United States
Pitcairn Islands	1838–1887	Protectorate
	1887–1898	Colony
	1898–1970	Colony administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1970–1982	Colony
	1983–2002	Dependent territory
	2002–present	British Overseas Territory
Queensland	1824–1859	Part of the colony of New South Wales
	1859–1900	Colony
	1901–present	State of Australia
Samoan Islands	1889–1900	Tripartite protectorate
Sandwich Islands	1794 – 10 February 1843	Protectorate
	10 February 1843 – 31 July 1843	Ceded to Britain
Solomon Islands	1889–1893	Tripartite protectorate
	1893–1942	Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1942–1943	Japanese occupation
	1943–1971	Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1971–1973	protectorate
	1973–1976	Autonomy
	1975	Renamed from "British Solomon Islands" to "Solomon Islands"
	1976–1978	Self-government
	1978	Independence
South Australia	1788–1836	Part of the colony of New South Wales
	1836–1900	Province (colony)
	1901–present	State of Australia
Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land)	1803–1825	Part of New South Wales
	1825–1900	Colony
	1856	Renamed as "Tasmania"
	1901–present	State of Australia
Tokelau (Union Islands)	1889–1898	Protectorate
	1898–1916	Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
	1916–1949	Part of colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands	Transferred to New Zealand
	1949	Transferred to New Zealand
Torres Strait Islands	1879–present	Part of Queensland
Tuvalu	1975–76	Colony administered with the same Governor of Gilbert Islands colony
	1976–1978	Colony
	1978	Independence
Victoria	1839–1851	Part of colony of New South Wales
	1851–1900	Colony
	1901–present	State of Australia
Western Australia	1791–1829	King George Sound settled
	1829–1832	Swan River Colony
	1832–1900	Colony
	1901–present	State of Australia

This is a listing of the more important treaties, Acts of Parliament, and other legal instruments and events affecting the nature and territorial extent of the British Empire.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Additionally, there were more concessions were planned but never completed.^{[citation needed]}

• United Kingdom 1908–present
  • Falkland Islands Dependencies 1908–1962
  • British Antarctic Territory 1962–present
• New Zealand 1923–present
  • Ross Dependency 1923–present
• Australia 1933–present
  • Australian Antarctic Territory 1933–present
• South Africa 1947-present
  • Prince Edward Islands 1947-present

• Colonialism
• Decolonisation
• Impact of Western European colonialism and colonisation
• Imperialism
• List of British Empire-related topics
• List of countries that gained independence from the United Kingdom
• British overseas cities
• Scottish colonization of the Americas

• UK Overseas Territories