133-736: The territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, many territories around the world have been under the control of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England , the latter country's colonial possessions passed to
266-568: A League of Nations mandate ) and the Soviet Union on 18 September 1934, but the Empire of Japan and Germany (under Hitler) withdrew in 1933. This marked the League's largest extent at 58 member states. In December 1920, Argentina quit (being absent from all sessions and votes) without formally withdrawing, on rejection of an Argentine resolution that all sovereign states would be admitted to
399-567: A charter for the colonization of an area of North America which was to be called, in her honour, Virginia . This charter specified that Raleigh had seven years in which to establish a settlement, or else lose his right to do so. Raleigh and Elizabeth intended that the venture should provide riches from the New World and a base from which to send privateers on raids against the treasure fleets of Spain . Raleigh himself never visited North America, although he led expeditions in 1595 and 1617 to
532-471: A "permanent league of neutral nations" to work for peace and disarmament. Within months, a call was made for an international women's conference to be held in The Hague . Coordinated by Mia Boissevain , Aletta Jacobs and Rosa Manus , the congress, which opened on 28 April 1915 was attended by 1,136 participants from neutral nations, and resulted in the establishment of an organisation which would become
665-578: A League with the reservation that only Congress could take the U.S. into war. Lodge gained a majority of Senators and Wilson refused to allow a compromise. The Senate voted on the ratification on 19 March 1920, and the 49–35 vote fell short of the needed 2/3 majority . The League held its first council meeting in Paris on 16 January 1920, six days after the Versailles Treaty and the Covenant of
798-644: A body. In the midst of the War, Wilson refused. In 1915, a body similar to the Bryce Group was set up in the United States, led by former president William Howard Taft . It was called the League to Enforce Peace . It advocated the use of arbitration in conflict resolution and the imposition of sanctions on aggressive countries. None of these early organisations envisioned a continuously functioning body; with
931-581: A colony in North America. However, the expedition was abandoned before the Atlantic had been crossed. In 1583, Gilbert sailed to Newfoundland , where in a formal ceremony he took possession of the harbour of St John's together with all land within two hundred leagues to the north and south of it, although he left no settlers behind him. He did not survive the return journey to England. On 25 March 1584, Queen Elizabeth I granted Sir Walter Raleigh
1064-421: A condition of durable peace, "behind international law, and behind all treaty arrangements for preventing or limiting hostilities, some form of international sanction should be devised which would give pause to the hardiest aggressor." The war had had a profound impact, affecting the social, political and economic systems of Europe and inflicting psychological and physical damage. Several empires collapsed: first
1197-585: A downturn in overseas trade which had created financial problems for the Exchequer , King James instructed his Privy Council to establish an ad hoc committee of inquiry to look into the causes of the decline. This was called The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations . Intended to be a temporary creation,
1330-535: A generation before the Plantation of Ulster and occurring a little bit after the plantation of Munster. Soon there was an explosion of English colonial activity, driven by men seeking new land, by the pursuit of trade, and by the search for religious freedom. In the 17th century, the destination of most English people making a new life overseas was in the West Indies rather than in North America. Financed by
1463-407: A good choice for the nations of the world. Support for Geneva as the selection came from Swiss Federal Councillor Gustave Ador and economist William Rappard. The Palais Wilson on Geneva's western lakeshore, named after Woodrow Wilson, was the League's first permanent home. The covenant had ambiguities, as Carole Fink points out. There was not a good fit between Wilson's "revolutionary conception of
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#17327656439321596-578: A new sovereign state called Great Britain , provided for the subjects of the new state to "have full freedom and intercourse of trade and navigation to and from any port or place within the said united kingdom and the Dominions and Plantations thereunto belonging". While the Treaty of Union also provided for the winding up of the Scottish African and Indian Company , it made no such provision for
1729-399: A pressure group within the then-governing Liberal Party . In Dickinson's 1915 pamphlet After the War he wrote of his "League of Peace" as being essentially an organisation for arbitration and conciliation. He felt that the secret diplomacy of the early twentieth century had brought about war, and thus, could write that, "the impossibility of war, I believe, would be increased in proportion as
1862-579: A series of English fortresses on the Indian coast was initiated with Fort St George . In 1661, the marriage of King Charles II to Catherine of Braganza brought him as part of her dowry new possessions which until then had been Portuguese , including Tangier in North Africa and Bombay in India. In North America, Newfoundland and Virginia were the first centres of English colonisation. During
1995-589: A similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the colonial lower house. They held a consultative position, however, and did not serve in administrative offices as cabinet ministers do. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the lower house but were usually members of the upper house. Later as the white colonies gained more internal responsible government ,
2128-492: A third voyage, in 1578, he reached the shores of Greenland and also made an unsuccessful attempt at founding a settlement in Frobisher Bay. While on the coast of Greenland, he also claimed that for England. At the same time, between 1577 and 1580, Sir Francis Drake was circumnavigating the globe . He claimed Elizabeth Island off Cape Horn for his queen, and on 24 August 1578 claimed another Elizabeth Island, in
2261-756: A voyage to find a route from the Atlantic to the Spice Islands of Asia , subsequently known as the search for the North West Passage . Cabot sailed in 1497, successfully making landfall on the coast of Newfoundland . There, he believed he had reached Asia and made no attempt to found a permanent colony . He led another voyage to the Americas the following year, but nothing was heard of him or his ships again. The Reformation had made enemies of England and Spain, and in 1562 Elizabeth sanctioned
2394-797: A year in September. The special functions of the Assembly included the admission of new members, the periodical election of non-permanent members to the council, the election with the Council of the judges of the Permanent Court, and control of the budget. In practice, the Assembly was the general directing force of League activities. The Council acted as a type of executive body directing the Assembly's business. It began with four permanent members – Great Britain , France , Italy , and Japan – and four non-permanent members that were elected by
2527-424: Is an association formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonization. Chartered companies were usually formed, incorporated and legitimized under a royal charter . This document set out the terms under which the company could trade, defined its boundaries of influence, and described its rights and responsibilities. Groups of investors formed companies to underwrite and profit from
2660-770: The Kingdom of England before 1707. (In 1707 the Acts of Union made England part of the Kingdom of Great Britain . See British Empire .) The first English overseas settlements were established in Ireland , followed by others in North America , Bermuda , and the West Indies , and by trading posts called " factories " in the East Indies , such as Bantam , and in the Indian subcontinent , beginning with Surat . In 1639,
2793-747: The 1939 New York World's Fair , a semi-official flag and emblem for the League of Nations emerged: two five-pointed stars within a blue pentagon. They symbolised the Earth's five continents and "five races ". A bow at the top displayed the English name ("League of Nations"), while another at the bottom showed the French (" Société des Nations "). The League consisted of 42 founding members in November 1920. Six other states joined in its founding year (by December 1920), and seven more joined by September 1924, bringing
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#17327656439322926-645: The Americas in the Atlantic slave trade . A protectorate is a territory which is not formally annexed but in which, by treaty, grant or other lawful means, the Crown has power and jurisdiction. A protectorate differs from a "protected state". A protected state is a territory under a foreign ruler which enjoys British protection, over whose foreign affairs she exercises control, but in respect of whose internal affairs she does not exercise jurisdiction. Dominions were semi-independent polities that were nominally under
3059-752: The Angevin Empire , England formed part of a collection of lands in the British Isles and France held by the Plantagenet dynasty. The collapse of this dynasty led to the Hundred Years' War between England and France . At the outset of the war the Kings of England ruled almost all of France, but by the end of it in 1453 only the Pale of Calais remained to them. Calais was eventually lost to
3192-587: The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , a condominium with Egypt. No uniform system of government was applied to any of these. Several countries ( dominions ) within the British Empire gained independence in stages during the earlier part of the 20th century. Much of the rest of the empire was dismantled in the twenty years following the end of the Second World War , starting with the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, and continued until
3325-581: The Axis powers in the 1930s. Its credibility was weakened because the United States never joined. Japan and Germany left in 1933, Italy left in 1937, and Spain left in 1939. The Soviet Union only joined in 1934 and was expelled in 1939 after invading Finland . Furthermore, the League demonstrated an irresolute approach to sanction enforcement for fear it might only spark further conflict, further decreasing its credibility. One example of this hesitancy
3458-464: The East Indies , at Bantam on the island of Java , and others, beginning with Surat , on the coasts of what are now India and Bangladesh . Most of the new English colonies established in North America and the West Indies , whether successfully or otherwise, were proprietary colonies with Proprietors , appointed to found and govern settlements under Royal charters granted to individuals or to joint stock companies . Early examples of these are
3591-651: The First World War . The main organisation ceased operations on 18 April 1946 when many of its components were relocated into the new United Nations . As the template for modern global governance, the League profoundly shaped the modern world. The League's primary goals were stated in its eponymous Covenant . They included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration . Its other concerns included labour conditions, just treatment of native inhabitants, human and drug trafficking ,
3724-570: The Fourteen Points of January 1918), as well as the work of the Phillimore Commission. The outcome of House's work and Wilson's own first draft proposed the termination of "unethical" state behaviour, including forms of espionage and dishonesty. Methods of compulsion against recalcitrant states would include severe measures, such as "blockading and closing the frontiers of that power to commerce or intercourse with any part of
3857-570: The League of Nations for the benefit of their inhabitants. Most converted to United Nations Trust Territories in 1946. The Indian Empire was the imperial political structure in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, comprising British India (a Crown colony: presidencies and provinces directly governed by the British Crown through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India ) and Princely States , governed by Indian princes, under
3990-680: The Legislative council , which members were appointed and served a similar purpose as the British House of Lords . There also existed lower houses which were usually named the Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly . The lower house was usually elected, but suffrage was restricted to free white men only, usually with property ownership restrictions. Since land ownership was widespread, most white men could vote. The governor also often had an Executive Council which had
4123-640: The Muscovy Company , Martin Frobisher set sail on 7 June 1576, from Blackwall, London , seeking the North West Passage . In August 1576, he landed at Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island and this was marked by the first Church of England service recorded on North American soil. Frobisher returned to Frobisher Bay in 1577, taking possession of the south side of it in Queen Elizabeth's name. In
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4256-724: The Orinoco River basin in South America in search of the golden city of El Dorado . Instead, he sent others to found the Roanoke Colony , later known as the "Lost Colony". On 31 December 1600, Elizabeth gave a charter to the East India Company , under the name "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies". The Company soon established its first trading post in
4389-672: The Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza brought him the ports of Tangier in Africa and Bombay in India as part of her dowry. Tangier proved very expensive to hold and was abandoned in 1684. After the Dutch surrender of Fort Amsterdam to English control in 1664, England took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland , including New Amsterdam . Formalized in 1667, this contributed to
4522-509: The Rockefeller Foundation . It made major grants designed to build up the technical expertise of the League staff. Ludovic Tournès argues that by the 1930s the foundations had changed the League from a "Parliament of Nations" to a modern think tank that used specialised expertise to provide an in-depth impartial analysis of international issues. The official languages of the League of Nations were French and English. During
4655-723: The Russian Empire in February 1917, followed by the German Empire , Austro-Hungarian Empire and Ottoman Empire . Anti-war sentiment rose across the world; the First World War was described as " the war to end all wars ", and its possible causes were vigorously investigated. The causes identified included arms races, alliances, militaristic nationalism, secret diplomacy, and the freedom of sovereign states to enter into war for their own benefit. One proposed remedy
4788-599: The Second Anglo–Dutch War . In 1664, New Netherland was renamed the Province of New York . At the same time, the English also came to control the former New Sweden , in the present-day U.S. state of Delaware , which had also been a Dutch possession and later became part of Pennsylvania . In 1673, the Dutch regained New Netherland, but they gave it up again under the Treaty of Westminster of 1674. In 1621, following
4921-549: The Straits of Magellan . In 1579, he landed on the north coast of California , claiming the area for Elizabeth as " New Albion ". However, these claims were not followed up by settlements. In 1578, while Drake was away on his circumnavigation, Queen Elizabeth granted a patent for overseas exploration to his half-brother Humphrey Gilbert , and that year Gilbert sailed for the West Indies to engage in piracy and to establish
5054-474: The Treaty of Versailles , signed on 28 June 1919. French women's rights advocates invited international feminists to participate in a parallel conference to the Paris Conference in hopes that they could gain permission to participate in the official conference. The Inter-Allied Women's Conference asked to be allowed to submit suggestions to the peace negotiations and commissions and were granted
5187-638: The United Kingdom throughout its history, the most in the world, ahead of the French colonial empire , which 40 countries gained independence from France. The British Empire refers to the possessions, dominions, and dependencies under the control of the Crown . In addition to the areas formally under the sovereignty of the British monarch, various "foreign" territories were controlled as protectorates; territories transferred to British administration under
5320-494: The United Nations (UN) replaced it in 1946 and inherited several agencies and organisations founded by the League. Current scholarly consensus views that, even though the League failed to achieve its main goal of world peace , it did manage to build new roads towards expanding the rule of law across the globe; strengthened the concept of collective security , gave a voice to smaller nations; fostered economic stabilisation and financial stability , especially in Central Europe in
5453-464: The Virginia Company , which created the first successful English overseas settlements at Jamestown in 1607 and Bermuda , unofficially in 1609 and officially in 1612, its spin-off , the Somers Isles Company , to which Bermuda (also known as the Somers Isles) was transferred in 1615, and the Newfoundland Company which settled Cuper's Cove near St John's, Newfoundland in 1610. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts Bay, each incorporated during
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5586-498: The West Indies were the destination of more than two-thirds of English emigrants to the New World. By 1650, there were 44,000 English people in the Caribbean, compared to 12,000 on the Chesapeake and 23,000 in New England . The most substantial English settlement in that period was at Barbados . In 1660, King Charles II established the Royal African Company , essentially a trading company dealing in slaves , led by his brother James, Duke of York . In 1661, Charles's marriage to
5719-468: The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). At the close of the conference, two delegations of women were dispatched to meet European heads of state over the next several months. They secured agreement from reluctant foreign ministers, who overall felt that such a body would be ineffective, but agreed to participate in or not impede creation of a neutral mediating body, if other nations agreed and if President Woodrow Wilson would initiate
5852-417: The Zürich Peace Conference held between 17 and 19 May 1919, the women of the WILPF condemned the terms of the Treaty of Versailles for both its punitive measures, as well as its failure to provide for condemnation of violence and exclusion of women from civil and political participation. Upon reading the Rules of Procedure for the League of Nations, Catherine Marshall , a British suffragist, discovered that
5985-418: The plantations of Ireland . These plantations included King's County, now County Offaly , and Queen's County, now County Laois , in 1556. A joint-stock plantation was established in the late 1560s at Kerrycurrihy near Cork city , on land leased from the Earl of Desmond . In the early 17th century the Plantation of Ulster began, and thousands of Scottish and Northern English colonists were settled in
6118-446: The privateers Hawkins and Drake to attack Spanish ships off the coast of West Africa . Later, as the Anglo-Spanish Wars intensified, Elizabeth approved further raids against Spanish ports in the Americas and against shipping returning to Europe with treasure from the New World . Meanwhile, the influential writers Richard Hakluyt and John Dee were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own overseas empire. Spain
6251-405: The suzerainty of the British Crown exercised through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India . Within twenty years of the partition and independence in 1947 of India (considered to be the most important colonial possession), most of the Empire's territories had achieved full independence. Today 14 former colonies (since 2002 known as British Overseas Territories ) remain under British rule;
6384-459: The 15 Commonwealth realms ) retain the British monarch (currently Charles III ) as head of state. The British monarch is also Head of the Commonwealth, but this is a purely symbolic and personal title; members of the Commonwealth (including the Commonwealth realms) are fully sovereign states. From the 16th to the 20th centuries, the British Empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1920 to over 35,500,000 km (13,700,000 sq mi),
6517-430: The 17th century, Maine , Plymouth , New Hampshire , Salem , Massachusetts Bay , Nova Scotia , Connecticut , New Haven , Maryland , and Rhode Island and Providence were settled. In 1664, New Netherland and New Sweden were taken from the Dutch, becoming New York , New Jersey , and parts of Delaware and Pennsylvania . The Kingdom of England is generally dated from the rule of Æthelstan from 927. During
6650-468: The 1920s; helped to raise awareness of problems like epidemics , slavery , child labour , colonial tyranny, refugee crises and general working conditions through its numerous commissions and committees; and paved the way for new forms of statehood, as the mandate system put the colonial powers under international observation. Professor David Kennedy portrays the League as a unique moment when international affairs were "institutionalised", as opposed to
6783-399: The Assembly for a three-year term. The first non-permanent members were Belgium , Brazil , Greece , and Spain . The composition of the Council was changed several times. The number of non-permanent members was first increased to six on 22 September 1922 and to nine on 8 September 1926. Werner Dankwort of Germany pushed for his country to join the League; joining in 1926, Germany became
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#17327656439326916-488: The Atlantic Ocean) (Islands in the Indian Ocean) This is a listing of the more important treaties , Acts of Parliament , and other legal instruments and events affecting the nature and territorial extent of the British Empire. Additionally, there were more concessions were planned but never completed. English overseas possessions The English overseas possessions comprised a variety of overseas territories that were colonised, conquered, or otherwise acquired by
7049-474: The British Dominions 1918–1931, stated that "the Dominions are sovereign international States in the sense that the King in respect of each of His Dominions (Newfoundland excepted) is such a State in the eyes of international law". After then, those countries that were previously referred to as "Dominions" became Commonwealth realms where the sovereign reigns no longer as the British monarch, but as monarch of each nation in its own right, and are considered equal to
7182-445: The British Empire varied enormously. In legal terms the territories included those formally under the sovereignty of the British monarch (who held the additional title of Emperor/Empress of India from 1876 to 1947); various "foreign" territories controlled as protectorates; territories transferred to British administration under the authority of the League of Nations or the United Nations ; and miscellaneous other territories, such as
7315-432: The British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations." The Statute of Westminster 1931 converted this status into legal reality, making them essentially independent members of what was then called the British Commonwealth. Initially,
7448-423: The British Overseas Territories are islands (or groups of islands) with a small population; some are in very remote areas of the world. Of the territories with a permanent population, all have at least some degree of internal self-government, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and external relations. The fourteen British Overseas Territories are: (Territories south of 60° S) (Islands in
7581-428: The Council of the League took place on 16 January 1920, and the first meeting of the Assembly of the League took place on 15 November 1920. In 1919, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as the leading architect of the League. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and depended on
7714-400: The Council take action aiming at the international organisation of intellectual work, which it did by adopting a report presented by the Fifth Committee of the Second Assembly and inviting a committee on intellectual co-operation to meet in Geneva in August 1922. The French philosopher Henri Bergson became the first chairman of the committee. The work of the committee included: an inquiry into
7847-418: The Crown , constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth , beginning in the later part of the 19th century. The dominions had been previously Crown colonies, and some of the colonies had been united to form dominions such as Union of South Africa and Commonwealth of Australia . The Balfour Declaration of 1926 clarified the status of the dominions, recognizing them as "autonomous Communities within
7980-505: The Dominions conducted their own trade policy, some limited foreign relations, and had autonomous armed forces , although the British government claimed and exercised the exclusive power to declare wars. However, after the passage of the Statute of Westminster , the language of dependency on the Crown of the United Kingdom ceased, and the Crown itself was no longer referred to as the Crown of any place in particular but simply as "the Crown". Arthur Berriedale Keith , in Speeches and Documents on
8113-426: The English companies or colonies. In effect, with the Union they became British colonies . League of Nations The League of Nations ( LN or LoN ; French : Société des Nations [sɔsjete de nɑsjɔ̃] , SdN ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace . It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ended
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#17327656439328246-408: The French in 1558. The Channel Islands , as the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy , retain their link to the Crown to the present day. The first English overseas expansion occurred as early as 1169, when the Norman invasion of Ireland began to establish English possessions in Ireland , with thousands of English and Welsh settlers arriving in Ireland. As a result of this the Lordship of Ireland
8379-542: The IPU by 1914. Its foundational aims were to encourage governments to solve international disputes by peaceful means. Annual conferences were established to help governments refine the process of international arbitration. Its structure was designed as a council headed by a president, which would later be reflected in the structure of the League. At the start of the First World War, the first schemes for an international organisation to prevent future wars began to gain considerable public support, particularly in Great Britain and
8512-460: The League accused Italian soldiers of targeting International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement medical tents, Benito Mussolini responded that "the League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out." At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members. After some notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by
8645-400: The League as a solid replacement for a corrupt alliance system, a guardian of international order, and protector of small states," versus Lloyd George's desire for a "cheap, self-enforcing, peace, such as had been maintained by the old and more fluid Concert of Europe." Furthermore, the League, according to Carole Fink, was, "deliberately excluded from such great-power prerogatives as freedom of
8778-426: The League of Nations came into force. On 1 November 1920, the headquarters of the League was moved from London to Geneva , where the first General Assembly was held on 15 November 1920. Geneva made sense as an ideal city for the League, since Switzerland had been a neutral country for centuries and was already the headquarters for the International Red Cross. Its strong democracy and location in central Europe made it
8911-542: The League of Nations, Afghanistan abolished slavery in 1923, Iraq in 1924, Nepal in 1926, Transjordan and Persia in 1929, Bahrain in 1937, and Ethiopia in 1942. Led by Fridtjof Nansen , the Commission for Refugees was established on 27 June 1921 to look after the interests of refugees, including overseeing their repatriation and, when necessary, resettlement. At the end of the First World War, there were two to three million ex-prisoners of war from various nations dispersed throughout Russia; within two years of
9044-408: The League of Nations, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), was formed by the peace activists William Randal Cremer and Frédéric Passy in 1889 (and still exists as an international body focused on the world's various elected legislative bodies). The IPU was founded with an international scope, with a third of the members of parliaments (in the 24 countries that had parliaments) serving as members of
9177-409: The League on the grounds that "Ethiopia had not reached a state of civilisation and internal security sufficient to warrant her admission." The League also succeeded in reducing the death rate of workers constructing the Tanganyika railway from 55 to 4 per cent. Records were kept to control slavery, prostitution, and the trafficking of women and children . Partly as a result of pressure brought by
9310-481: The League's size to 55. Costa Rica withdrew in December 1924, making it the member to have most quickly withdrawn, and Brazil became the first founding member to withdraw in June 1926. Germany (under the Weimar Republic ) was admitted to the League of Nations through a resolution passed on 8 September 1926. The League's size remained at 54 for the next five years. Through the first half of the 1930s, six more states joined, including Iraq in 1932 (newly independent from
9443-413: The League. It resumed its participation in September 1933. The League's membership declined through the second half of the 1930s as it weakened. Between 1935 and the start of World War II in Europe in September 1939, only Egypt joined (becoming the last state to join), 11 members left, and 3 members ceased to exist or fell under military occupation (Ethiopia, Austria, and Czechoslovakia). The Soviet Union
9576-586: The League. The British were particularly active in setting up junior branches for secondary students. The League of Nations was relatively more universal and inclusive in its membership and structure than previous international organisations, but the organisation enshrined racial hierarchy by curtailing the right to self-determination and prevented decolonisation. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Wilson, Cecil and Smuts all put forward their draft proposals. After lengthy negotiations between
9709-471: The League: representation had been accorded not only to governments but also to representatives of employers' and workers' organisations. Albert Thomas was its first director. The ILO successfully restricted the addition of lead to paint, and convinced several countries to adopt an eight-hour work day and forty-eight-hour working week. It also campaigned to end child labour, increase the rights of women in
9842-574: The Paris-based Office international d'hygiène publique (OIHP) founded in 1907 after the International Sanitary Conferences , was discharging most of the practical health-related questions, and its relations with the League's Health Committee were often conflictual. The Health Committee's purpose was to conduct inquiries, oversee the operation of the League's health work, and prepare work to be presented to
9975-860: The Permanent Court of International Justice and several other agencies and commissions created to deal with pressing international problems. These included the Disarmament Commission, the International Labour Organization (ILO) , the Mandates Commission, the International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation (precursor to UNESCO ), the Permanent Central Opium Board , the Commission for Refugees,
10108-568: The Secretariat was responsible for preparing the agenda for the Council and the Assembly and publishing reports of the meetings and other routine matters, effectively acting as the League's civil service. In 1931 the staff numbered 707. The Assembly consisted of representatives of all members of the League, with each state allowed up to three representatives and one vote. It met in Geneva and, after its initial sessions in 1920, it convened once
10241-1051: The Slavery Commission, and the Economic and Financial Organization . Three of these institutions were transferred to the United Nations after the Second World War: the International Labour Organization, the Permanent Court of International Justice (as the International Court of Justice ), and the Health Organisation (restructured as the World Health Organization ). The Permanent Court of International Justice
10374-493: The United Kingdom and one another. Mandates were forms of territory created after the end of the First World War . A number of German colonies and protectorates and Ottoman provinces were held as mandates by the United Kingdom ( Tanganyika , British Cameroons , Togoland , Palestine and Mesopotamia ); and its dominions of Australia ( New Guinea , Nauru ), New Zealand ( Western Samoa ), and South Africa ( South West Africa ). These territories were governed on behalf of
10507-403: The United Kingdom itself. Generally, their law was the common law of England together with whatever British Acts of Parliament were also applied to them. Over time, a number of colonies were granted " responsible government ", making them largely self-governing. A Crown colony: a type of colonial administration of the English and later the British Empire, whose legislature and administration
10640-451: The United Kingdom. From 1714 to 1837, the British throne was held by a series of kings who were also the rulers of the German state of Hanover . However, this was purely a personal union, with Hanover maintaining its political independence otherwise, and so it is not usually considered to have formed part of the British Empire. The nature of the territories (and peoples) ruled as part of
10773-471: The United States. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson , a British political scientist, coined the term "League of Nations" in 1914 and drafted a scheme for its organisation. Together with Lord Bryce , he played a leading role in the founding of the group of internationalist pacifists known as the Bryce Group , later the League of Nations Union . The group became steadily more influential among the public and as
10906-489: The arms trade, global health, prisoners of war, and protection of minorities in Europe. The Covenant of the League of Nations was signed on 28 June 1919 as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles , and it became effective with the rest of the Treaty on 10 January 1920. Australia was granted the right to participate as an autonomous member nation, marking the start of Australian independence on the global stage. The first meeting of
11039-569: The authority of the League of Nations or the United Nations ; and miscellaneous other territories, such as the condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . The natures of the administration of the Empire changed both by time and place, and there was no uniform system of government in the Empire. Colonies were territories that were intended to be places of permanent settlement, providing land for their settlers. The Crown claimed absolute sovereignty over them, although they were not formally part of
11172-567: The commission's foundation, it had helped 425,000 of them return home. It established camps in Turkey in 1922 to aid the country with an ongoing refugee crisis, helping to prevent the spread of cholera , smallpox and dysentery as well as feeding the refugees in the camps. It also established the Nansen passport as a means of identification for stateless people . The Committee for the Study of
11305-569: The commission's results were later incorporated into the Covenant of the League of Nations . The French authorities also drafted a much more far-reaching proposal in June 1918; they advocated annual meetings of a council to settle all disputes, as well as an "international army" to enforce its decisions. American President Woodrow Wilson instructed Edward M. House to draft a US plan which reflected Wilson's own idealistic views (first articulated in
11438-451: The committee, later called a 'Council', became the origin of the Board of Trade which has had an almost continuous existence since 1621. The Committee quickly took a hand in promoting the more profitable enterprises of the English possessions, and in particular the production of tobacco and sugar . The Treaty of Union of 1706, which with effect from 1707 combined England and Scotland into
11571-516: The conditions of intellectual life, assistance to countries where intellectual life was endangered, creation of national committees for intellectual cooperation, cooperation with international intellectual organisations, protection of intellectual property, inter-university co-operation, co-ordination of bibliographical work and international interchange of publications, and international co-operation in archaeological research. The Slavery Commission sought to eradicate slavery and slave trading across
11704-492: The council or the Assembly. The Court was open to all the nations of the world under certain broad conditions. The International Labour Organization was created in 1919 on the basis of Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles. The ILO, although having the same members as the League and being subject to the budget control of the Assembly, was an autonomous organisation with its own Governing Body, its own General Conference and its own Secretariat. Its constitution differed from that of
11837-436: The council. This body focused on ending leprosy , malaria , and yellow fever , the latter two by starting an international campaign to exterminate mosquitoes. The Health Organisation also worked successfully with the government of the Soviet Union to prevent typhus epidemics, including organising a large education campaign. Linked with health, but also commercial concerns, was the topic of narcotics control. Introduced by
11970-601: The course of the diplomatic efforts surrounding World War I , both sides had to clarify their long-term war aims. By 1916 in Britain, fighting on the side of the Allies , and in the neutral United States, long-range thinkers had begun to design a unified international organisation to prevent future wars. Historian Peter Yearwood argues that when the new coalition government of David Lloyd George took power in December 1916, there
12103-494: The creation of a mandate system for captured colonies of the Central Powers during the war. Cecil focused on the administrative side and proposed annual council meetings and quadrennial meetings for the Assembly of all members. He also argued for a large and permanent secretariat to carry out the League's administrative duties. According to historian Patricia Clavin, Cecil and the British continued their leadership of
12236-473: The delegates, the Hurst – Miller draft was finally produced as a basis for the Covenant . After more negotiation and compromise, the delegates finally approved of the proposal to create the League of Nations ( French : Société des Nations , German : Völkerbund ) on 25 January 1919. The final Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted by a special commission, and the League was established by Part I of
12369-478: The development of a rules-based global order into the 1920s and 1930s, with a primary focus on the League of Nations. The British goal was to systematise and normalise the economic and social relations between states, markets, and civil society. They gave priority to business and banking issues, but also considered the needs of ordinary women, children and the family as well. They moved beyond high-level intellectual discussions, and set up local organisations to support
12502-461: The early 1600s, were charter colonies , as was Virginia for a time. They were established through land patents issued by the Crown for specified tracts of land. In a few instances the charter specified that the colony's territory extended westward to the Pacific Ocean . The charter of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay and Virginia each contained this "sea to sea" provision. Bermuda , today
12635-526: The exception of the Fabian Society in England, they maintained a legalistic approach that would limit the international body to a court of justice. The Fabians were the first to argue for a "council" of states, necessarily the Great Powers , who would adjudicate world affairs, and for the creation of a permanent secretariat to enhance international co-operation across a range of activities. In
12768-938: The exploration of Africa, India, Asia, the Caribbean and North America, under the patronage of the state. Some companies like the East India Company (the most famous), the Hudson's Bay Company , and the Royal African Company ruled large colonial possessions (especially in India), but the Hudson's Bay Company took control of the Hudson Bay drainage basin in Canada as Rupert's Land , and the Royal African Company started to ship slaves from West Africa to
12901-431: The fifth permanent member of the Council. Later, after Germany and Japan both left the League, the number of non-permanent seats was increased from nine to eleven, and the Soviet Union was made a permanent member giving the council a total of fifteen members. The Council met, on average, five times a year and in extraordinary sessions when required. In total, 107 sessions were held between 1920 and 1939. The League oversaw
13034-441: The first Geneva Conventions establishing laws dealing with humanitarian relief during wartime, and the international Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 governing rules of war and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Theodore Roosevelt at the acceptance for his Nobel Prize in 1910, said: "it would be a masterstroke if those great powers honestly bent on peace would form a League of Peace." One small forerunner of
13167-400: The guidelines were completely undemocratic and they were modified based on her suggestion. The League would be made up of a Assembly (representing all member states), a Council (with membership limited to major powers), and a permanent Secretariat. Member states were expected to "respect and preserve as against external aggression" the territorial integrity of other members and to disarm "to
13300-604: The handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997 . There remain, however, fourteen territories around the world known as the British Overseas Territories which remain under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. Many of the former territories of the British Empire are members of the Commonwealth of Nations . Fourteen of these (known, with the United Kingdom, as
13433-596: The hope that each state would declare itself a free state that respects its citizens and welcomes foreign visitors as fellow rational beings, thus promoting peaceful society worldwide. International co-operation to promote collective security originated in the Concert of Europe that developed after the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century in an attempt to maintain the status quo between European states and so avoid war. By 1910, international law developed, with
13566-526: The issues of foreign policy should be known to and controlled by public opinion." The 'Proposals' of the Bryce Group were circulated widely, both in England and the US, where they had a profound influence on the nascent international movement. In January 1915, a peace conference directed by Jane Addams was held in the neutral United States. The delegates adopted a platform calling for creation of international bodies with administrative and legislative powers to develop
13699-430: The largest empire in the world. In terms of population, on the eve of World War II, Britain and her colonial possessions totaled 500 million inhabitants. The British Empire had an enormous impact on world history. The United Kingdom had about 120 colonies throughout its history , the most colonies in the world, the French colonial empire came second, which had about 80 colonies. Around 54 countries gained independence from
13832-456: The lower house began to supersede the (usually unelected) upper house as the colonial legislature, and the position of Premier emerged. Charter colony is one of the three classes of colonial government established in the 17th-century English colonies in North America . In a charter colony, the King granted a royal charter to the colonial government establishing the rules under which the colony
13965-602: The lowest point consistent with domestic safety." All states were required to submit complaints for arbitration or judicial inquiry before going to war. The Council would create a Permanent Court of International Justice to make judgements on the disputes. Despite Wilson's efforts to establish and promote the League, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1919, the United States never joined. Senate Republicans led by Henry Cabot Lodge wanted
14098-533: The new state. Similarly, when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to form the United Kingdom , control over its colonial possessions passed to the latter state. Collectively, these territories are referred to as the British Empire . When much of Ireland gained independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State , the other territories of the empire remained under the control of
14231-561: The oldest-remaining British Overseas Territory , was settled and claimed by England as a result of the shipwreck there in 1609 of the Virginia Company's flagship Sea Venture . The town of St George's , founded in Bermuda in 1612, remains the oldest continuously-inhabited English settlement in the New World. Some historians state that with its formation predating the conversion of "James Fort" into "Jamestown" in 1619, St George's
14364-413: The pre-First World War methods of law and politics. The concept of a peaceful community of nations had been proposed as early as 1795, when Immanuel Kant 's Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch outlined the idea of a league of nations to control conflict and promote peace between states. Kant argued for the establishment of a peaceful world community, not in a sense of a global government, but in
14497-510: The province of Ulster . English control of Ireland fluctuated for centuries until Ireland was incorporated into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The voyages of Christopher Columbus began in 1492, and he sighted land in the West Indies on 12 October that year. In 1496, excited by the successes in overseas exploration of the Portuguese and the Spanish , King Henry VII of England commissioned John Cabot to lead
14630-509: The right to sit on commissions dealing specifically with women and children. Though they asked for enfranchisement and full legal protection under the law equal with men, those rights were ignored. Women won the right to serve in all capacities, including as staff or delegates in the League of Nations organisation. They also won a declaration that member nations should prevent trafficking of women and children and should equally support humane conditions for children, women and men labourers. At
14763-760: The rule of the House of Knýtlinga , from 1013 to 1014 and 1016 to 1042, England was part of a personal union that included domains in Scandinavia . In 1066, William the Conqueror , Duke of Normandy , conquered England , making the Duchy a Crown land of the English throne. Through the remainder of the Middle Ages the kings of England held extensive territories in France , based on their history in this Duchy. Under
14896-548: The seas and naval disarmament, the Monroe Doctrine and the internal affairs of the French and British empires, and inter-Allied debts and German reparations, not to mention the Allied intervention and the settlement of borders with Soviet Russia." Although the United States never joined, unofficial observers became more and more involved, especially in the 1930s. American philanthropies became heavily involved, especially
15029-545: The seat of the League at Geneva, comprised a body of experts in various spheres under the direction of the general secretary . Its principal sections were Political, Financial and Economics, Transit, Minorities and Administration (administering the Saar and Danzig ), Mandates, Disarmament, Health, Social (Opium and Traffic in Women and Children), Intellectual Cooperation and International Bureaux, Legal, and Information. The staff of
15162-494: The second International Opium Convention , the Permanent Central Opium Board had to supervise the statistical reports on trade in opium , morphine, cocaine and heroin. The board also established a system of import certificates and export authorisations for the legal international trade in narcotics . The League of Nations had devoted serious attention to the question of international intellectual cooperation since its creation. The First Assembly in December 1920 recommended that
15295-586: The term "colonies" is no longer officially used to describe these, although some parts of UK legislation still refer to the term "colony" (see for instance the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s.255(2), which explicitly reads that "Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that this Part shall extend (...) to (a) any of the Channel Islands, (b) the Isle of Man, or (c) any colony"). Almost all of
15428-533: The victorious Allied Powers of World War I (Britain, France, Italy and Japan were the initial permanent members of the Council) to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, or provide an army when needed. The Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they were reluctant to comply with them. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , when
15561-672: The workplace, and make shipowners liable for accidents involving seamen. After the demise of the League, the ILO became an agency of the United Nations in 1946. The League's Health Organisation had three bodies: the Health Bureau, containing permanent officials of the League; the General Advisory Council or Conference, an executive section consisting of medical experts; and the Health Committee. In practice,
15694-463: The world and to use any force that may be necessary..." The two principal drafters and architects of the covenant of the League of Nations were the British politician Lord Robert Cecil and the South African statesman Jan Smuts . Smuts's proposals included the creation of a council of the great powers as permanent members and a non-permanent selection of the minor states. He also proposed
15827-406: The world, and fought forced prostitution. Its main success was through pressing the governments who administered mandated countries to end slavery in those countries. The League secured a commitment from Ethiopia to end slavery as a condition of membership in 1923, and worked with Liberia to abolish forced labour and intertribal slavery. The United Kingdom had not supported Ethiopian membership of
15960-475: Was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World . Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, roles in the shaping of the English and British trans-Atlantic empires. These include roles in maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies, and the projection of naval power via the colony's privateers , among others. Between 1640 and 1660,
16093-409: Was allocated by the Assembly (the League was supported financially by its member states). The relations between the assembly and the council and the competencies of each were for the most part not explicitly defined. Each body could deal with any matter within the sphere of competence of the league or affecting peace in the world. Particular questions or tasks might be referred to either. Unanimity
16226-513: Was claimed for centuries by the English monarch; however, English control mostly was resigned to an area of Ireland known as The Pale , most of Ireland, large swaths of Munster , Ulster and Connaught remained independent of English rule until the Tudor and Stuart period. It was not until the 16th century that the Tudor monarchs of England began to "plant" Protestant settlers in Ireland as part of
16359-543: Was controlled by the Crown. Crown colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch. By the middle of the 19th century, the sovereign appointed royal governors on the advice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies . This became the main method of creating and governing colonies. Most Crown colonies, especially the white settler colonies had a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house usually called
16492-583: Was established in the late 1560s, at Kerrycurrihy near Cork city Several people who helped establish colonies in Ireland also later played a part in the early colonisation of North America, particularly a group known as the West Country men . The first English colonies overseas in America was made in the last quarter of the 16th century, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth . The 1580s saw the first attempt at permanent English settlements in North America ,
16625-517: Was expelled on 14 December 1939 for invading Finland , as one of the last acts of the League before it ceased functioning. The main constitutional organs of the League were the Assembly, the council, and the Permanent Secretariat. It also had two essential wings: the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Labour Organization . In addition, there were several auxiliary agencies and bodies. Each organ's budget
16758-483: Was led by Walter Phillimore (and became known as the Phillimore Committee), but also included Eyre Crowe , William Tyrrell , and Cecil Hurst . The recommendations of the so-called Phillimore Commission included the establishment of a "Conference of Allied States" that would arbitrate disputes and impose sanctions on offending states. The proposals were approved by the British government, and much of
16891-407: Was provided for by the Covenant, but not established by it. The Council and the Assembly established its constitution. Its judges were elected by the Council and the Assembly, and its budget was provided by the latter. The Court was to hear and decide any international dispute which the parties concerned submitted to it. It might also give an advisory opinion on any dispute or question referred to it by
17024-469: Was required for the decisions of both the assembly and the council, except in matters of procedure and some other specific cases such as the admission of new members. This requirement was a reflection of the league's belief in the sovereignty of its component nations; the league sought a solution by consent, not by dictation. In case of a dispute, the consent of the parties to the dispute was not required for unanimity. The Permanent Secretariat, established at
17157-488: Was the Abyssinia Crisis , in which Italy's sanctions were only limited from the outset (coal and oil were not restricted), and later altogether abandoned despite Italy being declared the aggressors in the conflict. The onset of the Second World War in 1939 showed that the League had failed its primary purpose: to prevent another world war. It was largely inactive until its abolition. The League lasted for 26 years;
17290-432: Was the creation of an international organisation whose aim was to prevent future war through disarmament, open diplomacy, international co-operation, restrictions on the right to wage war, and penalties that made war unattractive. In London Balfour commissioned the first official report into the matter in early 1918, under the initiative of Lord Robert Cecil . The British committee was finally appointed in February 1918. It
17423-542: Was to be governed and charter colonies elected their own governors based on rules spelled out in the charter or other colonial legislation. A number of colonies in the 16th and 17th centuries were granted to a particular individual; these were known as proprietary colonies. Proprietary colonies in America were governed by a Lord Proprietor , who, holding authority by virtue of a royal charter, usually exercised that authority almost as an independent sovereign. Eventually these were converted to Crown colonies. A chartered company
17556-550: Was well established in the Americas, while Portugal had built up a network of trading posts and fortresses on the coasts of Africa, Brazil , and China , and the French had already begun to settle the Saint Lawrence River , which later became New France . The first English overseas colonies started in 1556 with the plantations of Ireland after the Tudor conquest of Ireland . One such overseas joint stock colony
17689-486: Was widespread discussion among intellectuals and diplomats of the desirability of establishing such an organisation. When Lloyd George was challenged by Wilson to state his position with an eye on the postwar situation, he endorsed such an organisation. Wilson himself included in his Fourteen Points in January 1918 a "league of nations to ensure peace and justice." British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour , argued that, as
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