British Empire where sun never sets

British Empire

For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire.

British Empire
Flag
The areas of the world that at one time were part of the British Empire. Current British Overseas Territories are underlined in red.

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km² (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires bestowed, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia.^[5] A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (Britain, following the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of almost unchallenged dominance, and expanded its imperial holdings across the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, some of which were reclassified as dominions.
The growth of Germany and the United States had eroded Britain's economic lead by the end of the 19th century. Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its Empire. The conflict placed enormous financial strain on Britain, and although the Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after the war, it was no longer a peerless industrial or military power. The Second World War saw Britain's colonies in South-East Asia occupied by Japan, which damaged British prestige and accelerated the decline of the Empire, despite the eventual victory of Britain and its allies. India, Britain's most valuable and populous possession, won independence within two years of the end of the war.
After the end of the Second World War, as part of a larger decolonisation movement by European powers, most of the territories of the British Empire were granted independence, ending with the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. 14 territories remain under British sovereignty, the British Overseas Territories. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. 16 Commonwealth nations share their head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, as Commonwealth realms.
Evolution of British Empire

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Animated map showing growth and decline of the British empire

The evolution of the British Empire is considered to begin with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, a great many territories have been under the control of the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.
The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland; in 1801 the Kingdom of Ireland joined this Union to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; in 1922 most of Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, and in 1927 the formal name of the Union was changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to reflect this. Collectively, the territories under the control of these states since the 18th century are referred to as the British Empire.
From 1876 to 1947, the monarch of the United Kingdom was formally designated as Empress or Emperor of India, a title created by the UK Parliament. Currently, Elizabeth II is the monarch of sixteen Commonwealth realms.
The nature of the administration of the Empire changed both by time and place. Most of its parts were British territorial possessions, but after the First World War there were also several mandates granted by the League of Nations

 Africa

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - see under "Sudan"
Basutoland	1868–1871	protectorate
	1871–1884	annexed to Cape Colony
	1884–1965	colony
	1965–1966	self-governing colony
	1966	independent as Lesotho	!T! abc /\\/
Bechuanaland (see also under "British Bechuanaland")	1884–1964	protectorate
	1964–1965	colony
	1965–1966	self-governing colony
	1966	independent as Botswana	!T! abc /\\/
Bight of Benin	1852–1861	protectorate
	1861	united with Bight of Biafra
Bight of Biafra	1849–1861	protectorate
	1861	united with Bight of Benin
Bights of Biafra and Benin	1861–1891	protectorate
Brass-Bonny-Opobo-Aobh-Old Calabar	1885–1891	protectorate
British Bechuanaland (see also under "Bechuanaland")	1885–1895	crown colony
	1895	incorporated into Cape Colony	Now a part of the Northern Cape and North West provinces of South Africa
British Cameroons	1916–1919	occupation
	1919–1946	League of Nations mandated territory
	1946–1961	United Nations Trust Territory
	1961	northern part merged into Nigeria
	1961	southern part merged into the Republic of Cameroon	!T! abc
British Central Africa - see under "Nyasaland"
British East Africa	1888–1895	territory leased to the Imperial British East Africa Company by the Sultan of Zanzibar
	1895–1920	protectorate
	1920	split into the colony of Kenya and the protectorate of Kenya
British Somaliland	1884–1960	protectorate	forcibly merged with Somalia then became independent in 1991 as Somaliland (unrecognized)
Cape Colony	1910	colony	became a province of the Union of South Africa as the "Cape of Good Hope"
Cyrenaica	1942–1946	administration
	1946–1951	UN trusteeship under Britain	now part of Libya
Egypt	1801–1803	occupation
	1882–1914	occupation
	1914–1922	protectorate
	1922	independent
- Suez Canal Zone	1882–1956	controlled	restored to Egyptian control
	1956	occupation	restored to Egyptian control
Gambia	1816–1965	crown colony
	1965	independent	!T! abc
Gold Coast	1874–1957	colony
	1957	independent as Ghana	!T! abc
Kenya, Colony of	1920–1963	colony	Previously part of British East Africa
	1963	independent	abc /\\/
Kenya, Protectorate of	1920–1963	protectorate	Previously part of British East Africa
	1963	merged with the colony of Kenya at independence
Lagos Protectorate	1887–1906	protectorate, governed from the Lagos Colony
	1906	incorporated into the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
Natal	1856–1910	colony
	1910	became a province of the Union of South Africa	Now part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Niger Districts	1885–1899	protectorate under the Royal Niger Company
	1900	became part of Northern Nigeria
Niger River Delta	1886–1899	protectorate under the Royal Niger Company
	1900	became part of Northern Nigeria
Nigeria, Protectorate of	1914–1954	protectorate governed by the Colony of Nigeria	Previously known as the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
	1954	merged with the Colony of Nigeria to form the Federation of Nigeria
Nigeria, Colony of known as the Colony of Southern Nigeria to 1913	1906–1954	colony	Previously known as the Colony of Lagos
	1954	merged with the Protectorate of Nigeria to form the Federation of Nigeria
Nigeria, Federation of	1954–1960	autonomous federation	formed from the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
	1960	independent	!T! abc
Northern Nigeria	1900–1913	protectorate governed by the Colony of Southern Nigeria
	1914	merged with Protectorate of Southern Nigeria to form the Protectorate of Nigeria
Nyasaland known as the Nyassaland Districts until 1893, and then British Central Africa until 1907	1891–1964	protectorate
	1964	independent as Malawi	!T! abc /\\/
Orange River Colony	1900–1910	colony
	1907	granted responsible government
	1910	became a province of the Union of South Africa as the "Orange Free State"
Rhodesia			now divided between Zambia and Zimbabwe
- Matabeleland	1888–1894	protectorate under British South Africa Company
	1894	united with Mashonaland as South Zambesia in 1894
- Mashonaland	1889–1894	protectorate under BSAC
	1894	united with Matabeleland as South Zambesia in 1894
- South Zambesia	1894–1895	protectorate under BSAC
	1895	united with North Zambesia as Rhodesia
- Rhodesia	1895–1901	protectorate under BSAC
	1901	Mashonaland and Matabeleland united as Southern Rhodesia
- Northern Rhodesia	1911–1924	protectorate under BSAC	amalgamation of North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia
	1924–1953	protectorate
	1953–1963	part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
	1964	independent as Zambia	!T! abc /\\/
- Southern Rhodesia	1901–1923	protectorate under BSAC
	1923–1953	self-governing colony
	1953–1963	part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Rhodesia	1964–1965	crown colony
	1965–1970	unilaterally declared independent, with Elizabeth II as head of state	not internationally recognised
	1970–1979	republic	not internationally recognised
-Zimbabwe-Rhodesia	1979	interim state
	1979–1980	colony
	1980	independent as Zimbabwe	!T! abc /\\/
Sierra Leone	1787–1808	Freed slave colony organised by Sierra Leone Company
	1808–1821	crown colony
	1821–1850	part of British West Africa
	1850–1866	crown colony
	1866–1888	part of British West Africa
	1888–1895	colony
	1896–1961	colony and protectorate
	1961	independent	!T! abc
South Africa	1910–1961	dominion	formed by the federation of the Cape, Orange River, Natal, and Transvaal colonies
	1961-	republic	!T! abc /\\/ (not a member of the Commonwealth between 1961 and 1994)
Southern Nigeria, Protectorate of known as the Oil Rivers Protectorate until 1893, then Niger Coast Protectorate until 1900	1891–1913	protectorate
	1914	merged with Northern Nigeria to form the Protectorate of Nigeria
Sudan ("Anglo-Egyptian Sudan")	1899–1952	condominium (joint-rule) with Egypt
	1952–1956	self-rule
	1956	independent	!T! abc
Swaziland	1893–1902	protectorate under Transvaal
	1902–1967	protectorate
	1967–1968	autonomous
	1968	independent	abc [X] /\\/
Tanganyika
German East Africa	1916–1922	occupation
Tanganyika	1922–1946	mandate
	1946–1961	United Nations Trust Territory under Britain
	1961	independent	!T! abc /\\/ merged with Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania
Tati Concessions Land	1872–1893	concession
	1893	detached from Matabeleland
	1893–1911	under protectorate of Bechuanaland
	1911	annexed to Bechuanaland
Transvaal	1877–1884	colony
	1884–1900	independent as South African Republic
	1900–1906	colony
	1906–1910	self-governing colony
	1910	part of Union of South Africa	now divided between the provinces of Gauteng/Limpopo/North West/Mpumalanga, South Africa
Tripolitania	1942–1946	administration
	1946–1951	UN trusteeship under Britain	now part of Libya
- Benghazi; Sirte	1942–1946	occupation
	1946–1951	UN trusteeship under Britain	now part of Libya
- Tripoli	1943–1946	occupation
	1946–1951	UN trusteeship under Britain	now part of Libya
Uganda	1890–1893	occupied by British East Africa Company
	1893–1894	provisional protectorate
	1894–1905	protectorate
	1905–1962	colony
	1962	self-government
	1962	independent	!T! abc /\\/
Walvis Bay	1795–1878	occupation
	1878–1884	protectorate
	1884	part of Cape Colony	now part of Namibia
Zanzibar	1890–1963	protectorate
	1963	independent	merged with Tanganyika in 1964 to form Tanzania
Zululand	1887–1897	crown colony
	1897	incorporation into Natal	now part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

[edit] Northern America

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Assiniboia	1812–1836	colony
	1836	reverted to control of the Hudson's Bay Company	Now part of the province of Manitoba, Canada
Avalon	1623–1637	palatinate
	1637	incorporated into Newfoundland
Bristol's Hope	1618–1631	colony
	1631	abandoned
Canada, Dominion of	dominion (1867-1931)	formed by the federation of the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia	:±: [X] abc Queen Elizabeth II first monarch to be titled Queen of Canada (Ascended to the Throne of Canada in 1952) 1982 - New Constitution updating Canada's relationship with the United Kingdom Several Provinces and Territories have joined since Confederation.
Canada, Province of	1841–1867	colony	Formed by the amalgamation of the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada
	1867	joined the Dominion of Canada and divided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec	Now the southern halves of Ontario and Quebec, Canada
Cape Breton Island	1763	incorporated into Nova Scotia	Previously under French sovereignty
	1784	colony	separated from Nova Scotia
	1820	re-incorporated into Nova Scotia
Carolina	1586–1663	settlement
	1663–1665	colony
	1663–1691	proprietary colony
- North Carolina	1691–1710	colony subordinated to South Carolina
	1710–1776	colony
	1776	declared independent as part of the United States
	1783	sovereignty formally relinquished by Great Britain
- South Carolina	1691–1710	colony
	1710–1776	proprietary colony
	1776	declared independent as part of the United States
	1780–1782	occupation
	1783	sovereignty formally relinquished by Great Britain
Cuper's Cove	1610–1621	colony
	1621	abandoned
East Florida	1763–1783	colony
	1783	returned to Spanish sovereignty	Now part of the state of Florida, United States
Florida - see under "East Florida" and "West Florida"
Georgia	1732–1755	proprietary colony
	1755–1776	crown colony
	1776	declared independent as part of the United States
	1778–1782	occupation
	1783	sovereignty formally relinquished by Great Britain
Labrador	1763–1774	part of Newfoundland	annexed to Quebec
	1774–1809	part of Quebec (1774–1809)
	1809	annexed to Newfoundland	Now part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Lower Canada	1791–1841	province (colony)	Now the southern half of the province of Quebec, Canada
	1841	merged with Upper Canada to form the Province of Canada	Re-established within the Dominion of Canada as the province of Quebec in 1867
New Brunswick	1784–1867	colony	Separated from Nova Scotia
	1867	became a province of Canada
Newfoundland	1497–1583	claimed by England
	1583–1818	colony
	1818–1907	crown colony
	1907–1934	dominion
	1934–1949	Commission of Government	Self-rule suspended, "Dominion" in name only
	1949	became a province of Canada	Now known as "Newfoundland and Labrador"
North-Western Territory	1859–1870
	1870	incorporated into the Northwest Territories of Canada	Now divided between the Canadian provinces and territories of Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia
Stikine Territory	1862–1863		Now divided between British Columbia and Yukon, Canada
Nova Scotia	1621–1632	Scottish colony
	1654–1670	English occupation
	1690–1691	English occupation
	1710–1713	British occupation
	1713–1867	colony
	1848	granted responsible government
	1867	became a province of Canada
Prince Edward Island known as New Ireland until 1769, and as St. John's Island until 1799	1744–1748	occupation
	1758–1763	occupation
	1763–1769	part of Nova Scotia
	1769–1873	colony
	1873	became a province of Canada
Quebec	1763–1791	province (colony)	Quebec and Ontario, in Canada, and (until 1783) the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, in the United States
	1791	divided into the provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada
Renews	1610–1623	colony	abandoned
Rupert's Land	1670–1870	possession of Hudson's Bay Company	Nominally included territory that is now part of the Canadian territories and provinces of Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon (until 1858), British Columbia (until 1858), Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and (until 1818) parts of the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota
	1870	incorporated into Canada
St. Pierre and Miquelon	1713–1763	part of Nova Scotia
	1763	restored to French sovereignty
	1778–1783	occupation
	1793–1802	occupation
	1803–1816	occupation
South Falkland	1623–1626	colony	abandoned
Upper Canada	1791–1841	province (colony)	Ontario, Canada
	1841	merged with Lower Canada to form the Province of Canada	Re-established within the Dominion of Canada as the province of Ontario in 1867
Vancouver Island	1849–1866	crown colony
	1866	merged into the colony of British Columbia	Now part of the province of British Columbia, Canada
Virginia	1607–1624	colony
	1624–1776	crown colony
	1776	declared independent as part of the United States
	1783	Sovereignty formally relinquished by Great Britain
West Florida	1763–1781	colony
	1781	returned to Spanish sovereignty	Now part of the state of Florida, United States

 Central America and the Caribbean

-

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	unilaterally declared independence
	1969–1980	part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
	1980–1983	self-governing colony
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	!T! [X] abc /\\/
Antigua (incl. Barbuda from 1860)	1632–1671	colony
	1671–1672	part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1672–1816	part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1816–1832	part of colony of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat
	1832–1833	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	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat	1816–1832	colony
	1832	dissolved
Aruba	1799–1802	occupation
	1805–1816	occupation
	1940–1942	protectorate
Bahamas	1670–1684	proprietary colony
	1684	occupied by Spain
	1718–1964	crown colony
	1964–1969	self-government
	1969–1973	commonwealth
	1973	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
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
	1832–1833	colony
	1833–1860	part of colony of Leeward Islands
	1860	annexed to Antigua
	1976–1980	autonomous
	1980	unilateral declaration of independence
	1981	independent as part of Antigua and Barbuda
Bay Islands	1643–1780	crown colony
	1780	occupied by Spain for a month
	1780–1860	crown colony subordinated to Jamaica
	1860	ceded to Honduras
Belize - see under "British Honduras"
Bonaire	1807–1815	occupation
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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc
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
	1967–1983	autonomous
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	!T! [X] abc /\\/
Cayman Islands	1670–1958	colony part of Jamaica
	1958–1962	province of West Indies Federation
	1962–1983	crown colony
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	!T! [X] abc /\\/
Cuba	1762–1763	occupation
Curaçao	1800–1803	occupation
	1807–1816	occupation
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	independent	!T! [X] abc /\\/
Grenada	1762–1763	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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
Guadeloupe	1759–1763	occupation
	1794	occupation
	1810–1814	occupation
	1815–1816	occupation
Île de la Tortue and Saint-Domingue	1655–1659	occupation
	1793–1798	occupation
Jamaica	1655–1670	occupation
	1670–1953	colony
	1953–1958	self-governing colony
	1958–1962	province of West Indies Federation
	1962	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
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
Martinique	1762–1763	occupation
	1794–1802	occupation
	1809–1814	occupation
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
	1832–1833	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
	1962–1967	colony
	1967–1983	associated state
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	!T! [X] abc /\\/
Mosquito Coast	1668–1786	protectorate
	1787–1861	protectorate
	1861	incorporated into Nicaragua
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	1872–1981	part of Antigua
	1981-	dependency
Saba	1665	occupation
	1672–1679	occupation
	1781	occupation
	1801–1803	occupation
	1810–1816	occupation
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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
St. Eustatius	1665–1666	occupation
	1672–1682	occupation
	1690–1693	occupation
	1781	occupation
	1801–1802	occupation
	1810–1816	occupation
St. John	1801–1802	occupation
	1807–1815	occupation	Now part of the United States Virgin Islands
St. Lucia	1605–1640	settlement
	1640	abandoned
	1664–1667	occupation
	1762–1763	occupation
	1781–1783	occupation
	1794–1795	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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
Saint Martin	1690–1699	occupation
	1801–1802	occupation
St. Thomas	1801–1802	occupation
	1807–1815	occupation	Now part of the United States Virgin Islands
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	1627–1636	claimed
	1672	claimed
	1762–1763	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	independent	:±: !T! [X] abc /\\/
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	independent	!T! [X] abc /\\/
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
	1962–1983	crown colony
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	!T! [X] abc /\\/
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

[edit] South America

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Berbice	1781–1782	subordinated to Barbados
	1782	occupied by France
	1796–1802	occupied
	1802	restored to the Netherlands
	1803–1814	occupied
	1814–1831	colony
	1831	united with Demerara-Essequibo to form British Guiana	Now part of Guyana
British Guiana	1831–1961	colony	Formed by the merger of the colonies of Berbice and Demerara-Essequibo
	1961–1966	self-rule
	1966	independent as Guyana
Demerara	1781–1782	subordinated to Barbados
	1782	French occupation
	1796–1802	occupied
	1802	restored to Netherlands
	1803–1814	occupied
	1814	merged with Essequibo to form Demerara-Essequibo
Demerara-Essequibo	1814–1831	colony	Formed by the merger of the separate colonies of Demerara and Essequibo
	1831	united with Berbice to form British Guiana
Essequibo	1781–1782	subordinated to Barbados
	1782	French occupation
	1796–1802	occupied
	1802	restored to the Netherlands
	1803–1814	occupied
	1814	merged with Demerara to form Demerara-Essequibo
Oyapoc	1620	settlement	Now in Guyana
Pomeroon	1666–1667	occupied
	1689	occupation
	1689	incorporated into Essequibo	Now in Guyana
Willoughby	1652–1688	settlement
	1688	Dutch occupation	Now Paramaribo, in Suriname

 Asia

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Aden	1839–1873	colony subordinate to Bombay
	1873–1932	protectorate
	1932–1937	province of British India
	1937–1963	crown colony
	1963	part of protectorate of South Arabia
	1963–1967	state
	1967	independent	Now part of Yemen
Afghanistan	1839–1842	protectorate
	1879–1919	protectorate
	1919	independent
Bahrain	1880–1961	protectorate
	1961–1971	autonomous
	1971	independent
British Mandate of Mesopotamia	1920–1932	League of Nations Mandate
	2003–2004	Successor state (Iraq) under partial British occupation
	2004	Independent
Baluchistan	1877–1896	province
	1896–1947	province of British India
	1947	part of Pakistan	Now part of Baluchistan and the Tribal Areas, in Pakistan
Bantam	1603–1609	station
	1609–1617	factory
	1617–1621	presidency
	1621	expelled by the Dutch
	1630–1634	subordinated to Surat
	1634–1652	presidency
	1652–1682	subordinated to Surat
	1682	expelled by the Dutch	Now in Indonesia
Bencoolen (Fort York)	1685–1760	fort subordinated to Madras
	1760–1785	presidency
	1785–1825	subordinated to Bengal
	1825	part of Netherlands East Indies	Now Bengkulu, in Indonesia
Bengal	1634–1658	factories	Now divided between West Bengal (in India) and Bangladesh
	1658–1681	subordinated to Madras
	1681–1682	agency
	1682–1694	presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements
	1694–1698	subordinated to Madras
	1698–1700	presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements
	1700–1774	presidency
	1774–1854	part of British India
	1854–1905	part of province of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa
West Bengal	1905–1912	province
	1912	partition reversed	Now part of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Jharkhand, in India
East Bengal	1905–1912	province
	1912	partition reversed	Now part of Bangladesh
Fort William	1912–1937	presidency	Now divided between West Bengal (in India), and Bangladesh
Bengal	1937–1947	presidency
	1947	divided between India and East Pakistan
Brunei	1888–1941	protectorate
	1941–1945	Japanese occupation
	1945–1984	protectorate
	1984-	Independent	!T! abc /\\/
Burma	1824–1852	Arakan, Tenasserim
	1852–1886	Lower Burma
	1885–1886	Upper Burma
	1886–1937	province of British India
	1937–1942	colony
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation
	1945–1948	colony
	1948-	independence	!T!
Hong Kong	1843–1941	crown colony
	1941	Japanese occupation
	1945–1983	crown colony
	1983–1997	dependent territory
	1997	transferred to China as a Special Administrative Region	Now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
Hong Kong Island	1841–1843	annexed
	1843	made crown colony
Kowloon, Stonecutters Island	1860–1997	part of Hong Kong
	1997	transferred to China as part of Hong Kong SAR
India	1757–1858	Company rule in India
	1858–1876	Presidencies and provinces of British India
	1876–1947	Indian Empire
	1947	Independent as India after partition	!T! abc /\\/
	1947	Independent as Pakistan after partition	!T! abc /\\/
	1971-	East Pakistan, (part of Pakistan after partition), separated to form Bangladesh in 1971	!T! abc /\\/
British Malaya	1824	transferred following Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
	1824–1867	territory of British East India Company
	1867–1946	Straits Settlements, crown colony
	1895–1946	Federated Malay States, protectorate
	1885–1946	Johor, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Kedah, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Kelantan, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Perlis, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Terengganu, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation
	1946–1948	Malayan Union
	1948–1957	Federation of Malaya
	1957–1963	independent state
	1963-	Joined with North Borneo and the Kingdom of Sarawak to form independent state of Malaysia	!T! abc /\\/ [X]
New Territories	1898–1997	lease territory part of Hong Kong
North Borneo	1882–1946	protectorate
	1946–1963	crown colony
	1963-	Part of Malaysia
Pulo Condore Island/Côn Đảo	1702–1705	possession of British East India Company
	1705	abandoned	Now Côn Đảo, in Vietnam
Kingdom of Sarawak	1888–1946	protectorate
Straits Settlements	1826–1858	possession under British East India Company	Now divided between Malacca and Penang, in Malaysia, and Singapore
	1858–1867	subordinated to British India
	1867–1942	crown colony
	1942	occupied by Japan
Surat	1612–1658	factory
	1658–1668	presidency
	1668–1685	possession under British East India Company
	1685–1703	subordinated to Bombay
	1703	incorporated into Bombay	Now in India
Palestine	1920–1948	mandate	Now known as Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip
	1948	independence	Now known as Israel
	1948–present	occupied by Israel
	Singapore	1824	purchased
		1824–1867	Part of Straits Settlements (as residency of the Presidency of Bengal
1867–1942		Part of Straits Settlements (crown colony)
1942–1945		occupied by Japan
1945–1946		military administration
1946–1963		crown colony
1963–1965		Part of Malaysia
1965-		Independence	!T! abc /\\/
Syria	occupation (1941–1946)	independence
Transjordan	1920–1921	part of Palestine Mandate	Now known as Jordan
	1921–1923	mandate
	1923	formally separated from Palestine
	1923–1928	mandate
	1928	emirate independent, except military and finance control
	1928–1946	independent
	1946	formal independence
Trucial States	1892–1971	protectorate
	1971	formation of Federation of Arab Emirates	Now part of the United Arab Emirates
South Vietnam	1945–1946	occupation
	1946	formation of Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina	Now part of Vietnam
Weihaiwei	1898–1930	leased
	1930	returned to China	Now part of the People's Republic of China

[edit] Europe

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	1960–1983	colonies
	1983-2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory
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
Austria (British Zone)	1945–1955	occupied	Included Carinthia, Styria, and the east Tyrol
	1955	Austrian sovereignty restored
Berlin (British Sector)	1945–1990	occupied
	1990	incorporated into Germany
Calais	1347–1558	fort - regarded as part of English territory
	1558	recaptured by France
Corsica	1794–1796	kingdom
	1796	incorporated into France
	1814	protectorate
	1814	restored to French sovereignty
Cyprus	1878–1914	administration while nominally remaining part of the Ottoman Empire
	1914	annexation
	1925–1960	crown colony
	1960	independent
Dodecanese	1945–1947	occupied
	1947	incorporated into Greece
Elba	1796–1797	garrison
	1797	abandoned
England	10th century	kingdom formed
	1536	incorporated Wales
	1603–1649	personal union with Scotland
	1649–1660	republic as the Commonwealth of England
	1660–1707	personal union with Scotland
	1707	political union with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain
Faroe Islands	1940–1945	occupied
	1945	restored to Danish sovereignty
Genoa	1800	occupied
	1800	sovereignty restored to Republic of Genoa
	1814–1815	administration
	1815	annexed to Sardinia-Piedmont	Now part of Italy
Germany (British Zone)	1945–1955	occupied	Included territories of the present-day German states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia
	1955	full sovereignty restored to the Federal Republic of Germany
Gibraltar	1704–1713	occupied
	1713-1830	garrison
	1830–1983	crown colony
	1983–2002	dependent territory
	2002-	British Overseas Territory	Sovereignty disputed 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 Brechou, Herm, Jethou, and Sark)	1198–1204	lordship
	1204–1205	fiefdom
	1206–1279	fiefdom
	1279-1940	bailiwick
	1940–1945	occupied by Germany
	1945-	bailiwick
Heligoland	1807–1814	occupied
	1814–1890	colony
	1890	incorporated into Germany
	1945–1952	occupied
Ionian Islands	1809–1815	occupied
	1815–1864	United States of Ionian Islands, under British protection
	1864	incorporated into Greece
Ireland	1172-1541	lordship
	1541-1800	kingdom subordinated to the English (later British) Crown
	1801	merged with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom
	1922	secession of twenty-six counties as the Irish Free State
	1937	Irish Free State breaks most remaining constitutional links with the British Crown and is renamed Ireland (or Éire)
	1949	Ireland becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth	See also under "Northern Ireland"
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-	crown dependency
Italy	1943–1947	occupied
	1947	Italian sovereignty restored
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-	bailiwick
Malta	1802–1814	occupied
	1814–1921	crown colony
	1921–1933	self-governing colony
	1933–1947	crown colony
	1947–1958	self-rule
	1958–1961	direct rule
	1961–1962	state
	1961–1964	self-rule
	1964	independent
Minorca	1708–1713	occupied
	1713	ceded to Britain
	1714–1756	colony
	1756	occupied by France
	1798–1802	colony
	1802	restored to Spain
Northern Ireland	1921-1972	home rule within the United Kingdom
	1972–1973	direct rule
	1973–1974	home rule within the United Kingdom
	1974–1999	direct rule
	1999–2002	home rule within the United Kingdom
	2002–2007	direct rule
	2007-	home rule within the United Kingdom
Rhodes	1945–1947	occupation
	1947	incorporated into Greece
Scotland	9th century	kingdom formed
	1603–1649	personal union with the Kingdom of England
	1653–1660	incorporated into the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland
	1660–1707	personal union with the Kingdom of England
	1707	union with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain
	1999-	home rule within the United Kingdom
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"
Vienna (British Sector)	1945–1955	occupied
	1955	Austrian sovereignty restored
Wales	1282–1301	various former principalities subject to English rule
	1301–1536	principality subject to the heir to the English throne
	1536	incorporated into England
	1999-	limited devolution within the United Kingdom

 Antarctic Region

(territories south of 60°00′)

Territory	Status (Year)	Event Ending Political Entity	Current Jurisdiction
British Antarctic Territory			British Antarctic Territory
South Shetland	claimed (1819–1908)		South Shetland, British Antarctic Territory
	dependency of Falkland Islands (1908–1962)	part of British Antarctic Territory
South Orkney	claimed (1821–1908)		South Orkney, British Antarctic Territory
	dependency of Falkland Islands (1908–1962)	part of British Antarctic Territory
Graham Land	annexed (1832–1908)		Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory
	dependency of Falkland Islands (1908–1962)	part of British Antarctic Territory
British Antarctic Territory	colony (1962–1983)		British Antarctic Territory
	dependent territory (1983-2002)
	overseas territory (2002-)		:±: !T! £GBP abc
Enderby Land	claimed (1930–1933)	transferred to Australia	Australian Antarctic Territory, Australia
Victoria Land	claimed (1841–1933)

 Atlantic

(islands in the Atlantic Ocean)

Territory	Status (Year)	Event Ending Political Entity	Current Jurisdiction
Bermuda	colony (1612–1684)		Bermuda
	crown colony (1684–1968)
	self-governing colony (1968–1983)
	dependent territory (1983-2002)
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! abc /\\/
Falkland Islands			Falkland Islands
- West Falkland	settlement (1766–1774)	withdrew settlement
- Falkland Islands	sovereignty claim (1774–1833)	re-occupation
	crown colony (1841–1892)
	colony (1892–1908)
	colony (1908–1962)		South Shetland/South Orkney/Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory; Falkland Islands
	colony (1962–1983)		Falkland Islands
	dependent territory (1983-2002)
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! £FKK abc /\\/
Iceland	occupation (1940–1944)	restored to Iceland	Iceland
St. Helena	claimed (1588–1673)		Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
	possession of British East India Company (1673–1815)
	crown colony (1815–1821)
	possession of British East India Company (1821–1834)
	crown colony (1834–1983)
	dependent territory (1983-2002)
	part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (2009-)
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! £SHP abc /\\/
- Ascension Island	possession (1815–1922)		Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
	dependency of St. Helena (1922–2009)
	part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (2009-)
- Tristan da Cunha	dependency of Cape Colony (1816–1938)		Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
	dependency of St. Helena (1938–2009)
	part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (2009-)
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands	claimed (1775–1908)		South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
	dependency of Falkland Islands (1908–1985)
	dependent territory (1985-2002)
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! £GBP abc

 Indian Ocean

(islands in the Indian Ocean)

Territory	Status (Year)	Event Ending Political Entity	Current Jurisdiction
Ashmore and Cartier Islands			Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Australia
- Ashmore Island	annexed (1878–1931)	transferred to Australia
- Cartier Island	annexed (1909–1931)
British Indian Ocean Territory			British Indian Ocean Territory
	occupation (1810-1814)
	part of colony of Seychelles (1814–1903)|
	part of colony of Mauritius (1903–1965)
	colony (1965–1976)		Aldabra/Farquhar/Des Roches, Seychelles; British Indian Ocean Territory
	colony (1976–1983)		British Indian Ocean Territory
	dependent territory (1983-2002)
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! £GBP abc
Ceylon	subordinated to presidency of Madras (1795–1798)		Sri Lanka
	colony (1798–1802)
	crown colony (1802–1886)
	crown colony (1886–1942)		Sri Lanka; Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia
	crown colony (1942–1948)	independence !T! /\\/	Sri Lanka
Christmas Island	annexed (1888–1889)		Christmas Island, Australia
	leased (1889–1890)
	dependency of colony of Straits Settlement (1900–1942)	Japanese occupation
	military administration (1945–1946)
	dependency of colony of Singapore (1946–1958)
	crown colony (1958)	territory of Australia
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	settlement (1825; 1826–1831)		Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia
	fiefdom (1831–1857)
	crown colony (1857–1878)
	part of Ceylon (1878–1886)
	part of Straits Settlements (1886–1942)
	part of Ceylon (1942–1946)
	dependency of colony of Singapore (1946–1955)	territory of Australia
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	claimed (1833–1947)	transferred to Australian Antarctic Territory	Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Australia
Madagascar	occupation (1942–1946)	restored to France	Madagascar
Maldives	protectorate (1796–1953)		Maldives
	republic (1953–1954)	sultantate restored
	protectorate (1954–1965)	independence !T! /\\/
- United Suvadivan Republic	republic (1959–1963)	restored to Maldives
Mauritius	colony (1810–1965)		Mauritius; Chagos Archipelago, British Indian Ocean Territory
	colony (1965–1968)	independence !T! abc /\\/	Mauritius
- Rodrigues	occupation (1809-1814)		Rodrigues, Mauritius
	dependency of colony of Mauritius (1814–1968)	part of Mauritius
Réunion	occupation (1810–1815; 1942–1946)	restored to France	Réunion, France
Seychelles	occupation (1794–1810)		Seychelles
	colony subordinated to Mauritius (1810-1814)
	colony (1814–1903)
	crown colony (1903–1970)
	self-governing colony (1970–1975)
	self-rule (1975–1976)	independence !T! abc /\\/
- Aldabra; Farquhar; Des Roches	part of British Indian Ocean Territory (1965–1976)	part of Seychelles	Aldabra/Farquhar/Des Roches, Seychelles
Tranquebar			Andaman and Nicobar Islands/Nagapattinam, India
- Dansborg; Frederiksnagore	occupation (1801–1802; 1808–1815; 1845–1947)	part of British India	Nagapattinam, India
- Andaman Islands	possession part of British India (1789–1942, 1945–1947)	occupied by Japan (1942–1945)	Andaman Islands, India
- Nicobar Islands	part of British India (1848–1942, 1945–1947)	occupied by Japan (1942–1945)	Nicobar Islands, India

 Australasia and the Pacific

Territory	Status (Year)	Event Ending Political Entity	Current Jurisdiction
Australia	dominion (1901-1942)	ratified Statute of Westminster :±: !T! abc [X] /\\/	Australia
Baker Island	claimed (1886–1934)	reclaimed by United States	Baker Island, United States
Bonin Islands	claimed (1827–1876)	annexed by Japan	Bonin Islands, Japan
British New Guinea	protectorate (1884–1886)		Papua New Guinea
New Guinea	colony (1886–1906)	transferred to Australia	"
British Solomon Islands	tripartite protectorate (1889–1893)		Solomon Islands
	protectorate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1893–1942)	Japanese occupation	"
	protectorate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1943-1971)		"
	protectorate (1971–1973)		"
	autonomy (1973-1975)	renamed	"
Solomon Islands	autonomy (1975–1976)		"
	self-government (1976–1978)	independence :±: !T! abc [X] /\\/	"
Cook Islands	protectorate (1888–1891)		Cook Islands, New Zealand
	federation (1891–1900)	annexed by New Zealand	"
Fiji	colony (1874–1877)		Fiji
	part of British Western Pacific Territories (1877–1952)		"
	colony (1952–1970)	independence !T! abc /\\/	"
Friendly Islands	tripartite protectorate (1889–1900)		Tonga
	protectorate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1900–1952)		"
	protectorate (1952–1970)	independence !T! abc /\\/	"
Gilbert and Ellice Islands	protectorate (1892–1916)		Tuvalu; Kiribati
	crown colony part of British Western Pacific Territories (1916–1949)		Tuvalu; Kiribati; Tokelau, New Zealand
	crown colony part of British Western Pacific Territories (1949–1975)		Tuvalu; Kiribati
- Gilbert Islands	crown colony part of British Western Pacific Territories (1975–1976)		Kiribati
	colony (1976–1979)	independence !T! abc /\\/	"
- Ellice Islands	dependency part of British Western Pacific Territories (1975–1976)		Tuvalu
	colony (1976–1978)	independence :±: !T! abc [X] /\\/	"
Howland Island	claimed (1886-1935)	reclaimed by United States	Howland Island, United States
Jarvis Island	annexed (1889-1935)	reclaimed by United States	Jarvis Island, United States
Nauru	part of British Western Pacific Territories (1914–1920)		Nauru
	League of Nations mandate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1920–1921)		"
	League of Nations mandate (1921-1942)	Japanese occupation	"
	mandate (1945–1947)		"
	United Nations Trust Territory (1947–1968)	independence !T! abc /\\/	"
New Hebrides	protectorate (1824–1878)		Vanuatu
	neutral territory (1878–1887)		"
	joint naval commission (1887-1906)		"
	condominium part of British Western Pacific Territories (1906–1976)		"
	condominium (1976–1980)	independence !T! abc	"
New South Wales	colony (1788–1825)		New South Wales/Queensland/Tasmania/South Australia/Northern Territory/Victoria/Norfolk Island, Australia; New Zealand
	colony (1825–1836)		New South Wales/Queensland/South Australia/Northern Territory/Victoria/Norfolk Island, Australia; New Zealand
	colony (1836–1841)		New South Wales/Queensland/Northern Territory/Victoria/Norfolk Island, Australia; New Zealand
	colony (1841–1844)		New South Wales/Queensland/Northern Territory/Victoria/Norfolk Island, Australia
	colony (1844–1851)		New South Wales/Queensland/Northern Territory/Victoria, Australia
	colony (1851–1859)		New South Wales/Queensland/Northern Territory, Australia
	colony (1859–1863)		New South Wales/Northern Territory, Australia
	colony (1863–1901)	state of Australia	New South Wales, Australia
- Lord Howe Island	claimed (1788–1834)		Lord Howe Island, Australia
	settlement (1834–1855)	part of New South Wales	"
New Zealand	claimed (1769–1788)		New Zealand
	part of New South Wales (1792–1835)	declared independence	"
	protectorate (1835-1840)		"
	possession part of New South Wales (1840–1841)		"
	colony (1841-1907)		"
	dominion (1907-1947)	ratified Statute of Westminster :±: !T! abc [X] /\\/	"
Niue	tripartite protectorate (1889–1900)		Niue, New Zealand
	protectorate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1900–1901)	annexed to New Zealand
Norfolk Island	settlement part of New South Wales (1788–1844)		Norfolk Island, Australia
	part of colony of Van Diemen's Land (1844–1855)		"
	part of colony of Tasmania (1855-1856)		"
	subordinated to New South Wales (1856–1897)	dependency of New South Wales	"
Palmyra Atoll	annexed (1889-1898)	annexed by United States	Palmyra Atoll, United States
Pitcairn Islands	protectorate (1838–1887)		Pitcairn, Pitcairn Islands
	colony (1887–1898)		"
	part of British Western Pacific Territories (1898-1902)		"
	part of British Western Pacific Territories (1902–1970)		Pitcairn/Oeno/Henderson/Ducie, Pitcairn Islands
	colony (1970–1983)		"
	dependent territory (1983-2002)		"
	overseas territory (2002-)	:±: !T! abc /\\/	"
Queensland	part of colony of New South Wales (1824–1859)		Queensland, Australia
	colony (1859–1901)	state of Australia	"
- Torres Strait Islands	part of colony of Queensland (1879-1901)	part of Queensland	"
- Coral Sea Islands	part of colony of Queensland (1879–1901)	"	Coral Sea Islands, Australia
Samoa	tripartite protectorate (1889-1900)	!T! abc [X]annexed by Germany	Samoa; Niue, New Zealand; Solomon Islands; American Samoa, United States
Sandwich Islands	protectorate (1794-10 February 1843)	independence	Hawaii, United States
	Ceded to Britain 10 February 1843 - 31 July 1843		"
South Australia	part of colony of New South Wales (1788–1836)		South Australia, Australia
	province (1836–1863)		"
	province (1863-1901)	state of Australia	South Australia/Northern Territory, Australia
Van Diemen's Land	part of New South Wales (1803–1825)		Tasmania, Australia
	colony (1825–1844)		"
	colony (1844-1855)	renamed	Norfolk Island/Tasmania, Australia
Tasmania	colony (1855–1856)		"
	colony (1856-1901)	state of Australia	Tasmania, Australia
- Macquarie Island	part of colony of New South Wales (1810–1890)		Macquarie Island, Australia
	part of colony of Tasmania (1890–1901)	part of Tasmania	"
Tokelau	protectorate (1889–1898)		Tokelau, New Zealand
	protectorate part of British Western Pacific Territories (1898–1916)		"
	part of colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1916-1949)	transferred to New Zealand	"
Victoria	part of colony of New South Wales (1839–1851)	state of Australia	Victoria, Australia
	colony (1851–1901)	state of Australia	Victoria, Australia
Western Australia
- King George Sound	settlement (1791–1829)	transferred from New South Wales	Western Australia, Australia
- Swan River	colony (1829–1832)	renamed	"
Western Australia	colony (1832-1901)	state of Australia	"

 Treaties and Acts of Parliament, etc.

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 expanding it.

Effective date	Name of treaty, etc.	Territorial effect
1536/1542	Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542	Wales annexed to the Kingdom of England
1707	Acts of Union 1707	Scotland and England unite as the Kingdom of Great Britain
1713	Treaty of Utrecht	Spain cedes Gibraltar to Britain. France cedes Newfoundland, Hudson Bay and Acadie to Britain.
1763	Treaty of Paris	France cedes all its territories in America to Britain except Saint Pierre and Miquelon Islands.
1776	Declaration of Independence of the United States	The Thirteen Colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia) assert independence
1783	Second Treaty of Paris	Great Britain formally recognises the independence of the United States. End of the American Revolution.
1788		New South Wales is established by settlement as a penal colony
1791	Constitution Act	The Province of Quebec is divided in two sections Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (now Quebec).
1801	Act of Union 1800	Ireland unites with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1814	Third Treaty of Paris	France cedes the Seychelles to Britain
1840	Treaty of Waitangi	New Zealand becomes a British colony
1867	British North America Act 1867 (known in Canada as the Confederation 1867)	The Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia federate as the Dominion of Canada
1870		Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory are annexed to Canada
1871		British Columbia becomes a province of Canada
1876	proclamation under the Royal Titles Act 1876	Queen Victoria adopts the title "Empress of India"
1899		Joint British-Egyptian condominium established over Sudan
1901	proclamation under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (1900)	The Commonwealth of Australia is formed by the federation of the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania
1910	proclamation under the South Africa Act 1909	Union of South Africa formed by the federation of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony
1914	Cyprus (Annexation) Order in Council 1914	Cyprus formally annexed
1920	Kenya (Annexation) Order in Council 1920	Most of the East Africa Protectorate is annexed as the Colony of Kenya
1922	Anglo-Irish Treaty	The Irish Free State is separated from the United Kingdom
	Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence	Egypt becomes independent
1931	Statute of Westminster	Canada, the Irish Free State, and the Union of South Africa obtain effective sovereignty
1934		Financial difficulties result in Newfoundland losing its status as a dominion
1942		Australia adopts the Statute of Westminster, backdated to 1939
1947		New Zealand adopts the Statute of Westminster
	Indian Independence Act 1947	British India is partitioned into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan
1948		King George VI relinquishes the title "Emperor of India"
1949		Newfoundland becomes a province of Canada
1960	Nigeria Independence Act 1960	The colony and protectorate of Nigeria become independent
1962	Jamaica Independence Act 1962	Jamaica becomes independent
1983		The status of "colony" is renamed "dependent territory"
1997	Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984) and the Hong Kong Act 1985	Hong Kong is transferred to the People's Republic of China
2002		The status of "dependent territory" is renamed "British Overseas Territory