The British Empire

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American History
The British Empire expanded due to the competition for resources and markets that existed for years. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England built traditional companies in Russia, Turkey, and the East Indies, explored the North American coast, and established colonies in the region (Hurstfield 11). At the beginning of the 17th century, Britain expanded those colonies, and plans for systematic colonization of Ulster, Ireland began (Ghosh 122). During the 19th century, the British Empire experienced a great expansion in population, size, and wealth. The Empire covered about one-quarter of the world and ruled approximately one-fifth of its population.
British Plan of Empire
Britain's major plan of Empire was trading. The British wanted to trade, so they sent ships out with commodities to sell. In return, they acquired interesting items from abroad. When they came across nations with food, minerals, and artifacts that could be sold for profit at home, they sought to buy them (Hurstfield 16). However, they seized by force those they could not buy. Other nations wanted to dominate trade and made war to blockade the British ships. The British built a navy that conquered their enemies. In the trading ports, they built warehouses to hold export and import goods. The need for profit also led to the creation of companies like the Royal African Company and the East India Company (Hyam 129). These were formed to generate money, but territories were taken to ensure profit remained British.
Another plan was to contribute to the nation's wealth by acquiring more land overseas to establish new colonies. These colonies would provide Britain with valuable raw materials and resources like lumber, wool, iron, sugar, cotton, tobacco, rice, and indigo, which they could also sell to ...