British Empire: Origins, Expansion, and Legacy

📋 Course Outline

1. Origins of the British Empire
2. North American Colonies and Seven Years War
3. Slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade
4. Scramble for Africa
5. Australia and Aboriginal Colonization
6. Ireland under British Rule
7. India and the Raj
8. Violence in the British Empire
9. White Supremacy and Civilizing Mission
10. Promoting the Empire
11. Imperial Legacy and the Commonwealth

📖 1. Origins of the British Empire

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Cultural imperialism: Cultural imperialism is the imposition of elements of a dominant community’s culture onto a nondominant community.
• Imperialism: Imperialism is devotion to imperial interests, with the term used in a derogatory sense in the course framing.
• Expansionism: Expansionism is the policy or practice of expanding, especially through territorial control.
• First English/British Empire: The First English/British Empire is the phase of early English expansion in which some territories in North America and the West Indies were colonised up to the end of the Seven Years War.

📝 Essential Points