A global power

From the 17th century onwards, Britain expanded its reach across the globe — building an empire, driving an Industrial Revolution, and becoming the most powerful nation in the world. This period of growth and transformation left a deep mark on British society and on the world.

Britain began establishing overseas territories in the 17th century. By the 19th century, the British Empire had grown to become the largest empire in history, covering approximately one quarter of the world's land surface.

The growth of the empire was driven by:

• Trade — particularly through the East India Company, founded in 1600, which traded with Asia and eventually governed large parts of India
• Settlement — British people emigrated to colonies in North America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa
• Military power — the Royal Navy helped Britain project power across the globe

The British Empire brought great wealth to Britain, but it also caused great harm — particularly through the transatlantic slave trade and the exploitation of colonised peoples.

The transatlantic slave trade was one of the most shameful periods in British history. From the late 16th century until the early 19th century, British merchants transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic — a journey known as the Middle Passage — to work on plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas under brutal conditions.

Britain was one of the largest participants in the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved people were treated as property, denied basic rights, and subjected to extreme violence.

Several important figures campaigned for abolition — the ending of the slave trade:

• Olaudah Equiano — a formerly enslaved African who wrote a powerful autobiography describing his experiences; it helped turn public opinion against slavery
• William Wilberforce — a Member of Parliament from Yorkshire who campaigned tirelessly in Parliament for the abolition of the slave trade

Their efforts — and a growing moral movement — led to two landmark Acts:

• Slave Trade Act 1807 — abolished the trade in enslaved people throughout the British Empire (though it did not immediately free those already enslaved)
• Slavery Abolition Act 1833 — abolished slavery itself throughout most of the British Empire, freeing enslaved people

From the mid-18th century, Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revolution — a rapid shift from an agricultural economy to one based on manufacturing and industry. Britain was the first country in the world to industrialise.

Key developments and figures of the Industrial Revolution include:

• James Watt — a Scottish inventor who improved the steam engine in the 1760s and 1770s, making it far more efficient. Steam power drove factories, mills, and railways
• Richard Arkwright — invented the spinning frame, which mechanised the production of cotton. He is sometimes called the "father of the modern factory system"
• The railways — transformed Britain's economy and society:
  • George Stephenson built the world's first public steam railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opened in 1825
  • His son Robert Stephenson built the Rocket locomotive
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the Great Western Railway and designed innovative bridges and ships
• New industrial towns — cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds grew rapidly as people moved from the countryside to work in factories

The Industrial Revolution made Britain the world's leading industrial power throughout the 19th century and brought many improvements in living standards — though working conditions in early factories were often dangerous and exploitative.

Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901 — the longest reign of any British monarch at the time. Her reign is known as the Victorian era and coincided with Britain's greatest period of imperial and industrial power.

Key features of the Victorian era include:

• The Great Exhibition of 1851 — held in the specially constructed Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. It was an international showcase of industrial and artistic achievement, visited by over 6 million people. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, was a driving force behind it
• The expansion of democracy — the franchise (the right to vote) was gradually extended to more men through the Reform Acts of 1832, 1867, and 1884; however, women did not yet have the right to vote
• Imperial expansion — the British Empire continued to grow; Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876
• Scientific and cultural achievement — the Victorian era saw major advances in science, medicine, and the arts. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, setting out his theory of evolution by natural selection

A devastating event of this period was the Irish Famine (also known as the Great Famine) of 1845 to around 1852. A disease destroyed the potato crop, which was the staple food of a large proportion of Ireland's population. More than one million people died of starvation and disease, and more than a million more emigrated — many to the United States and Britain.

The famine and its handling by the British government caused immense suffering and lasting bitterness in Ireland toward British rule. It significantly altered the population of Ireland, which has never returned to its pre-famine levels.

Up next: The 20th century — from the First World War and women's suffrage to the Second World War and the end of empire, discover the events that shaped modern Britain.