THE BRITISH EMPIREThe British Empire was the largest empire in history and for a time was the leading global power. It was the product of the European Age of Discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, and began the era of European colonial empires. In 1921, the British Empire dominated a population of approximately 458 million people, about a quarter of the world's population. It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.2 million square miles), about a quarter of the Earth's total surface area. As a result, its legacy is widespread in legal and governmental systems, economic practice, the military system, educational systems, sports, and the global spread of the English language. At the height of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its globe-spanning reach ensured that the sun always shone on at least one of its many colonies or subject nations. decades after World War II, most of the Empire's territories became independent. Many then joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a loose association of independent states. This amazing empire was never destroyed like the Roman Empire was: instead it dissolved peacefully, by mutual agreement, and the English, in addition to creating the largest empire in the world, also had the privilege of being the only builders of the empire not to be destroyed. in their vast empire itself. ORIGINS UNDER ELIZABETH The first steps by the English to found an empire occurred during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Elizabeth was a far-sighted ruler who financially supported voyages of exploration, especially through her favorite, Sir Francis Drake, who in 1580, became the first...... middle of paper......FORMER OTTOMAN TERRITORY IN MIDDLE EASTThe outcome of the First World War in 1919 saw the British Empire at its height: the Treaty of Versailles awarded Britain most of the German Empire in Africa, while the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East led to the takeover British Palestine and Iraq in 1918. DISSOLUTION OF THE EMPIRE AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR The British Empire finally began to dissolve only after the First World War, a process accelerated dramatically in the period following the Second World War. The main reason for the dissolution of the empire was economic and political rather than racial: after the Second World War, Britain was simply too impoverished to continue maintaining an empire created in the previous century, and it was easier to grant independence to the Kingdom United. distant colonies, especially when some of these became violent.