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Causes of the British Empire (The Industrial Revolution (The British…
Causes of the British Empire
Technology
In the eighteenth century, sailors could measure latitude but not longitude. Ships did not know exactly where they were and bumped into land they thought was miles away
From the 1730s , sea travel became better as better steel was more available and reliable sea clocks were made to aid navigation
The Industrial Revolution
The British economy grey well from 1688, there was more trade during the Industrial Revolution so Britain became wealthier
The wealthiest people normally win in wars so it was easy for them to defeat other countries
The Navy
The British Navy was probably the most powerful navy on earth.
Better tactics were made
The navy captured naval bases around the world (such as Gibraltar) where they could restock and refit
The Navy developed the 'frigate' , a smaller ship with at least 28 guns used to protect British traders.
The Slave Trade
The slave trade was a crime against humanity, but it generated large amounts of wealth for ports such as Liverpool from which the slave traders sailed - this wealth helped grow the British economy.
It provided workers with which the British developed their empire in the West Indies and North America
Navigation Acts
The government passed the first of the Navigation Acts in 1651 , which stated that trade with British colonies could only be carried in British ships.
This meant that all the profits of Britain's overseas trade flowed into the British economy, and this have the money and the incentive to traders to go out and establish more colonies and trading ships
Trade
The government did not conquer the overseas empire. It instead gave 'charters' to trading companies such as the east india trading company.
These companies established trading posts , factories forts and colonies - and fought and defeated rival colonies
France's Wars
In the seventeenth century , France and Holland had large overseas empires.
However , in the eighteenth century, France and Holland were distracted by wars so Britain had a chance to expand overseas.