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[[Image:BritishEmpire1921.png|thumb|right|350px|The world in 1921, with British colonies shown in pink]]
[[Image:BritishEmpire1921.png|thumb|right|350px|The world in 1921, with British colonies shown in pink]]
The '''British Empire''' was a global empire acquired and ruled by [[Great Britain]] (or, from 1801 onwards, the [[United Kingdom]]). Its origins can perhaps be dated to the English discovery of [[Newfoundland]] in 1493, and its demise may be variously dated to 1947 (when [[India]] was granted independence), to 1956 (when the [[Suez Crisis]] revealed that Britain was no longer a world power), to the 1960s (when the UK withdrew from most of its remaining colonies), or to as recently as 1997 (when [[Hong Kong]], the last major colony, was returned to [[China|Chinese]] rule).
The '''British Empire''' was a global empire acquired and ruled by the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] (or, from 1801 the [[United Kingdom]]). Its origins can perhaps be dated to the English discovery of [[Newfoundland]] in 1493, and its demise may be variously dated to 1947 (when [[India]] was granted independence), to 1956 (when the [[Suez Crisis]] revealed that Britain was no longer a world power), to the 1960s (when the UK withdrew from most of its remaining colonies), or to as recently as 1997 (when [[Hong Kong]], the last major colony, was returned to [[China|Chinese]] rule).
In its heyday, the British Empire was the largest empire in history: by the eve of the First World War, it spanned a quarter of the world's total land mass (though much of this consisted of vast, uninhabited areas of northern Canada and Australia). Its constituent parts included [[India]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], Malaya (now [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]]), [[South Africa]], [[Egypt]], [[Nigeria]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]] and [[Hong Kong]].
In its heyday, the British Empire was the largest empire in history: by the eve of the First World War, it spanned a quarter of the world's total land mass (though much of this consisted of vast, uninhabited areas of northern Canada and Australia). Its constituent parts included [[India]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], Malaya (now [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]]), [[South Africa]], [[Egypt]], [[Nigeria]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]] and [[Hong Kong]].