Union, State and Empire The Britain of 1707 in its European setting

It is easy to speak of the British empire in the eighteenth century, but perhaps less easy, as John Brewer’s book bears witness, to speak of the British state. ¹ By the ‘British empire’ we mean Britain’s possessions overseas, the colonies in North America and the settlements and trading posts in the West Indies and India. The composition of this empire changed, and by 1783 what is often referred to as the ‘First British Empire’ had been lost; but another empire remained, and the term ‘the British empire’ continued to have an obvious reference. Behind the British empire, it is not so difficult to add, lay the commitment of the British people and the power of the British state. It is well known that the Scots (and the Welsh) were as actively involved as the English – perhaps more so in proportion to their population – in settling, defending, administering and profiting from the empire. Their efforts, moreover, were supervised by one government in London, acting when necessary on legislation passed in a common parliament. In relation to the British empire, therefore, both the British people and the British state take on recognizable identities.