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[[Image:ECS.png|thumb|300px|right|Members, affiliates, and partner standardisation bodies of the ECS.]]The '''European Committee for Standardization''' or '''Comité Européen de Normalisation''' ('''CEN'''), is a private non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and distribution of coherent sets of standards and specifications.
{{For|a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire|Evolution of the British Empire}}
[[Image:British Empire 1897.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The British Empire in 1897, marked in the traditional colour for imperial British dominions on maps]]
[[Image:British Empire Anachronous 8.png|thumb|300px|An anachronous map of the extent of the British Empire and its influence]]


CEN was founded in 1961. Its thirty national members work together to develop European Standards (ENs) in various sectors to build a European [[single market|internal market]] for goods and services and to position Europe in the global economy. Some of these standards are voluntary, whereas other standards such as harmonized standards have been made effectively mandatory under EU law.
The '''British Empire''' was the [[List of largest empires|largest empire]] in history and, for over a century, was the foremost [[Great power|global power]]. It was a product of the [[Age of Discovery]], which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, that sparked the era of the European [[Colonialism|colonial]] empires. By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world's population.<ref>Angus Maddison. ''The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective'' (p. 98, 242). [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]], Paris, 2001.</ref> It covered about 36.7 million km² (14.2 million square miles),<ref>Bruce R. Gordon. [http://www.hostkingdom.net/earthrul.html ''To Rule the Earth...''] (See also the empire sucked puberty really hard up the arsWANKER WANKKER[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Bibliography.html Bibliography] for sources used.)</ref> about a quarter of Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "[[The empire on which the sun never sets|the sun never sets on the British Empire]]" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous [[colonies]] or subject nations.<ref>This phrase had already been used a few centuries before by the king [[Charles I of Spain]], referring to the [[Spanish Empire]].</ref>


More than 60.000 technical experts as well as business federations, consumer and other societal interest organisations are involved in the CEN network that reaches over 460 million people. CEN is the officially recognized standardisation representative for sectors other than electrotechnical ([[CENELEC]]) and telecommunications ([[ETSI]]).
During the five decades following [[World War II]], most of the territories of the Empire became independent. Many went on to join the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], a free association of independent states. <ref>Lloyd, T. O. (1996). The British Empire, 1558-1995. 2nd ed. The short Oxford history of the modern world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198731337</ref> Some have retained the [[British monarch]] as their [[head of state]] to become independent [[Commonwealth realm]]s.


The standardisation bodies of the thirty national members represent the twenty seven member states of the [[European Union]], three countries of the [[European Free Trade Association]] ([[EFTA]]) and countries who are likely to join the EU or EFTA in the future. CEN is contributing to the objectives of the [[European Union]] and [[European Economic Area]] with technical standards (EN standards) which promote [[free trade]], the [[workplace safety | safety of worker]]s and [[consumer]]s, [[interoperability]] of networks, [[environmental protection]], exploitation of [[research and development]] programmes, and public [[wiktionary:procurement|procurement]]. An example of mandatory standards are those for materials and products used in construction and listed under the [[Construction Products Directive]]. The [[CE mark]] is a declaration by the manufacturer that a product complies with the respective [[EU directive]] and hence the harmonized standard(s) referenced by the directive(s).
==Origins (1497–1583)==
The foundations of the British Empire were laid at a time before the creation of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain]], when [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] were separate kingdoms. In 1496 King [[Henry VII of England]], following the successes of [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]] and [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] in overseas exploration, commissioned [[John Cabot]] to lead a voyage to discover a route to [[Asia]] via the [[North Atlantic]]. Cabot sailed in 1497, and though he successfully made landfall on the coast of [[Canada]] (mistakenly believing, like [[Christopher Columbus]] five years earlier, that he had reached Asia<ref>{{cite book| first =Kenneth|last =Andrews |title=Trade, Plunder and Settlement: Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480-1630 |publisher=Cambridge Paperback Library|year=1985|pages=45}}</ref>), no attempt at establishing a [[colony]] was made. Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was heard from his ships again.


CEN (together with [[CENELEC]]) owns the [[Keymark]], a voluntary quality mark for products and services. A product bearing the Keymark demonstrates conformity to European Standards.
No further attempts to establish English colonies overseas were made until well into the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], during the last decades of the 16th century. Enmity and rivalry between [[Roman Catholic]] [[Spain]] and [[Protestant]] [[England]] during the [[Anglo–Spanish War (1585)|Anglo-Spanish Wars]] led to the English Crown sanctioning English [[privateer]]s such as [[Sir John Hawkins]] and [[Sir Francis Drake]] to engage in piratical attacks on Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping that was returning across the [[Atlantic]], laden with treasure from the [[New World]]. At the same time, influential writers such as [[Richard Hakluyt]] and [[John Dee (mathematician)|John Dee]] (who was the first to use the term "British Empire"<ref name="nav">{{cite journal|journal=Canadian Journal of History| title=Discourse on history, geography, and law: John Dee and the limits of the British empire, 1576–80|author =Ken MacMillan|date=2001-04|
url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3686/is_200104/ai_n8932217}}</ref>) were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own empire, to rival those of Spain and Portugal. By this time, Spain was firmly entrenched in the Americas, [[Portugal]] had established a string of trading posts and forts from the coasts of [[Africa]] and [[Brazil]] to [[China]], and [[France]] had begun to settle the [[Saint Lawrence River]], later to become [[New France]].


The current CEN Members are [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Cyprus]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], [[Iceland]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malta]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]] and the [[United Kingdom]].
===Plantations of Ireland===
Though a relative latecomer to overseas colonisation in comparison to Spain and Portugal, England had been engaged in a form of 'domestic colonisation'<ref>{{cite book| first =Canny|last =Nicholas |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=7}}</ref> in [[Ireland]]. The 16th century [[Plantations of Ireland]], run by English colonists, were a precursor to the overseas Empire,<ref>Nicholas Canny, Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire</ref><ref>{{cite book| first =Taylor|last =Alan |title=American Colonies, The Settling of North America |publisher=Penguin|year=2001|pages=123}}</ref> and several people involved in these projects also had a hand in the early colonisation of North America, particularly a group known as the "West Country men",<ref>{{cite book| first =Taylor|last =Alan |title=American Colonies, The Settling of North America |publisher=Penguin|year=2001|pages=119}}</ref> which included Sir [[Humphrey Gilbert]], Sir [[Walter Raleigh]], Sir [[Francis Drake]], Sir [[John Hawkins]], Sir [[Richard Grenville]] and Sir [[Ralph Lane]]. After the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]], the majority native [[Irish people|Irish Catholics]] were dispossessed of their land, and replaced with a Protestant landowning class from England and Scotland. The new Protestant [[ruling class]] was known as the [[Protestant Ascendancy]].


The current affiliates are [[Albania]], [[Croatia]], the [[Republic of Macedonia|FYROM]] and [[Turkey]].
=="First British Empire" (1583–1783)==
[[Image:Gilbert plaque.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Plaque in St. John's, Newfoundland, commemorating Gilbert's founding of the British overseas Empire]]


The current partner standardisation bodies are [[Australia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Egypt]], [[Moldova]], [[Russia]], [[Serbia]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Ukraine]].
In 1578 Sir [[Humphrey Gilbert]] was granted a [[patent]] by [[Queen Elizabeth I]] for discovery and overseas exploration, and set sail for the [[West Indies]] with the intention of first engaging in piracy and on the return voyage, establishing a colony in [[North America]]. The expedition failed at the outset because of bad weather. In 1583 Gilbert embarked on a second attempt, on this occasion to the island of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] where he formally claimed for England the harbour of St. John's, though no settlers were left behind to colonise it. Gilbert did not survive the return journey to England, and was succeeded by his half-brother, [[Walter Raleigh]], who was granted his own patent by Elizabeth in 1584, in the same year founding the colony of [[Roanoke Colony|Roanoke]] on the coast of present-day [[North Carolina]]. Lack of supplies caused the colony to fail.

In 1603, King [[James VI of Scotland]] ascended to the English throne and in 1604 negotiated the [[Treaty of London, 1604|Treaty of London]], ending hostilities with [[Spanish Empire|Spain]]. Now at peace with its main rival, English attention shifted from preying on other nations' colonial infrastructure to the business of establishing its own overseas colonies.<ref>{{cite book| first =Canny|last =Nicholas |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=70}}</ref> Although its beginnings were hit-and-miss, the British Empire began to take shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of [[North America]] and the smaller islands of the [[Caribbean]], and the establishment of a private company, the [[British East India Company|English East India Company]], to trade with [[Asia]]. This period, until the loss of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] after the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] towards the end of the 18th century, has subsequently been referred to as the "First British Empire".<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=34}}</ref>

===The Americas===
{{main|British colonization of the Americas}}
[[Image:British Colonies in North America c1750 v2.png|thumb|right|300px|British colonies in North America, c. 1750. 1: [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]; 2: [[Nova Scotia]]; 3: The [[Thirteen Colonies]]; 4: [[Bermuda]]; 5: [[Bahamas]]; 6: [[British Honduras]]; 7: [[Jamaica]]; 8: [[Lesser Antilles]]]]

The [[Caribbean]] initially provided England's most important and lucrative colonies,<ref>{{cite book |last= James |first= Lawrence |title=The Rise and Fall of the British Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Abacus |pages=17}}</ref> but not before several attempts at colonisation failed. An attempt to establish a colony in [[British Guiana|Guiana]] in 1604 lasted only two years, and failed in its main objective to find [[gold]] deposits.<ref>{{cite book| first =Canny|last =Nicholas |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=71}}</ref> Colonies in [[St Lucia]] (1605) and [[Grenada]] (1609) also rapidly folded, but settlements were successfully established in [[St. Kitts]] (1624), [[Barbados]] (1627) and [[Nevis]] (1628). The colonies soon adopted the system of [[sugar plantation]]s successfully used by the Portuguese in [[Brazil]], which depended on [[slave labour]], and—at first—Dutch ships, to sell the [[Slavery|slaves]] and buy the sugar. To ensure that the increasingly healthy profits of this trade remained in English hands, Parliament decreed in 1651 that only English ships would be able to ply their trade in English colonies. This led to hostilities with the [[Dutch Republic|United Dutch Provinces]]—a series of [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]]—which would eventually strengthen England's position in the Americas at the expense of the Dutch. In 1655 England annexed the island of [[Jamaica]] from the Spanish, and in 1666 succeeded in colonising the [[Bahamas]].

England's first permanent overseas settlement was founded in 1607 in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], led by Captain [[John Smith of Jamestown|John Smith]] and managed by the [[London Company|Virginia Company]], an offshoot of which established a colony on [[Bermuda]], which had been discovered in 1609. The Company's charter was revoked in 1624 and direct control was assumed by the crown, thereby founding the [[Colony of Virginia]]. The [[Newfoundland Company]] was created in 1610 with the aim of creating a permanent settlement on Newfoundland, but was largely unsuccessful. In 1620, [[Plymouth Colony|Plymouth]] was founded as a haven for [[puritan]] religious separatists, later known as the [[Pilgrims]]. Fleeing from religious persecution would become the motive of many English would-be colonists to risk the arduous [[trans-Atlantic]] voyage: [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]] was founded as a haven for [[Roman Catholics]] (1634), [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]] (1636) as a colony tolerant of all religions and Connecticut (1639) for [[congregationalist]]s. The [[Province of Carolina]] was founded in 1663. In 1664, England gained control of the Dutch colony of [[New Amsterdam]] (renamed [[New York, New York|New York]]) via negotiations following the [[Anglo-Dutch Wars|Second Anglo-Dutch War]], in exchange for [[Suriname]]. In 1681, the colony of [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] was founded by [[William Penn]].

[[Image:Benjamin West 005.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'' by [[Benjamin West]]. The defeat of the French by Wolfe's forces foreshadowed British ascendancy in North America.]]
In 1695 the Scottish parliament granted a charter to the [[Company of Scotland]], which proceeded in 1698 to establish a settlement on the [[isthmus of Panama]], with a view to building a [[canal]] there. Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of [[New Granada]], and afflicted by [[malaria]], the colony was abandoned two years later. The [[Darien scheme]] was a financial disaster for Scotland as a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in the enterprise. This episode is viewed{{Fact|date=July 2008}} as a major factor in persuading the Scottish Parliament to negotiate the terms of the [[Treaty of Union]] as the new [[United Kingdom of Great Britain]] would take responsibility for some of Scotland's debts.

[[Image:Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West 1783.jpg|thumb|right|''The Treaty of Paris'', by Benjamin West (1783) depicting (from left to right) [[John Jay]], [[John Adams]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Henry Laurens]], and [[William Temple Franklin]]. The British commissioners refused to pose, so the painting was never finished.]]

The American colonies, which provided [[tobacco]], [[cotton]], and [[rice]] in the south and naval [[materiel]]<!-- This is not a misspelling. Follow the link to find out the difference between material and materiel --> and [[Fur trade|furs]] in the north, were less financially successful than those of the Caribbean, but had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far larger numbers of English emigrants who preferred their temperate climates.<ref>{{cite book| first=Ferguson |last =Niall |title=Empire |publisher=Penguin|year=2004|pages=72-73}}</ref> <!-- Insert some discussion of interaction with Native Indians here --> The [[American Revolution]] resulted in de-facto self-government by 1775 for the [[Thirteen Colonies]], who then [[United States Declaration of Independence|declared their independence]] in 1776 creating the [[United States|United States of America]]. Between 20 and 30% of the population remained loyal to the British Crown.<ref>Staff. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049178/loyalist Tory], [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]</ref><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/amrev/homefrnt/homefrnt.html Revolutionary War: The Home Front], The Library of Congress</ref> The new nation was forced to defend that declaration against Britain in the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]], with victory on the battlefield resulting in recognition of independence in the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]]. In the end, this became the first successful [[History of colonialism|colonial war of independence]].<ref>Dull, Jonathan R. (2003). "Diplomacy of the Revolution, to 1783," p. 352, chap. in ''A Companion to the American Revolution'', ed. Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole. Maiden, Mass.: Blackwell, pp. 352–361. ISBN 1405116749.</ref>

From the outset, [[slavery]] was a vital economic component of the British Empire in the Americas. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a third of all [[Atlantic slave trade|slaves transported across the Atlantic]].<ref>{{cite book| first=Ferguson |last =Niall |title=Empire |publisher=Penguin|year=2004|pages=62}}</ref> To facilitate this trade, forts were established on the coast of [[West Africa]], such as [[James Island (The Gambia)|James Island]], [[Jamestown, Ghana|Accra]] and [[Bunce Island]]. In the British [[Caribbean]], the percentage of the population comprising blacks rose from 25% in 1650 to around 80% in 1780, and in the Thirteen Colonies from 10% to 40% over the same period (the majority in the south).<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=228}}</ref> For the slave traders, the trade was extremely profitable, and became a major economic mainstay for such western British cities as [[Bristol]] and [[Liverpool]], which formed the third corner of the so-called [[triangular trade]] with Africa and the Americas. However, for the transportees, harsh and unhygienic conditions on the slaving ships and poor diets meant that the average mortality rate during the [[middle passage]] was one in seven. <!-- Needs some brief info here on conditions on plantations --> The profits of the slave trade and of [[West Indies|West Indian]] plantations amounted to 5% of the [[Economic history of Britain|British economy]] at the time of the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/con_economic.cfm Was slavery the engine of economic growth?]</ref>

===Asia===
At the end of the 16th century, [[England]] and [[the Netherlands]] began to challenge [[Portugal]]'s monopoly of trade with [[Asia]], forming private [[joint-stock]] companies to finance the voyages—the [[British East India Company|English]] (later British) and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] East India Companies, chartered in 1600 and 1602 respectively. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrative [[spice trade]], and they focused their efforts on the source, the [[Indonesian]] [[archipelago]], and an important hub in the trade network, [[India]]. The close proximity of [[London]] and [[Amsterdam]] across the [[North Sea]] and intense rivalry between [[England]] and the [[Netherlands]] inevitably led to conflict between the two companies, with the Dutch gaining the upper hand in the [[Moluccas]] (previously a Portuguese stronghold) after the withdrawal of the English in 1622, and the English enjoying more success in India, at [[Surat]], after the establishment of a factory in 1613. Though England would ultimately eclipse the Netherlands as a colonial power, in the short term the Netherlands's more advanced financial system<ref name="fergusonempirep19">{{cite book| first=Ferguson |last =Niall |title=Empire |publisher=Penguin|year=2004|pages=19}}</ref> and the three [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]] of the 17th century left it with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased after the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 when the Dutch [[William III of England|William of Orange]] ascended the English throne, bringing peace between the Netherlands and England. A deal between the two nations left the spice trade of the Indonesian archipelago to the Netherlands and the textiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability, and by 1720, in terms of sales, the English company had overtaken the Dutch.<ref name="fergusonempirep19"/> The English East India Company shifted its focus from Surat—a hub of the spice trade network—to [[Fort St George]] (later to become [[Madras]]), [[Bombay]] (ceded by the Portuguese to [[Charles II of England]] in 1661 as dowry for [[Catherine de Braganza]]) and [[Sutanuti]] (which would merge with two other villages to form [[Calcutta]]).

===Global struggles with France===
Peace between England and the Netherlands in 1688 meant that the two countries entered the [[Nine Years' War]] as allies, but the conflict—waged in [[Europe]] and overseas between France, Spain and the Anglo-Dutch alliance—left the English a stronger colonial power than the Dutch, who were forced to devote a larger proportion of their military budget on the costly land war in Europe.<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=441}}</ref> The 18th century would see England (after 1707, Britain) rise to be the world's dominant colonial power, and France becoming its main rival on the imperial stage.<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=Peoples and Empires: A Short History of European Migration, Exploration, and Conquest, from Greece to the Present |publisher=Modern Library |year=2003|pages=90}}</ref>

The death of [[Charles II of Spain]] in 1700 and his bequeathal of Spain and its colonial empire to [[Philip V of Spain|Philippe of Anjou]], a grandson of the King of France, raised the prospect of the unification of France, Spain and their respective colonies, an unacceptable state of affairs for Britain and the other powers of Europe. In 1701, Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands sided with the [[Holy Roman Empire]] against [[Spain]] and [[France]] in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. The conflict, which France and Spain were to lose, lasted until 1714. At the concluding peace [[Treaty of Utrecht]], Philip renounced his and his descendants' right to the French throne. Spain lost its empire in Europe, and though it kept its empire in the Americas and the [[Philippines]], it was irreversibly weakened as a power. The British Empire was territorially enlarged: from France, Britain gained [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and [[Acadia]], and from Spain, [[Gibraltar]] and [[Minorca]]. [[Gibraltar]], which is still a [[British overseas territory]] to this day, became a critical naval base and allowed Britain to control the Atlantic entry and exit point to the [[Mediterranean]]. Minorca was returned to Spain at the [[Treaty of Amiens]] in 1802, after changing hands twice. Spain also ceded the rights to the lucrative [[asiento]] (permission to sell slaves in Spanish America) to Britain.

The [[Seven Years' War]], which began in 1756, was the first war waged on a global scale, fought in Europe, India, North America, the Caribbean, the Philippines and coastal Africa. The signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]] had important consequences for Britain and its empire. In North America, France's future as a colonial power there was effectively ended with the ceding of [[New France]] to Britain (leaving a sizeable French-speaking population under British control) and [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] to Spain. Spain ceded [[Florida]] to Britain. In India, the [[Carnatic Wars#Third Carnatic War (1756-1763)|Carnatic War]] had left France still in control of its [[French India|enclaves]] but with military restrictions and an obligation to support British client states, effectively leaving the future of India to Britain. The British victory over France in the Seven Years' War therefore left Britain as the world's dominant colonial power.<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=Peoples and Empires: A Short History of European Migration, Exploration, and Conquest, from Greece to the Present |publisher=Modern Library |year=2003|pages=91}}</ref>

==Rise of the "Second British Empire" (1783–1815)==
===Company rule in India===
{{main|Company rule in India}}
[[Image:Clive.jpg|250px|thumb|300px|[[Robert Clive]]'s victory at the [[Battle of Plassey]] established the Company as a military as well as a commercial power]]

During its first century of operation, the focus of the East India Company had been trade, not the building of an empire in India. Indeed, the Company was no match in the region for the powerful [[Mughal Empire]],<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=93}}</ref> which had granted the Company trading rights in 1617. Company interests turned from trade to territory during the 18th century as the Mughal Empire declined in power and the British East India Company struggled with its French counterpart, the ''[[French East India Company|La Compagnie française des Indes orientales]]'', during the [[Carnatic Wars]] in southeastern India in the 1740s and 1750s. The [[Battle of Plassey]], which saw the British, led by [[Robert Clive]], defeat the French and their Indian allies, left the Company in control of [[Bengal]] and a major military and political power in India. In the following decades it gradually increased the size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or indirectly via local puppet rulers under the threat of force of the [[Indian Army]], 80% of which was composed of native Indian [[sepoys]]. The Company's conquest of India was complete by 1857.

===Loss of the Thirteen Colonies in America===
[[Image:Yorktown80.JPG|thumb|300px|''Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown'' ([[John Trumbull]], 1797). The second British army to surrender in four years to the American revolutionaries, and the last significant military attempt to restore the Thirteen Colonies. The loss of the American colonies marked the end of the "first British Empire"]]

During the 1760s and 1770s, relations between the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent,<ref>{{cite book| first=Ferguson |last =Niall |title=Empire |publisher=Penguin|year=2004|pages=73}}</ref> summarised at the time by the slogan "[[No taxation without representation]]". Disagreement over the American colonists' [[Rights of Englishmen|guaranteed Rights as Englishmen]] turned to violence and, in 1775, the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] began. The following year, the colonists [[United States Declaration of Independence|declared the independence of the United States]] and, with assistance from France, would go on to win the war in 1783.

The loss of such a large portion of [[British America]], at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession, is seen by historians as the event defining the transition between the "first" and "second" empires,<ref>{{cite book| first =Pagden|last =Anthony |title=The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=92}}</ref> in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa. [[Adam Smith]]'s ''[[Wealth of Nations]]'', published in 1776, had argued that colonies were redundant, and that [[free trade]] should replace the old [[mercantilist]] policies that had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, dating back to the protectionism of Spain and Portugal. The growth of trade between the newly independent United States and Britain after 1783<ref>{{cite book |last= James |first= Lawrence |title=The Rise and Fall of the British Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Abacus |pages=119}}</ref> confirmed Smith's view that political control was not necessary for economic success.

Events in America influenced British policy in [[Canada]], which had seen a large influx of loyalists during the Revolutionary War. The [[Constitutional Act of 1791]] created the provinces of [[Upper Canada]] (mainly English-speaking) and [[Lower Canada]] (mainly French-speaking) to defuse tensions between the two communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with the intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution.<ref>{{cite book| first =Simon|last =Smith |title=British Imperialism 1750-1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=28}}</ref> The future of [[British North America]] was briefly threatened during the [[War of 1812]] resulting in large part [[Origins of the War of 1812|from British attempts to forcibly control Atlantic trade]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and in which the United States unsuccessfully took the opportunity to extend its border northwards. This remains the only formal declaration of war between Britain and the United States.

===Australia===
Since 1718, [[penal transportation|transportation]] to the American colonies had been a penalty for various criminal offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year across the Atlantic.<ref>{{cite book| first =Simon|last =Smith |title=British Imperialism 1750-1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=20}}</ref> Forced to find an alternative location after the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government turned to the newly discovered land of [[New South Wales]], later shown to be a single land mass with [[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]], discovered in 1606 by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] but never colonized, and again later altogether renamed [[Australia]].

In 1770 [[James Cook]] had discovered the eastern coast of Australia whilst on a scientific [[First voyage of James Cook|voyage]] to the [[South Pacific]] and named it [[New South Wales]]. In 1778 [[Joseph Banks]], Cook's [[botanist]] on the voyage, presented evidence to the government on the suitability of [[Botany Bay]] for the establishment of a penal settlement, and in 1787 the first shipment of [[Convictism in Australia|convicts]] set sail, arriving in 1788. [[Matthew Flinders]] proved New Holland and [[New South Wales]] to be a single land mass by completing a circumnavigation of it in 1803. In 1826, Australia was formally claimed for the United Kingdom with the establishment of a military base, soon followed by a colony in 1829. The colonies later became [[self-governing colony|self-governing colonies]] and became profitable exporters of [[wool]] and [[gold]].

===Abolition of slavery===
Under increasing pressure from the [[abolitionist]] movement, the United Kingdom outlawed the [[slave trade]] (1807) and soon began enforcing this principle on other nations. By the mid-19th century the United Kingdom had largely eradicated the world slave trade. An [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|act]] making not just the slave trade but slavery itself illegal was passed in 1833 and became law on 1 August 1834.

===War with Napoleonic France===
[[Image:Sadler, Battle of Waterloo.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The [[Battle of Waterloo]] marked the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the beginning of the ''[[Pax Britannica]]'']]Britain was challenged again by France under [[Napoleon]], in a struggle that, unlike previous wars, represented a contest of ideologies between the two nations.<ref>{{cite book |last= James |first= Lawrence |title=The Rise and Fall of the British Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Abacus |pages=152}}</ref> It was not only Britain's position on the world stage that was threatened: Napoleon threatened to invade Britain itself, just as his armies had overrun many countries of continental Europe.
The [[Napoleonic Wars]] were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. French ports were blockaded by the [[Royal Navy]], which won a decisive victory over the French fleet at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]] in 1805. Overseas colonies were attacked and occupied, including those of the Netherlands, which was annexed by Napoleon in 1810. France was finally defeated by a coalition of European armies in 1815. Britain and its empire were again the beneficiaries of peace treaties: France ceded the [[United States of the Ionian Islands|Ionian Islands]] and [[Malta]] (which it had occupied in 1797 and 1798 respectively), [[St Lucia]] and [[Mauritius]]; Spain ceded [[Trinidad]] and [[Tobago]]; the Netherlands [[British Guiana|Guyana]] and the [[Cape Colony]]. Britain returned [[Guadeloupe]] and [[Réunion]] to France, and [[Java]] and [[Suriname]] to the Netherlands.

==The imperial century (1815–1914)==
Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians,<ref>{{cite book| first =Ronald|last =Hyam |title=Britain's Imperial Century, 1815-1914: A Study of Empire and Expansion |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2002|pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first =Simon|last =Smith |title=British Imperialism 1750-1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=71}}</ref> around 10 million square miles of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire.<ref>{{cite book|first=Parsons|last=Timothy |title=The British Imperial Century, 1815-1914: A World History Perspective |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=1999|pages=3}}</ref> Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival, other than Russia in central Asia<ref name = "fdeare">{{cite book| first =Andrew|last =Porter |title=The Nineteenth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=401}}</ref> and, unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted the role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the ''[[Pax Britannica]]''.<ref>{{cite book| first =Andrew|last =Porter |title=The Nineteenth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=323}}</ref> Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many nominally independent countries, such as in [[Latin America]], [[China]] and [[Thailand|Siam]], which has been characterised by some historians as an "informal empire".<ref>{{cite book| first =Andrew|last =Porter |title=The Nineteenth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=8}}</ref>
[[Image:Victoria Disraeli cartoon.jpg|left|framed|An 1876 political cartoon of Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) making Queen Victoria Empress of India. The caption was "New crowns for old ones!"]]

===Asia===
Until its dissolution in 1858, the East India Company was key in the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. The Company's Army had first joined forces with the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War, and the two continued to cooperate in arenas outside of India: the eviction of Napoleon from [[Egypt]] (1799), the capture of [[Java]] from the Netherlands (1811), the acquisition of [[Singapore]] (1819) and [[Malacca]] (1824) and the defeat of [[Burma]] (1826).<ref name = "fdeare"/>

From its base in India, the Company had also been engaged in an increasingly profitable [[opium]] export trade to China since the 1730s. This trade, illegal since it was outlawed by the [[Qing dynasty]] in 1729, helped reverse the trade imbalances resulting from the British imports of [[tea]], which saw large outflows of silver from Britain to China. In 1839, the seizure by the Chinese authorities at [[Guangzhou|Canton]] of 20,000 chests of opium led Britain to attack China in the [[First Opium War]], and the seizure by Britain of the island of [[Hong Kong]] (then a minor outpost) as a base. The [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] was one of the first major conflicts during [[The Great Game]], the 19th century competition for power and influence in [[Central Asia]] between Great Britain and [[Russian Empire|Russia]].

The end of the Company was precipitated by a [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|mutiny]] of [[sepoy]]s against their British commanders over the rumoured introduction of rifle cartridges lubricated with animal fat. Use of the cartridges, which required biting open before use, would have been in violation of the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims (had the fat been that of cows or pigs, respectively). However, the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] had causes that went beyond the introduction of bullets: at stake was Indian culture and religion, in the face of the steady encroachment of that by the British. The rebellion was suppressed by the British, but not before heavy loss of life on both sides. The mutiny is also an early example of the growing use of communications technology with the [[Telegraph|electronic telegraph]] critical in halting the early spread of rebellion <ref>{{cite book| first =Saul|last =David |title=The Indian Mutiny |publisher=Penguin|year=2003|pages=xxiii}}</ref> As a result of the war, the British government assumed direct control over India, ushering in the period known as the [[British Raj]]. The East India Company was dissolved the following year, in 1858.

===The Cape Colony===
The Dutch East India Company had founded the [[Cape Colony]] on the southern tip of [[Africa]] in 1652 as a way station for its ships travelling to and from its colonies in the East Indies. Britain formally acquired the colony, and its large [[Afrikaner]] (or [[Boer]]) population in 1806, having occupied it in 1795 after the Netherlands was invaded by France. British immigration began to rise after 1820, and pushed thousands of Boers, resentful of British rule, northwards to found their own &ndash; mostly short-lived and independent republics during the [[Great Trek]] of the late 1830s and early 1840s. In the process the [[Voortrekkers]] clashed repeatedly with the British, who had their own agenda with regard to colonial expansion in [[South Africa]] and with several African polities, including those of the [[Sotho]] and the [[Zulu]] nations. Eventually the Boers established two republics which had a longer lifespan: the [[South African Republic]] or Transvaal Republic (1852-1877; 1881-1902) and the [[Orange Free State]] (1854-1902).

===The Suez Canal===
In 1875, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government of [[Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield|Benjamin Disraeli]] bought the indebted [[Egypt]]ian ruler [[Ismail Pasha|Ismail]]'s 44% shareholding in the [[Suez Canal]] for £4 million to secure control of this strategic waterway, a channel for shipping between the United Kingdom and India since its opening six years earlier under Emperor [[Napoleon III]]. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882.

===Scramble for Africa===
{{main|Scramble for Africa}}
[[Image:Punch Rhodes Colossus.png|thumb|205px|right|''[[The Rhodes Colossus]]''- [[Cecil John Rhodes|Cecil Rhodes]] spanning "Cape to Cairo"]]

In 1875 the two most important European holdings in Africa were French-controlled [[Algeria]] and the United Kingdom's [[Cape Colony]]. By 1914 only [[Ethiopia]] and the republic of [[Liberia]] remained outside formal European control. The transition from an "informal empire" of control through economic dominance to direct control took the form of a "scramble" for territory by the nations of Europe. The United Kingdom tried not to play a part in this early scramble, being more of a trading empire rather than a colonial empire; however, it soon became clear it had to gain its own African empire to maintain the balance of power.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

As French, [[Belgium|Belgian]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] activity in the lower [[Congo River]] region threatened to undermine orderly penetration of tropical Africa, the [[Berlin Conference, 1884-85|Berlin Conference]] of 1884&ndash;85 sought to regulate the competition between the powers by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims, a formulation which necessitated routine recourse to armed force against indigenous states and peoples.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Wright|first=Donald R.|title=Berlin West Africa Conference|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761595821/berlin_west_africa_conference.html|encyclopedia=Encarta Online Encyclopedia|date=2007}}</ref>

The United Kingdom's 1882 military occupation of [[Egypt]] (itself triggered by concern over the [[Suez Canal]]) contributed to a preoccupation over securing control of the [[Nile]] valley, leading to the conquest of the neighbouring [[Sudan]] in 1896&ndash;98 and confrontation with a French military expedition at [[Fashoda Crisis|Fashoda]] (September 1898).

In 1902 the United Kingdom completed its military occupation of the Transvaal and Free State by concluding a treaty with the two [[Boer Republics]] following the [[Second Boer War]] 1899-1902. The four colonies of Natal, Transvaal, Free State and Cape Province later merged in 1910 to form the Union of South Africa.

British gains in southern and [[East Africa]] prompted [[Cecil Rhodes]], pioneer of British expansion from South Africa northward, to urge a "[[Cape Town|Cape]]-to-[[Cairo]]" British controlled empire linking by rail the strategically important [[Suez Canal]] to the mineral-rich South. In 1888 Rhodes with his privately owned [[British South Africa Company]] occupied and annexed territories which were called after him: [[Rhodesia]] between 1896 and 1980, when it became independent under the name [[Zimbabwe]]. Together with British High Commissioner in South Africa between 1897-1905, [[Alfred Milner]], Rhodes pressured the British government for further expansion into Africa. [[German East Africa]] would hamper Rhodes’ Cape-to-Cairo-ambition until the end of [[World War I]]. In 1903, the [[All Red Line]] telegraph system communicated with the major parts of the Empire.

Paradoxically, the United Kingdom, the staunch advocate of free trade, emerged in 1914 with not only the largest overseas empire thanks to its long-standing presence in India, but also the greatest gains in the "scramble for Africa", reflecting its advantageous position at its inception. Between 1885 and 1914 the United Kingdom took nearly 30% of Africa's population under its control, compared to 15% for France, 9% for Germany, 7% for Belgium and 1% for [[Italy]]: [[Nigeria]] alone contributed fifteen million subjects, more than in the whole of [[French West Africa]] or the entire German colonial empire.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

===Home rule in white-settler colonies===
The United Kingdom's empire had already begun its transformation into the modern [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] with the extension of [[Dominion]] status to the already [[self-governing colony|self-governing colonies]] of [[Canada]] (1867), [[Australia]] (1901), [[New Zealand]] (1907), [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] (1907), and the newly created [[Union of South Africa]] (1910). Leaders of the new states joined with British statesmen in periodic [[Imperial Conferences|Colonial (from 1907, Imperial) Conferences]], the first of which was held in [[London]] in 1887.

The foreign relations of the Dominions were still conducted through the [[Foreign Office]] of the [[United Kingdom]]: Canada created a Department of External Affairs in 1909, but diplomatic relations with other governments continued to be channelled through the Governors-General, Dominion [[High Commissioner]]s in London (first appointed by Canada in 1880 and by Australia in 1910) and British [[legation]]s abroad.

But the Dominions did enjoy a substantial freedom in their adoption of foreign policy where this did not explicitly conflict with British interests: Canada's [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal government]] negotiated [[Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty|a bilateral free-trade Reciprocity Agreement]] with the United States in 1911, but went down to defeat by the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] opposition.

In defence, the Dominions' original treatment as part of a single imperial military and naval structure proved unsustainable as the United Kingdom faced new commitments in Europe and the challenge of an emerging [[German High Seas Fleet]] after 1900. In 1909 it was decided that the Dominions should have their own navies, reversing an 1887 agreement that the then Australasian colonies should contribute to the [[Royal Navy]] in return for the permanent stationing of a squadron in the region.

==World War I (1914–1918)==
Britain's declaration of war in 1914 on Germany and its allies, [[Austria-Hungary]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]], also committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support during the war. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Germany's overseas colonies in Africa were invaded and occupied, though German forces in [[German East Africa]] remained undefeated during the war. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied [[German New Guinea]] and [[Samoa]] respectively. The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 [[Battle of Gallipoli]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]] had a great impact on the national consciousness at home, and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on [[ANZAC Day]]. Canadians viewed the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]] in a similar light.<ref>{{cite book| first =T|last =Lloyd|title=The British Empire 1558-1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|pages=227}}</ref> The [[Dominion]]s raised their own armies, but were under the British command structure, and very much integrated into the British fighting forces. Over 2.5 million men, which included Canada sending 418,000 men overseas, Australia sent 322,000, New Zealand 124,000, and other volunteers from the [[Commonwealth of Nations#Members|Crown Colonies]]. <ref>{{cite news|url= http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/British+Empire+(World+War+I)|title= WW1 Dominion Armies| publisher= Farlex encyclopedia|accessdate=|date}}</ref>
In 1917, the [[Imperial War Cabinet]] was set up, with representation from each of the Dominion Prime Ministers, to coordinate imperial policy. The First World War placed enormous financial strain on Britain and its empire with resources, cash and foreign assets being diverted for the war. In 1914 Britain had £750,000,000<ref>{{cite book|first=T|last =Lloyd|title=The British Empire 1558-1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|pages=258}}</ref> invested in the United States; by 1918 much of this had been sold in order to pay for the war effort.

==Interwar period (1918–1939)==
[[Image:BritishEmpire1921.png|right|thumb|Map showing British Empire in 1921 coloured pink]]

The aftermath of [[World War I]] saw the last major extension of British rule, with the United Kingdom gaining control through [[League of Nations Mandate]]s in [[British Mandate of Palestine|Palestine]] and [[British Mandate of Iraq|Iraq]] after the collapse of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the Middle East, as well as in the former German colonies of [[Tanganyika]], South-West Africa (now [[Namibia]]) and [[New Guinea]] (the last two actually under South African and Australian rule respectively).

The 1920s saw a rapid transformation of Dominion status. Although the Dominions had had no formal voice in declaring war in 1914, each was included separately among the signatories of the 1919 peace [[Treaty of Versailles]], which had been negotiated by a British-led united Empire delegation. In 1922 Dominion reluctance to support British military action against [[Turkey]] influenced the United Kingdom's decision to seek a compromise settlement. The League of Nations deputed former German colonies to come under the control of the United Kingdom's colonies. For example, New Zealand took over the mandate of [[Western Samoa]], Australia that of [[Rabaul]] and South Africa that of [[German South-West Africa]].

Full Dominion independence was formalised in the 1931 [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]]: each Dominion was henceforth to be equal in status to the United Kingdom itself, free of British legislative interference and autonomous in international relations. The Dominions section created within the Colonial Office in 1907 was upgraded in 1925 to a separate [[Dominions Office]] and given its own [[Secretary of State]] in 1930.

[[Canada]] led the way, becoming the first Dominion to conclude an international treaty entirely independently (1923) and obtaining the appointment (1928) of a British [[High Commissioner]] in [[Ottawa]], thereby separating the administrative and diplomatic functions of the Governor-General and ending the latter's anomalous role as the representative of the head of state and of the British Government. Canada's first permanent diplomatic mission to a foreign country opened in [[Washington, DC]], in 1927: Australia followed in 1940.

[[Egypt]], formally independent from 1922 but bound to the United Kingdom by treaty until 1936 (and under partial occupation until 1956) similarly severed all constitutional links with the United Kingdom. [[Iraq]], which became a British Protectorate in 1922, also gained complete independence ten years later in 1932.

===The Irish Free State===
[[Image:Warofindep.jpg|thumb|right||A memorial to the [[Irish War of Independence]]]]

[[Irish home rule]] was to be provided under the [[Home Rule Act 1914]], but the onset of World War I delayed its implementation indefinitely. At Easter 1916 [[Easter Rising|an unsuccessful armed uprising]] was staged in Dublin by a mixed group of nationalists and socialists. From 1919 the [[Irish Republican Army]] fought a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] to secede from the United Kingdom. This [[Anglo-Irish War]] ended in 1921 with a stalemate and the signing of the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]]. The treaty confirmed the division of Ireland into two states. Most of the island (26 counties) became independent as the [[Irish Free State]], a dominion within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]]. Meanwhile, the four counties in the north of the island with a majority Unionist community, along with two counties that had a Nationalist majority,<ref>{{cite book| first =Iain|last =McLean |title=Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001|pages=272}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first =|last =Morland and Cowling |title=Political issues for the twenty-first century |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd |year=2004|pages=270}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first =Jonathan|last =Hollowell |title=Britain Since 1945 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=2002 |pages=480}}</ref> remained a part of the United Kingdom as [[Northern Ireland]]. The Free State evolved into the [[Republic of Ireland]], which withdrew from the Commonwealth when the [[Republic of Ireland Act]] was enacted in 1949.

[[Irish constitution|Ireland's Constitution]] claimed Northern Ireland as a part of the Republic [[Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|until 1998]]. The issue of whether Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland has divided Northern Ireland's people and was a factor in a long and bloody conflict known as [[the Troubles]]. The [[Good Friday Agreement]] of 1998 brought about a ceasefire between most of the major organisations on both sides.

==Second World War (1939-1945)==
{{main|Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II}}
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}

The United Kingdom's declaration of hostilities against [[Nazi Germany]] in September 1939 included the Crown Colonies and the [[British Indian Empire]] but did not automatically commit the Dominions. All except [[Ireland]] declared a state of hostility with Germany. The [[Irish Free State]] had negotiated the removal of the [[Royal Navy]] from the [[Treaty Ports (Ireland)|Treaty Ports]] the year before, and chose to remain [[Irish neutrality|legally neutral]] throughout [[The Emergency (Ireland)|the war]]. [[Australia]] entered the war as a British ally; Prime Minister [[Robert Menzies]] viewed Britain's declaration of war as automatically including Australia. Menzies was, however, concerned about [[Churchill]]'s mis-handling of Australian forces in the Middle East.<ref> Joan Beaumont, ''Australia's war in Asia and the Pacific'', in Joan Beaumont (ed.) ''Australia's War 1939-45''(1996, Ch.2) </ref> Menzies's successor [[John Curtin]] had a 'profound disillusionment with Britain, which led him to have Australia declare war on Japan in her own right. As Beaumont further said, relations between Britain and Australia 'soured rapidly' from that point on. "Curtin's call to the USA on 27 December 1941 gave an indication that Australian governments would no longer subordinate their own national interests to British strategic perspectives.<ref> Beaumont, Ibid.</ref>

The war involved the whole of the Empire. [[Materiel]] and manpower were drawn from all parts of the world. The dominions contributed large numbers of aircrew for the war in the air over Europe, many having been trained in Canada. The [[British Eighth Army]] fighting in North Africa and in Italy was multi-national.

==Decolonisation and decline (1945–1997)==
[[Image:Jinnah Gandhi.jpg|left|thumb|[[Mohammad Ali Jinnah]] and [[Mahatma Gandhi]], two of the leaders of the [[Indian independence movement]]]]

Though the [[United Kingdom]] and its [[empire]] emerged victorious from [[World War II]], the effects of the conflict were profound, both at home and abroad. Much of [[Europe]], a continent that had dominated the world for four hundred years, was now literally in ruins, and host to the armies of the United States and the Soviet Union, to whom the balance of global power had now shifted.<ref>{{cite book| first =David|last =Abernethy |title=The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415-1980 |publisher=Yale University Press|year=2000|pages=146}}</ref> Britain itself was left virtually [[bankrupt]], with insolvency only averted in 1946 after the negotiation of a $3.5 billion loan from the United States,<ref>{{cite book| first =Roger|last =Louis |title=The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol. IV, The Twentieth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|pages=331}}</ref> the last instalment of which was repaid in 2006.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4757181.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | What's a little debt between friends?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

At the same time, anti-colonial movements were on the rise in the colonies of European nations. The situation was complicated further by the increasing [[Cold War]] rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union, both nations opposed to the European colonialism of old, though American [[anti-Communism]] prevailed over anti-imperialism, which led the US to support the continued existence of the British Empire.<ref name = "laxxmg">{{cite book| first =Roger|last =Louis |title=The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol. IV, The Twentieth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|pages=330}}</ref>

However, the "[[Wind of Change (speech)|wind of change]]" ultimately meant that the British Empire's days were numbered, and on the whole, Britain adopted a policy of peaceful disengagement from its colonies once stable, non-Communist governments were available to transfer power to, in contrast to France and Portugal,<ref>{{cite book| first =David|last =Abernethy |title=The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415-1980 |publisher=Yale University Press|year=2000|pages=148}}</ref> which waged costly and ultimately unsuccessful wars to keep their empires intact. Between 1945 and 1965 the number of people outside the United Kingdom itself under British rule fell from 700 million to 5 million, 3 million of whom were in [[Hong Kong]].<ref name = "laxxmg"/>

===The Dominions===
After the war, Australia and New Zealand joined with the United States in the [[ANZUS]] regional security treaty in 1951 (although the US repudiated its commitments to New Zealand following a 1985 dispute over port access for nuclear vessels). The United Kingdom's pursuit (from 1961) and attainment (in 1973) of [[European Community]] membership weakened the old commercial ties to the Dominions, ending their privileged access to the UK market.

In January 1947, [[Canada]] became the first Dominion to create its nationals as citizens in addition to their status as British subjects (which was retained until 1977). Canada became legally independent after the passing by the British Parliament of the [[Canada Act 1982]], effecting the [[patriation]] of the national constitution.

===End of the British Raj===
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Mountbatten 4 august 1947.jpg|thumb|right|Last [[Viceroy of India]] [[Louis Mountbatten]] in [[New Delhi]] with a countdown calendar to the ''Transfer of Power'' in the background.]] -->
The British Empire lost its most valuable colony, [[India]], when the [[British Raj]] came to an end in August 1947 after a forty-year-long campaign by the [[Indian National Congress]], led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Subhash Chandra Bose]], first for self-government and later for full sovereignty, whilst the [[Muslim League]], led by [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], lobbied successfully for the creation of a separate [[Muslim]]-state, [[Pakistan]]. The [[Partition of India]] resulted in [[Population transfer|massive population exchanges]] and widespread violence costing hundreds of thousands of lives.

===Palestine===
The United Kingdom's [[British Mandate of Palestine|Palestine]] Mandate ended in 1948. British forces withdrew as there was open warfare between the territory's [[Jew]]ish and [[Arab]] populations.

===Southeast Asia and Ceylon===
[[Burma]] achieved independence (1948) outside the Commonwealth, being the first colony since the United States to sever all ties with the British. [[Ceylon]] (1948) and [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]] (1957) achieved their independence within the Commonwealth.

[[Singapore]] became independent in two stages. The British did not believe that Singapore would be large enough to defend itself against others alone. Therefore, Singapore was joined with [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Sarawak]] and [[North Borneo]] to form [[Malaysia]] upon independence from the Empire. However, Singapore left Malaysia in 1965 and achieved complete independence, although the United Kingdom continued to offer protection through the [[Five Power Defence Arrangements]].

In 1984, the United Kingdom ended the protectorate status of [[Brunei]], although the [[British Army]] continues to maintain a presence in the sultanate at the request of the government of Brunei.

===The Suez Crisis===
{{main article|Suez Crisis}}
Britain's limitations were very publicly exposed to the world by the [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956, in which the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] opposed the British, [[France|French]] and [[Israel]]i intervention in [[Egypt]]. The British Prime Minister, [[Anthony Eden]], had infuriated his US counterpart, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], by his lack of consultation, and Eisenhower refused to back the invasion. Another of Eisenhower's concerns was the possibility of a wider war with the [[Soviet Union]] after [[Nikita Khrushchev]] threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side. Eisenhower applied financial leverage by threatening to sell US reserves of the [[British pound]] and thereby precipitate a collapse of the British currency. Though the invasion force was militarily successful in its objective of recapturing the Suez Canal, UN intervention and US pressure forced Britain into a very humiliating withdrawal of its forces. As a result, Eden resigned.

The Suez Crisis confirmed Britain's decline on the world stage, and demonstrated that henceforth it could no longer act without at least the acquiescence, if not the full support, of the United States.<ref>{{cite book| first =Roger|last =Louis |title=The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol. IV, The Twentieth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|pages=342}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first =Simon|last =Smith |title=British Imperialism 1750-1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=105}}</ref> The events at Suez wounded British national pride, leading one [[Member of Parliament|MP]] to describe it as "Britain's [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]]"<ref name = "fsojey">{{cite book| first =Roger|last =Louis |title=The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol. IV, The Twentieth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|pages=343}}</ref> and another to suggest that the country had become an "American [[Satellite state|satellite]]".<ref>{{cite book |last= James |first= Lawrence |title=The Rise and Fall of the British Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Abacus |pages=585}}</ref> [[Margaret Thatcher]] later described the mindset she believed had befallen the British political establishment as "Suez syndrome",<ref>{{cite book| first =Thatcher|last =Margaret |title=The Downing Street Years |publisher=Harper Collins|year=1993}}</ref> from which Britain did not recover until the successful recapture of the [[Falkland Islands]] from [[Argentina]] in 1982.

However, whilst The Suez Crisis caused British power in the Middle East to weaken, it did not collapse.<ref>{{cite book| first =Simon|last =Smith |title=British Imperialism 1750-1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=106}}</ref> Britain again soon deployed its armed forces to the region, intervening in [[Oman]] (1957), [[Jordan]] (1958) and [[Kuwait]] (1961), though on these occasions with American approval,<ref>{{cite book |last= James |first= Lawrence |title=The Rise and Fall of the British Empire |year=2001 |publisher=Abacus |pages=586}}</ref> as the new Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]]'s foreign policy was to remain firmly aligned with the United States.<ref name = "fsojey"/> Britain maintained a presence in the Middle East for another decade, withdrawing from [[Aden]] in 1967, and [[Bahrain]] in 1971.

===The Mediterranean===
A guerrilla war waged by [[EOKA|Greek Cypriots]] ended (1960) in an independent [[Cyprus]], although the United Kingdom did retain four military bases - [[Akrotiri]], [[Dhekelia]], [[Episkopi]] and [[Ayios Nikolaos]]. The Mediterranean islands of [[Malta]] and [[Gozo]] [[History of Malta#Attempted integration with the United Kingdom|were given]] independence from the United Kingdom in 1964.

===Africa===
The end of Britain's Empire in Africa came rapidly: [[Ghana]]'s independence (1957) after a ten-year nationalist political campaign was followed by that of [[Nigeria]] and [[Somaliland]] (1960), [[Sierra Leone]] (1961), [[Uganda]] (1962), [[Kenya]] and [[Zanzibar]] (1963), [[Tanganyika]] (1964), [[The Gambia]] (1965), [[Lesotho]] (formerly Basutoland) (1966), [[Botswana]] (formerly Bechuanaland) (1967), and [[Swaziland]] (1968).

British withdrawal from the southern and eastern parts of Africa was complicated by the region's white settler populations: Kenya had already provided an example in the [[Mau Mau Uprising]] of violent conflict exacerbated by white landownership and reluctance to concede majority rule.{{Fact|date=March 2007}} White minority rule in [[South Africa]] remained a source of bitterness within the Commonwealth until the [[Union of South Africa]] left the Commonwealth in 1961.

Although the white-dominated [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]] ended in the independence of [[Malawi]] (formerly [[Nyasaland]]) and [[Zambia]] (the former [[Northern Rhodesia]]) in 1964, [[Southern Rhodesia]]'s white minority (a [[self-governing colony]] since 1923) declared independence with their [[Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)|UDI]] rather than submit to the immediate majority rule of [[black African]]s. The support of South Africa's apartheid government, and the Portuguese rule of [[Angola]] and [[Mozambique]] helped support the Rhodesian regime until 1979, when agreement was reached on majority rule, ending the [[Rhodesian Bush War]] and creating the new nation of [[Zimbabwe]]. As a result of the [[Lancaster House Agreement]], the British Empire briefly expanded, as [[Lord Soames]] became interim governor in December of 1979. In February, the empire returned to size as [[Robert Mugabe]] won the first premiership of newly independent [[Zimbabwe]].

===The West Indies / Caribbean===
Most of the United Kingdom's [[Caribbean|West Indies]] territories opted for eventual separate independence after the failure of the [[West Indies Federation]] (1958&ndash;62): [[Jamaica]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]] (1962) were followed into statehood by [[Barbados]] (1966) and the smaller islands of the eastern Caribbean (1970s and 1980s), [[Antigua and Barbuda]] being the last in November 1981.

[[Guyana]] achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970.

The United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland, [[British Honduras]], became a self-governing colony in 1964 and was renamed [[Belize]] on 1 June 1973, achieving full independence in 1981.
[[Image:The empire strikes back newsweek.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Newsweek magazine, 19 April 1982]]

Some nations in the West Indies decided to revert to British rule after they had already started on the path to independence. The island of [[Anguilla]] was a part of the island grouping, [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]], which in 1967 was granted full internal autonomy by the United Kingdom. Anguillans challenged the move and sought to separate from the group. In 1971 the change was granted by the United Kingdom and [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] gained independence in 1973. In the 1970s the [[Turks and Caicos Islands]] were another group of islands placed on the path to independence. Following elections, a change in the local administration brought a change of policy and the Turks and Caicos have remained an overseas territory.

===Rockall===
As decolonisation and the [[Cold War]] were gathering momentum during the 1950s, an uninhabited rock in the Atlantic Ocean, [[Rockall]], became the last territorial acquisition of the United Kingdom. Concerns that the [[Soviet Union]] might use the island to spy on a British missile test<ref>Macdonald, Fraser (2006) ''Journal of Historical Geography 32 (2006) 627-647'' {{PDFlink|[http://web.archive.org/web/20060823180440/http://www.sages.unimelb.edu.au/staff/pdf/Rockall.pdf]|396&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 406296 bytes -->}}</ref> prompted the landing of a [[Royal Navy]] party to officially claim the rock in the name of the Queen in 1955. In 1972 the [[Island of Rockall Act 1972|Island of Rockall Act]] formally incorporated the island into the United Kingdom.

===The Falklands War===
In 1982, the United Kingdom's resolve to defend its remaining overseas territories was tested when [[Argentina]] invaded the [[Falkland Islands]], acting on a long-standing claim that dated back to the [[Spanish Empire]]. The United Kingdom's ultimately successful military response to retake the islands during the ensuing [[Falklands War]] prompted headlines in the American press that "the Empire strikes back", and was viewed by many to have contributed to reversing the downward trend in the UK's status as a [[Great power|world power]].<ref>Lawrence James, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire (Abacus, 1994), p629</ref>

===Handover of Hong Kong===
In 1997, [[Hong Kong]] became a [[Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)|Special Administrative Region]] of the [[People's Republic of China]], per the 1984 [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]]. For many, including [[Charles, Prince of Wales]] who was in attendance at the [[Hong Kong handover ceremony|ceremony]], the handover of Britain's last major and by far most populous overseas territory marked "the end of Empire".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4740684.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Charles' diary lays thoughts bare<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_07.shtml BBC - History - Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Image:Location of the BOTs.png|thumb|450px|The remaining overseas territories]]

The United Kingdom retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside of the British Isles,<ref>[http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1013618138295 UK Overseas Territories&nbsp;Foreign and Commonwealth Office], retrieved [[2007-09-05]]</ref> collectively named the [[British overseas territories]], which remain under British rule because of lack of support for independence among the local population or because the territory is uninhabited except for transient military or scientific personnel. British sovereignty of several of the overseas territories is disputed by their geographical neighbours: [[Gibraltar]] is claimed by [[Spain]], the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]] are claimed by [[Argentina]], and the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] is claimed by [[Mauritius]] and [[Seychelles]].<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/io.html#Issues British Indian Ocean Territory]. [[The World Factbook]]. CIA.</ref> The [[British Antarctic Territory]] is subject to overlapping claims by Argentina and [[Chile]], whilst many nations do not recognise any territorial claims to Antarctica.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ay.html#Issues Antarctica]. [[The World Factbook]]. CIA.</ref>

Most former British colonies (and former Portuguese colony Mozambique<ref>[http://www.thecommonwealth.org/FAQs/20706/faqs/#skipTo33535 Commonwealth Secretariat - FAQs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>) are members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, in which the United Kingdom has no privileged status. The head of the Commonwealth is currently [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]. Fifteen members of the Commonwealth continue to share their head of state with the United Kingdom, as [[Commonwealth realms]].

Many former British colonies share or shared certain characteristics:

*The [[English language]] as either the main or secondary language.
*A [[Democracy|democratic]] [[parliamentary system]] of government modelled on the [[Westminster system]].
*A [[legal system]] based upon [[English law]]. The [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]], one of the United Kingdom's highest courts of appeal, still serves as the highest court of appeal for several former colonies.
*A [[military]], [[police]] and [[civil service]] based upon British models.
*The English and later the [[Imperial units|imperial systems]] of measurement. The [[United States]], which uses the older [[United States customary units|English system]], [[Cyprus]] and [[Burma]] are the only former British colonies not to have officially adopted the [[metric system]]. However, the imperial system is still very much used in many "officially metric" countries, such as Canada, Belize, Sierra Leone, and Ireland.
*Educational institutions such as [[boarding school]]s and universities modelled on [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]].
*The [[Anglican Communion]].
*Driving on the [[Driving on the left or right|left-hand side of the road]], with some exceptions mainly in North America and North Africa.
*Popularity of [[cricket]] and/or [[Rugby football|rugby]].

Several ongoing conflicts and disputes around the world can trace their origins to borders inherited by countries from the British Empire: the [[Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory|Guatemalan claim to Belize]], the [[Kashmir conflict]], the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]], and within Africa where political boundaries did not reflect homogeneous ethnicities or religions. The British Empire was also responsible for large migrations of peoples. Millions left the British Isles, with the founding settler populations of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand coming mainly from Britain and Ireland. Tensions remain between the mainly British-descended populations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the indigenous minorities in those countries, and between settler minorities and indigenous majorities in South Africa and Zimbabwe. British settlement of Ireland continues to leave its mark in the form of divided Catholic and Protestant communities. Millions of people also moved between British colonies, for example from India to the Caribbean and Africa, creating the conditions for the [[expulsion of Indians in Uganda in 1972]]. The makeup of Britain itself was changed after the Second World War with [[immigration to the United Kingdom]] from the colonies to which it was granting independence.<ref>{{cite book| first =Dalziel|last =Nigel |title=The Penguin Historical Atlas of the British Empire|publisher=Penguin|year=2006|pages=135}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of EN standards]]
{{portalpar|British Empire|British Empire 1897.jpg}}
* [[ETSI]]
{{wikisourcecat}}
* [[CENELEC]]
{{commonscat}}
* [[Ecma International]]
{{Wikisource1911Enc|British Empire}}
* [[Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements]]
{|
* [[International Organization for Standardization]]
|valign=top|
* [[All Red Line]]
* [[American Revolutionary War]]
* [[Atlantic Slave Trade]]
* [[British colonisation of the Americas]]
* [[British East India Company]]
* [[British Emperor]]
* [[British Empire and Commonwealth Museum]]
* [[British Personal Unions]]
* [[British Raj]]
* [[Commonwealth Day]]
* [[Commonwealth of Nations]]
* [[Commonwealth Realm]]
* [[Convictism in Australia]]
* [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]]
* [[Decolonisation]]
* [[Economic history of Britain]]
* [[European colonisation of the Americas]]
* [[Evolution of the British Empire]]
* [[Global empire]]
* [[Government Houses of the British Empire]]
* [[Great Irish Famine]]
* [[History of South Asia]]
|width=20px|
|valign=top|
* [[History of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Imperialism in Asia]]
* [[Industrial Revolution]]
* [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]]
* [[Napoleonic Wars]]
* [[Naval history]]
* [[Penal Laws (Ireland)]]
* [[Protestant work ethic]]
* [[Rockall]]
* [[Scottish colonisation of the Americas]]
* [[Size of Empires]]
* [[Slave Trade Act 1807]]
* [[Triangular trade]]
* [[Welsh settlement in the Americas]]
* [[The British Empire in Fiction]]
* [[The British Imperial Lifeline]]
* [[Tudor re-conquest of Ireland]]
* [[List of English wars|Wars involving England]]
* [[White Rajahs]]
* [[Western culture]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[World War II]]
|}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|3}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.britishempire.co.uk Extensive information on the British Empire]
* [http://www.cen.eu CEN homepage]
* [http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/standards_policy/index_en.htm European Union standards policy homepage]
* [http://www.hostkingdom.net/earthrul.html Sizes of various empires and quasi-empires]
* [http://en.w3j.com EN Standards] The list of all EN (CEN) published standards. (Not complete)
* [http://www.direct.gov.uk/Gtgl1/GuideToGovernment/InternationalBodies/InternationalBodiesArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4003092&chk=JXlogH The Commonwealth] - UK government site
* [http://www.citra.duq.edu/prod_standards.htm Duquesne University Citra, distributor of EN standards]

{{Colonialism}}
{{Territories of the British Empire}}
{{Empires}}

[[Category:British Empire| ]]
[[Category:History of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Imperialism]]


[[Category:Standards organizations]]
{{Link FA|de}}
[[Category:EN standards|*]]


[[da:European Committee for Standardization]]
[[af:Britse Ryk]]
[[de:Europäisches Komitee für Normung]]
[[ang:Bryttisc Rīce]]
[[de:Europäische Norm]]
[[ar:إمبراطورية بريطانية]]
[[es:Comité Europeo de Normalización]]
[[an:Imperio britanico]]
[[bs:Britansko carstvo]]
[[eo:CEN]]
[[fr:Comité européen de normalisation]]
[[bg:Британска империя]]
[[it:Comitato Europeo di Normazione]]
[[ca:Imperi britànic]]
[[hu:Európai Szabványügyi Bizottság]]
[[cs:Britské impérium]]
[[ja:欧州標準化委員会]]
[[cy:Yr Ymerodraeth Brydeinig]]
[[da:Britiske Imperium]]
[[nl:CEN]]
[[no:CEN]]
[[de:Britisches Weltreich]]
[[pl:Europejski Komitet Normalizacyjny]]
[[es:Imperio Británico]]
[[eo:Brita imperio]]
[[pt:CEN]]
[[fi:CEN]]
[[eu:Britainiar Inperioa]]
[[sv:European Committee for Standardization]]
[[fr:Empire britannique]]
[[fy:Britske Ryk]]
[[tr:CEN]]
[[ko:대영 제국]]
[[hi:ब्रिटिश साम्राज्य]]
[[hr:Britansko Carstvo]]
[[id:Imperium Britania]]
[[os:Бритайнаг импери]]
[[is:Breska heimsveldið]]
[[it:Impero britannico]]
[[he:האימפריה הבריטית]]
[[kn:ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷ್ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ]]
[[ka:ბრიტანეთის იმპერია]]
[[la:Imperium Britannicum]]
[[lv:Lielbritānijas impērija]]
[[lt:Britų imperija]]
[[hu:Brit Birodalom]]
[[mk:Британска империја]]
[[mt:Imperu Brittanniku]]
[[nl:Britse Rijk]]
[[ja:イギリス帝国]]
[[no:Det britiske imperiet]]
[[nn:Det britiske imperiet]]
[[oc:Empèri britanic]]
[[pl:Imperium brytyjskie]]
[[pt:Império Britânico]]
[[ro:Imperiul Britanic]]
[[ru:Британская империя]]
[[sq:Perandoria Britanike]]
[[simple:British Empire]]
[[sk:Britské impérium]]
[[sl:Britanski imperij]]
[[sr:Британска империја]]
[[sh:Britanski Imperij]]
[[fi:Brittiläinen imperiumi]]
[[sv:Brittiska imperiet]]
[[ta:பிரித்தானியப் பேரரசு]]
[[th:จักรวรรดิอังกฤษ]]
[[vi:Đế quốc Anh]]
[[tr:Britanya İmparatorluğu]]
[[uk:Британська імперія]]
[[ur:سلطنت برطانیہ]]
[[yi:בריטישע אימפעריע]]
[[bat-smg:Brėtu imperėjė]]
[[zh:大英帝国]]

Revision as of 19:05, 13 October 2008

Members, affiliates, and partner standardisation bodies of the ECS.

The European Committee for Standardization or Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN), is a private non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and distribution of coherent sets of standards and specifications.

CEN was founded in 1961. Its thirty national members work together to develop European Standards (ENs) in various sectors to build a European internal market for goods and services and to position Europe in the global economy. Some of these standards are voluntary, whereas other standards such as harmonized standards have been made effectively mandatory under EU law.

More than 60.000 technical experts as well as business federations, consumer and other societal interest organisations are involved in the CEN network that reaches over 460 million people. CEN is the officially recognized standardisation representative for sectors other than electrotechnical (CENELEC) and telecommunications (ETSI).

The standardisation bodies of the thirty national members represent the twenty seven member states of the European Union, three countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and countries who are likely to join the EU or EFTA in the future. CEN is contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area with technical standards (EN standards) which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement. An example of mandatory standards are those for materials and products used in construction and listed under the Construction Products Directive. The CE mark is a declaration by the manufacturer that a product complies with the respective EU directive and hence the harmonized standard(s) referenced by the directive(s).

CEN (together with CENELEC) owns the Keymark, a voluntary quality mark for products and services. A product bearing the Keymark demonstrates conformity to European Standards.

The current CEN Members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The current affiliates are Albania, Croatia, the FYROM and Turkey.

The current partner standardisation bodies are Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia and Ukraine.

See also

External links

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