The eighteenth century was a crucial period for the British Empire. It saw the birth of the “Kingdom of Great Britain” itself, in the 1707 “Acts of Union.” It saw much-admired advances in philosophy, from the English philosophers to the “Scottish Enlightenment.” And it saw many important political developments for the British Empire, at home and abroad. For example, it saw the continuation of an ongoing struggle between Britain and France. Britain would be affected by the loss of many of its overseas colonies in North America. Much closer to home, it was affected by the French Revolution, and the chaos left in its wake. Thus, in the early nineteenth century, it would eventually fight the Napoleonic Wars, one of the defining conflicts of its history. Therefore, an examination of this general period might be in order here. That is, I plan to go from the 1707 “Acts of Union” … to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This period has a massive legacy for the British Empire, and for many of its former overseas colonies.
Battle of Trafalgar – Spain, 1805
Great Britain is born in 1707, and experiences conflicts with the French (and other powers)
Before 1707, there was no such thing as the “British Empire.” However, there was the English Empire, which seems to have been its most direct predecessor. England and Scotland were still separate nations, which had often been at war with each other. In the 1690s, there had been some ill-fated attempts by Scotland to colonize certain parts of the Americas. These included colonies in the Isthmus of Panama, and in nearby New Granada. But these colonies were soon abandoned, just two years later, due to malaria. Thus, the related “Darien Scheme” was a financial disaster for Scotland, since a quarter of Scotland’s capital had been lost in this unfortunate enterprise. This helped lead to the Union of England and Scotland in 1707. Thus, the “Acts of Union” created the brand-new “Kingdom of Great Britain” in that same year: 1707. Many would argue that this was also the birth of the truly British Empire. During this time, there was the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714. This was about who would control the throne of Spain. There would also be colonization in the West Indies (i.e. the Caribbean) at that time. This was the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Partially over control of the slave trade, Britain had a war with Spain in 1739. This war bears a very strange name: the “War of Jenkins’ Ear.” This name comes from how the ear of a guy named “Jenkins” had allegedly been cut off, in the incident used by Britain to justify the war. (Although, most likely, it was never really cut off at all, and the war’s origins are thus a little dubious.) This “War of Jenkins’ Ear” would eventually end nine years later in 1748. In other parts of the world, there was some conflict with the Dutch in India, and with the French East India Company there. The British had their own “East India Company,” a private corporation with political ambitions. In 1757, this British corporation eventually defeated the French East India Company and its allies in India, in the “Battle of Plassey.” This began the controversial era in which India was ruled by the British “East India Company.” This was part of the “Seven Years’ War,” another conflict between Britain and France. This war went from 1754 to 1763. This war was eventually fought on five different continents, including much closer to home for the British in Europe. But it was also fought in distant India, and in the West Indies.
Battle of Plassey, 1757 – which began a long period of British rule of India
The Seven Years’ War, the American Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars
The Seven Years’ War had begun in Britain’s overseas colonies in North America. In this war, the British eventually took Canada from the French. Nonetheless, the British already had some colonies of their own in other parts of North America. There was ongoing colonization in many other parts of the world as well. In 1770, James Cook made his famous expeditions to Australia, and certain parts of New Zealand. But, in 1775, some of Britain’s North American colonies rebelled, declaring their independence in 1776. Thus, the “American Revolutionary War” had begun. Eventually, this involved further British conflicts with France and Spain. These conflicts were the true cause of Britain’s defeat in that war. Thus, Britain eventually lost these rebellious colonies, in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. This was a major turning point in the history of the British Empire. In America, we mainly remember King George the Third as the “villain” of the American Revolution. And, at this time, the king did experience some embarrassment from the loss of these American colonies. But, in British eyes, King George the Third would later redeem himself for this humiliation, through his prominent leadership in the Napoleonic Wars. But back to the eighteenth century. Across the English Channel, the French Revolution was now breaking out in 1789, when a French mob stormed the Bastille. This eventually led to the executions of King Louis the Sixteenth, and his wife Marie Antoinette – among many, many others. However, the French Revolution would also affect Britain as well. Britain was somewhat concerned over the anarchy in France, and feared that it would spread abroad – leading to further mob rule and “regicide” (or king-killing). Many other European nations felt the same way. Thus, in 1792, the “French Revolutionary Wars” began on the battlefield, and Britain immediately entered the fray. Britain was now at war with France, and these wars would go on and off for decades. The “French Revolutionary Wars” consisted of two somewhat-separate conflicts. These were the “War of the First Coalition,” and the “War of the Second Coalition” – each with its own complexity. The British Empire was involved in both of these, and was the most constant of France’s enemies. But these wars also involved further conflicts in distant India. Thus, a quick overview of these forgotten wars in India might be in order here, as brief background for our discussion.
King George the Third
Britain’s simultaneous wars in India, with local groups like the Mysore and the Maratha
England fought several wars with an Indian kingdom called the “Sultanate of Mysore.” The first of these wars had begun back in the 1760s, during the earlier “Seven Years’ War.” This conflict is now known to history as the “First Anglo-Mysore War.” During the American War of Independence, the British had also fought a war against India’s “Maratha Confederacy.” This conflict is now known as the “First Anglo-Maratha War.” Later in the American War of Independence, there was a second Anglo-Mysore War. A third such war would end shortly before the French Revolutionary Wars were to break out. But the fourth such war was fought in the late 1790s, during the French Revolutionary Wars. This was the last of the “Anglo-Mysore Wars.” But conflicts with the Maratha Confederacy were to resume in the Napoleonic Wars, with the “Second Anglo-Maratha War.” A third one would later be fought after the Napoleonic Wars had just ended. Such is the complexity of these various conflicts in India. Incidentally, the Napoleonic Wars also saw the lesser-known “Rum Rebellion,” which was in Britain’s distant penal colony in Australia. The colony was called “New South Wales,” now a province of Australia. This conflict went from 1808 to 1810 – two years in all. This is still the only armed takeover of the government in Australian history.
Lord Horatio Nelson, a British naval hero
Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power, and the “Napoleonic Wars” soon break out in 1803
But back to the fighting in Europe, closer to home for the British. As mentioned earlier, the “French Revolutionary Wars” had involved two main conflicts. These were the “War of the First Coalition,” and the “War of the Second Coalition.” In 1799, during the “Second Coalition,” Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France. The “French Revolutionary Wars” then ended three years later in 1802. But they were soon followed by the “Napoleonic Wars” in 1803, named for Napoleon Bonaparte. The next of the “Coalition Wars” would be the “War of the Third Coalition” – the first such coalition in the Napoleonic Wars. This “War of the Third Coalition” began in 1805. It was a continuation of the two previous coalitions from the French Revolutionary Wars. Eventually, there would be four other “Coalition Wars” as well, with the seventh and final one finally ending in 1815. (But I’m getting ahead of myself.) Other major powers switched back and forth between the two sides of these great wars, including Russia. But, during all this time, Britain remained a staunch and committed enemy of Napoleon. Britain gave financial subsidies to many of its allies in Europe, and the Royal Navy (mostly) had control of the seas. This involved the great naval victory at Trafalgar (off the coast of Spain), by Lord Horatio Nelson. Lord Nelson himself was killed in this battle. Thus, he is now remembered as a hero. He is remembered as fondly in Britain as George Washington is in America. But, on land, Britain fought another war in Spain and Portugal. These nations were both on Europe’s “Iberian Peninsula.” Thus, this particular conflict is now known to history as the “Peninsular War.” It would later be fought in Southern France as well, when the British were making progress against Napoleon. But this war eventually saw the loss of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America. This was due to the mother countries being kept busy by Napoleon closer to home. This would have massive consequences for world history. But it was also Britain’s primary land front against Napoleon. One British soldier in this “Peninsular War” was Arthur Wellesley, the future “Duke of Wellington.” He would later become the prime minister of the United Kingdom after the wars had ended. (Great Britain and Ireland had earlier been merged into the “United Kingdom” back in 1801.) But the nearby “Peninsular War” went on, and only ended in the year 1814.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Comments on the Battle of Waterloo, and the “War of 1812” (which ended in 1815)
However, Napoleon’s greatest land defeats were to come in the east, in his invasion of Russia. He had forbidden all of his conquered territories from trading with the British – an unfortunate aspect of his “Continental System.” But these serious embargoes caused so much damage in Russia, that the Russians nonetheless resumed their own trade with the British in 1812. Thus, Napoleon reacted swiftly, and invaded Russia in 1812. But, like Hitler’s armies in the following century, Napoleon was partly defeated by the Russian winter, and was soon turned back to France. Napoleon eventually abdicated in 1814, and was then exiled to the island of Elba. But Napoleon soon escaped from his British captors, and thus returned to his ruling of France. Eventually, the future “Duke of Wellington” – the earlier hero of the “Peninsular War” – beat Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, a major year for Great Britain. Thus, these “Napoleonic Wars” had finally ended. Back in 1812, there had been a small (but still notable) second war with the Americans, in which the British had conscripted (or drafted) American sailors into the Royal Navy. This was the policy known as “impressment.” But after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the British were no longer interested in this war with the United States. Thus, they no longer needed the American manpower that they were gaining from these “impressment” policies – the real purpose behind these policies. Thus, they quickly made peace with the Americans shortly after Waterloo. This resulted in a treaty at Ghent, in what is today Belgium. The war is now known as the “War of 1812.” But, again, it actually ended in 1815 – shortly after Waterloo. This would be Britain’s last war with the United States, later to become its most important ally. (But that’s a story for another post.)
Battle of Waterloo, 1815
How the Napoleonic Wars affected Britain, and the subsequent British Empire
During these Napoleonic Wars, the British had abolished their international slave trade in the year 1807 – as dramatized in the movie “Amazing Grace.” After the war, this act would eventually lead to Britain’s near-total abolition of slavery (in their empire, at least) in 1834. However, slavery would continue in two of the many colonies administered by Britain’s “East India Company” … until 1844, that is. Nonetheless, the abolition of their own part in the slave trade in 1807 was a major turning point for the British, as was the subsequent abolition of all slavery in their empire (as described above). In many ways, the Napoleonic Wars thus had a profound effect on the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” This is what the kingdom was then called, although its name has since changed to the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” (More on that here.) With the defeat of France, these wars also had a crucial effect on the overseas British Empire, since the French were no longer a serious threat to Britain’s colonial ambitions. Britain and France would subsequently both take part in Europe’s “Scramble for Africa,” and each created a number of its own colonies there. The British African colonies famously included South Africa, but eventually included Egypt as well – which, by then, was the critical location of the “Suez Canal.” These imperial periods also involved some significant rivalry with the Russians in Asia, and a continuation of the prior British colonies on the Indian subcontinent. Control of India would eventually pass from the British “East India Company,” to the British Crown back in London. This came from the so-called “Indian Mutiny” of 1857, which created the “British Raj.” But later, India was to become independent from the British Empire in 1947. So would many other parts of the former British Empire, although self-rule came sooner for some of the colonies known as the “White Colonies.” These included Canada, Australia, and (some would argue) New Zealand – who all became autonomous, at various times and places.
William Wilberforce, British abolitionist statesman (depicted in the movie “Amazing Grace”)
Legacy of this period in Britain, and how the British remember the Napoleonic Wars
Nonetheless, the Napoleonic Wars were a veritable watershed in the history of the British Empire. They were a crucial period for the world more generally, and continue to be remembered enthusiastically in Britain today. The British interest for the Napoleonic Wars is almost as great as the American interest in its own Revolution. This enthusiasm can tell us something about how the British remember these epic (and serious) wars against Napoleon Bonaparte. The eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were thus a defining period for Britain, and for many of its former overseas colonies.
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Part of a blog series about
British military history
Wars of the Roses 1455-1487
English Civil War 1642-1651
French and Indian War 1754-1763
American War of Independence 1775-1783
French Revolutionary Wars 1793-1802
Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815
World War One 1914-1918
Irish War of Independence 1919-1921
World War Two 1939-1945
Korean War 1950-1953
Other wars to be covered later
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