ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the rise and fall of the British Empire. From language to literature, economics to politics and the military to the sports field, Britain's influence can be seen throughout the world. The legacy of Empire can also be found in the migration of peoples. The origins of the British Empire can be traced back to a calculated effort in the latter years of the fifteenth century to expand England's influence at a time when other European nations, particularly Portugal and Spain, had already established considerable footholds abroad. The expansion of the British Empire from the late eighteenth century onwards would see Britain becoming the 'workshop of the world' as the industrial revolution took hold. An aggressive foreign policy meant that by the eighteenth century Britain was in a pre-eminent position among European powers in terms of colonialism and had a worldwide dominance of the sea-lanes.
