The ENTIRE History of the British Empire

The ENTIRE History of the British Empire At its height, the British Empire covers roughly a quarter of the world's land surface and rules over a quarter of its population, an empire so vast that the sun genuinely never sets on it. It's remembered by some as a triumph of trade, law, and infrastructure, and by others as one of history's most extensive systems of exploitation, built on slavery, famine, and conquest. The honest answer is that it's both, often at the same time, and untangling how a damp island off the coast of Europe ends up ruling from Canada to Australia takes a bit of explaining. This is the entire history of the British Empire.