Empire & Industrial Revolution (1600–1900)
The British Empire was the largest empire in history — at its peak, it encompassed a quarter of the earth and a fifth of the world's population. "The Empire on which the sun never sets" was no exaggeration: at any time of day or night, the sun was shining somewhere on British territory.
It began with Elizabeth I (1558–1603), who made England a naval power, defeated the Spanish Armada, and ushered in the golden age of literature (Shakespeare!). In the 17th/18th centuries, the Empire expanded to North America, India, Australia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The transatlantic slave trade (12.5 million people abducted) was a fundamental part of British wealth — a legacy that Britain still grapples with today.
The Industrial Revolution (from 1760) started in England — with the steam engine (James Watt, Scotland), the Spinning Jenny (textile industry), railways (George Stephenson), and the factory system. Britain became the "workshop of the world," but the working conditions were brutal: child labor, 16-hour days, slums. Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow grew explosively.
Queen Victoria (1837–1901) gave her name to an entire era. The Victorian age was the zenith of the Empire: railways spanned the globe, the Crystal Palace Exhibition (1851) celebrated British progress, and "British values" (punctuality, order, understatement) were globally exported — along with tea, cricket, and parliamentarianism.
