why did the britsh manage to create such a large empire and why did they want to?

Answer 1

Britain (like the US today) saw it self as a bastion of good government, commerce and industry. I sought to bring the message to the world and to some extent it did. It gave India the largest railway network in the world and a system of democracy still used today. The British ethic was more benign that people think even though they were capable of dirty tricks to achieve it.
Additionally, if you run a country which produces crops and other raw materials, you can ship these back to your own country and sell them to make the Empire grow further.
Maybe a combination of greed, a Pax Romana attitude and the desire for a world-based military should sum it up.

Answer 2

Initially, in the days of Elizabeth I and the Stuarts to get one over on Spain and Portugal and to get a foothold in the New World. That provided a source of furs - important in the 16 and 17th century when Britain was in the grip of the Little Ice Age. Elizabeth granted a charter to the East India Company to trade with the East - for spices etc., very necessary for the preservation of food in the days before refrigeration. The Caribbean islands were a source of sugar, in those days a new foodstuff. Of course, the southern American colonies were a source of tobacco and cotton. Then the big enemy became France so wherever France went we Brits went as well. We beat them in Canada and that was added to the Empire. Battles also took place between the East India Company's army and the French in India adding bits of the sub-continent to the growing areas of red on the map. The the Yanks kicked us out so we began to look ever more towards the East. The French and Spanish navies were beaten at Trafalgar, giving Great Britain mastery of the sea which enabled the far flung colonies to be protected and supply routes kept open. Then in the 19th century the 'Scramble for Africa' began and Great Britain enthusiastically joined in together with France, Germany and Belgium and that continent was divided up. After WWI large areas of former German and Ottoman Empire territories were 'mandated' to the victorious nations and GB got parts of German East Africa (Tanganyika) and areas of the Middle East like Egypt, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and Palestine. Some areas were just added by exploration - like Australia and New Zealand. Added to this, during the 19th century particularly there were many younger sons of leading families who had nothing to do at home, but were trained to rule, so off they went and held sway over the Empire.

Answer 3

Trade

Britain being an Island became a great seagoing nation. This allowed them to not only explore the world but to trade with the world. The ability to gave and move good and materials from one part of the world to another created wealth. This pursuit of wealth through trade created the need for colonies to assist in gathering and exploiting wealth found in foreign lands on a steady and secure basis. Colonies eventual became populated and were included into the Empire. Trade and command of the worlds oceans led to the creation of the British Empire.

Answer 4

by being an island with fairly undesirable climate. Being an island gave a assure of stability - unlike some thing else of Europe there have been invasions to set progression again. It also meant there change right into a go with to address the sea - and English sailors grew to change into distinct the great contained in the international. contained in the significant colonial era, different international places had more suitable and superior armies - although the Royal military ruled. the elements looks a significant ingredient in encouraging commercial progression. once you've an excellent warmth climate there looks a lot less of an incentive to strengthen the technologies that are needed in chillier aspects in order to proceed to exist. it truly is why the commercial revolution all started on the chilly, moist Atlantic fringe of Europe, fairly than around the comfortable Mediterranean

Answer 5

We needed something the sun never set on because God did not trust us in the dark.

In reality it was an accident, we got thrown out of America and developed most of the rest of the world empire after that. Aggressive expansionism I think would cover most of the evils of empire, however the Chinese do have a good case against us for sending in an army to China just to sell opium.

Answer 6

I think we did rather well - especially since we were a very small country.

Because of our Empire - about a quarter of the known world - we gave the world a language. Most of which I must add has been mangled by various countries. But it does stop us from learning another language.

There used to be a saying that if they couldn't speak English either shout at them or ignore them!!

That doesn't happen now I'm glad to say.

Answer 7

FOLLOW THE MONEY. It was all about commerce and captive markets and money and power; just a common trait of mankind. The british were not the first and won't be the last. Go back in recorded history and observe that the same thing has been repeated any number of times. Follow the money.

Answer 8

It was all to do with greed and to stop the Dutch/French/Germans/Spanish from taking the resources for themselves. Sea power was the main transport and the Royal Navy was able to patrol the world's oceans and put into port almost anywhere in the world.