THE BRITISH EMPIREThe British Empire was the largest empire in history and was for a time the leading world power. It was a product of the European Age of Discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, which sparked the era of European colonial empires. In 1921, the British Empire dominated a population of approximately 458 million people, about a quarter of the world's population. It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.2 million square miles), or about a quarter of the Earth's total area. As a result, its legacy is widespread, in legal and governmental systems, in economic, military, educational, sporting practice and in the global spread of the English language. At the height of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its expanse across the globe ensured that the sun always shone on at least one of its many colonies or subject nations. Decades after World War II, most of the Empire's territories became independent. Many later joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. This amazing empire was never destroyed in the same way as the Roman Empire: instead, it dissolved peacefully, by mutual consent, and the British, in addition to creating the largest empire in the world, also had the privilege of being the only empire builders not to be destroyed. in their distant empire itself.ORIGINS UNDER ELIZABETH IThe first steps taken by the British to establish an empire took place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Elizabeth was a far-sighted ruler who financially supported voyages of exploration, mainly through her favorite, Sir Francis Drake, who in 1580 became the first...... middle of paper ......OLD TERRITORY MIDDLE EAST OTTOMANThe outcome of the First World War in 1919 saw the British Empire at its peak: the Treaty of Versailles gave Britain most of the German Empire in Africa, while the Collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East led to the British acquisition of Palestine and Iraq in 1918. DISSOLUTION OF THE EMPIRE AFTER WORLD WAR II The British Empire did not finally begin to dissolve until after the First World War, with the process accelerating considerably in the aftermath of World War II. The main reason for the empire's dissolution was economic and political rather than racial: after the Second World War, Britain was simply too poor to continue clinging to an empire created in the previous century, and it was easier to grant independence to the country. distant colonies, especially when some of them became violent.