Empire of Great Britain: A Timeline From 1497 to 1997
The empire of Great Britain from its first voyages to the handover of Hong Kong: the main phases, key dates, how large it grew, and how it turned into the Commonwealth.
Last updated September 2026
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The empire of Great Britain was built over about three centuries. It was taken apart in about fifty years. At its height, after the First World War, it was the largest empire in history. This page gives the timeline in phases, from the first voyages to the handover of Hong Kong. It shows the dates that sources agree on and the ones they treat differently.
TL;DR: English voyages began in 1497. Lasting colonies followed from 1607. The empire lost 13 American colonies in 1783. Then it grew in India, Africa and the Pacific through the 1800s. It peaked around 1920. India's independence in 1947 began a fast end to empire. The 1997 handover of Hong Kong is often seen as the end.
The empire of Great Britain in phases
| Phase | Years | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Voyages and first colonies | 1497-1660 | Cabot reaches North America; Jamestown (1607); Caribbean colonies; the East India Company founded (1600) |
| Trade, slavery and war with France | 1660-1763 | Atlantic trade built on enslaved African labour; victory in the Seven Years' War brings Canada and influence in India |
| Loss in America, growth in the East | 1763-1815 | Thirteen colonies win independence (recognised 1783); settlement of Australia from 1788; gains after the Napoleonic Wars |
| The imperial century | 1815-1914 | Slavery abolished in most colonies (1833 Act); Crown rule in India (1858); expansion in Africa |
| Peak and strain | 1914-1945 | Mandates after 1919; Dominions gain full self-government (Statute of Westminster, 1931) |
| Decolonisation | 1945-1997 | India and Pakistan (1947); most of Africa and the Caribbean by the 1960s-1980s; Hong Kong (1997) |
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How the empire of Great Britain began
English expansion overseas started before Great Britain existed. John Cabot sailed from Bristol to North America in 1497, with a licence from Henry VII. The East India Company got its charter from Elizabeth I in 1600. The first lasting English colony in North America was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
England and Scotland united in 1707, and the colonies became British. Sugar islands in the Caribbean, worked by enslaved Africans, made huge profits. British ships carried millions of Africans across the Atlantic. Parliament banned the trade in 1807.
Loss and growth, 1763-1815
The Seven Years' War ended in 1763. Britain then held Canada and a strong position in India. The cost of that war led to new taxes on the American colonies. Their revolt followed. Britain recognised the independence of the United States in 1783.
The empire turned east and south. The first convict fleet reached Australia in 1788. The East India Company spread its rule over much of India. Victory over Napoleon in 1815 left Britain with new bases, such as the Cape Colony and Malta.
When the empire began and ended
Start and end dates of the British Empire.
Status: Disputed. No single agreed date for either.
Note: Some histories begin with Cabot's voyage of 1497. Others begin with the first lasting colonies after 1600. For the end, some point to India's independence in 1947.
Others point to Suez in 1956 or the wave of African independence around 1960. Many point to the handover of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997. The dates of each event are not in doubt. Which one "starts" or "ends" the empire is a matter of view.
Sources: Britannica, "British Empire"; Imperial War Museums, "End of Empire".
The imperial century, 1815-1914
The 1800s were the empire's great age of growth. Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. After the Indian uprising of 1857, the Crown took direct rule of India in 1858. Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1876. In the late 1800s Britain took large parts of Africa in the "scramble" with other European powers.
The National Archives holds an atlas of 1897. It gave the empire's size as about 7.95 million square miles in 1837 and 11.07 million square miles in 1897. For the reign that saw this growth, see Queen Victoria reign.
Peak and decline
After the First World War, Britain took over former German colonies and Ottoman lands. It ran them as League of Nations mandates. Around 1920 the empire reached its largest size. That is usually put at about a quarter of the world's land. For how that ranks, see largest empire in history.
The settler Dominions, such as Canada and Australia, gained full control of their own affairs under the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The Second World War then drained Britain's wealth. India and Pakistan became independent in August 1947. Burma and Ceylon followed in 1948.
| Year | Territory | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | India and Pakistan | Independence and partition |
| 1957 | Ghana | First British colony in sub-Saharan Africa to become independent |
| 1960 | Nigeria | Independence |
| 1962 | Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda | Independence |
| 1980 | Zimbabwe | Independence after a long conflict |
| 1997 | Hong Kong | Handed over to China on 1 July |
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After the empire
Most former colonies joined the Commonwealth, a free group of independent states. Today it has 56 members. Fourteen British Overseas Territories remain, from Gibraltar to the Falkland Islands. For how these relate to the United Kingdom, see British Empire and the UK. For the changing borders, see British Empire map.
The empire grew and shrank under named monarchs. Our guide to the best books about the royal family includes lives of Victoria and Elizabeth II.
Verdict: the empire of Great Britain, start to finish
The empire of Great Britain grew for three centuries through trade, settlement, slavery and war. It reached its largest size around 1920. It came apart in the half-century after 1947. Historians disagree on the exact start and end dates, but not on the events. For the monarchs who reigned over it, see the England royal family hub.
Sources checked for this page
- Britannica, "British Empire"
- The National Archives, "British Empire" education resource (archived 2026)
- The National Archives, "The Victoria Atlas" (archived 2026)
- Imperial War Museums, "End of Empire"
- Historic UK, "Timeline of the British Empire"
- The Commonwealth, "Member countries"
Questions people also ask
When did the British Empire begin?
Historians often start with John Cabot's voyage to North America in 1497 or with the first lasting English colonies in the early 1600s, such as Jamestown in 1607. There is no single agreed start date.
When was the British Empire at its largest?
In the years after the First World War, around 1920, when it took on former German and Ottoman territories as League of Nations mandates.
When did the British Empire end?
It broke up in stages after 1945. India and Pakistan became independent in 1947, most African colonies in the 1950s and 1960s, and the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 is often seen as the end.
What replaced the British Empire?
The Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent countries, most of them former British territories.