Imperium Britannicum/Imperial Commonwealth
| His Majesty's Imperial Commonwealth of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Realms and Territories beyond the Seas | |
|---|---|
| Empire | |
.svg) Flag | |
| Anthem: God Save the King | |
| Capital | London |
| Government | Union of constitutional and semi-constitutional monarchies subject to the United Kingdom |
• George VII | King |
• Prime Minister | Vacant |
His Majesty's Imperial Commonwealth of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Realms and Territories beyond the Seas, commonly known as the British Empire or the Imperial Commonwealth, is a globe-spanning empire comprised of a series of imperial subjects with varying levels of autonomy and self-governance all subject to the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth is centered in the British capital, London.
During the Age of Discovery, Portugal and Spain led European exploration of the globe and established large overseas empires. England, becoming Britain after 1707, followed suit and, after a series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France, became the dominant power in North America and then in India after the East India Company's conquest of Mughal Bengal in 1757. British colonisation of Africa, Asia and Oceania during the 19th century expanded the empire and most of the world was subjugated through the British absorption of the European great powers.
Until the 19th century, the British Empire lacked uniformity and standardization in legislation, relying on a patchwork of disconnected laws and royal charters. However, a transformative shift occurred between 1863 and 1901 through a series of legislation known as the Commonwealth Acts. These acts brought about a fundamental change by establishing various standardized forms of imperial and self-governance. Within this framework, dominions were afforded the highest levels of self-governance, with the entirety of the empire divided and classified into imperial subjects of the United Kingdom. The Imperial Commonwealth itself was established as a union of the subjects with the Commonwealth Constitution Act of 1883.
The Commonwealth is by far the largest empire to have ever existed. It is considered a superpower due to its foremost military and economic power and is widely considered to have no external threat capable of inflicting great damage.
