BirthME, Doulas

You could not be signed in, please check and try again.You could not be signed in, please check and try again. British military and naval power, under the leadership of such men as Robert Clive, James Wolfe, and Eyre Coote, gained for Britain two of the most important parts of its empire—Canada and India. The British Empire comprised of Britain, the 'mother country', and the colonies, countries ruled to some degree by and from Britain. In 1496 King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, commissioned John Cabot to lead a voyage to discover a route to Asia via the North Atlantic. PRINTED FROM OXFORD REFERENCE (www.oxfordreference.com). Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use (for details see Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland on behalf of England's queen ElizabethRoanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, is settled by the first English colonists in America – with disastrous resultsA new group of English settlers arrives at Roanoke Island and makes a second attempt at a settlementVirginia Dare becomes the first English child to be born in America, on Roanoke IslandAn English ship, the first to arrive at Roanoke Island since 1587, finds no remaining trace of the settlers or their settlementBritain's East India Company is established when Elizabeth I grants a charter to a 'Company of Merchants trading into the East Indies'Colonists establish the first lasting British settlement in the new world, at JamestownJohn Smith claims (many years later) that when captured by Indians he was saved from execution by Pocahontas, daughter of the chiefHenry Hudson reaches the inlet of New York Bay and explores the river now known by his nameCastaways from an English vessel reach Bermuda, which becomes the first British island in the new worldHenry Hudson, after wintering in Hudson Bay, is set adrift in an open boat by his mutinous crewThe British East India establishes a 'factory' (a secure warehouse for the storing of Indian goods) at Surat, on the west coastThe American Indian princess Pocahontas is taken hostage by Jamestown colonists in the first Anglo-Powhatan warPocahontas is baptized a Christian and marries John Rolfe, one of the Jamestown colonistsThe Pilgrims (or Pilgrim Fathers), a group of 102 English settlers, sail in the Ten days after their first landfall, at Cape Cod, the adult males on the William Bradford begins a journal of the Pilgrims' experience in New England, subsequently published (in 1856) as A sudden attack by Powhatan Indians, led by their chieftain Opechancanough against the English colony at Jamestown, results in the death of more than 300 settlersA British colony is founded in Barbados and within fifteen years has 18,000 settlersRival Dutch, English and French colonies are established in Guiana, the northeast coast of south AmericaJohn Winthrop, appointed governor of the new Massachusetts Bay Company, sails from England with 700 settlersJohn Winthrop selects the site of Boston for the first Massachusetts settlementJohn Winthrop, arriving in Massachusetts, begins the journal that is eventually published as Maryland is granted to Lord Baltimore as a haven for English Roman CatholicsWilliamsburg, first known as Middle Plantation, is founded in VirginiaRhode Island is founded by Roger Williams as a colony based on the principle of religious toleranceWar between English colonists and Pequot Indians brings disaster to the Pequots but safeguards the settlement of ConnecticutThe British East India Company completes the construction of Fort St George in MadrasParliament in England passes the first of several Navigation Acts designed to reserve international trade for English shipsThe British, settling in Jamaica, soon turn the island into the major slave market of the West IndiesThe British establish Fort James on an island in the Gambia riverPeter Stuyvesant accepts the reality of the military situation and yields New Amsterdam to the British without a shot being firedNew Amsterdam is renamed New York by the recently established English regimeEngland's East India Company is granted a lease on Bombay by Charles II, who has received it from his Portuguese brideA sudden uprising by the Wampanoag Indians against the new England settlements begins the conflict known as King Philip's WarCharles II grants William Penn the charter for the region that becomes Pennsylvania, in settlement of a debt to Penn's fatherWilliam Penn approves the Great Law, allowing complete freedom of religious belief in PennsylvaniaWilliam Penn achieves peace for Pennsylvania by negotiating a treaty with the local Lenape (or Delaware) tribesMennonites and other from Germany (later known as the Pennsylvania Dutch) begin to settle in Penn's liberal colonyJohn Strong, landing on some remote Atlantic islands, names them after Viscount Falkland, treasurer of the British navyFort St William is built by the East India Company in the Ganges delta, and subsequently develops into CalcuttaHolland and England are now producing the magnificent ocean-going merchant vessels known as East IndiamenGeorgia is granted to a group of British philanthropists, to give a new start in life to debtorsRobert Clive prevails over the French after holding out during the seven-week siege of Arcot in southern IndiaGeorge Washington kills ten French troops at Fort Duquesne, in the first violent clash of the French and Indian warThe British colonies negotiate with the Iroquois at the Albany Congress, in the face of the French threat in the Ohio valleyA British force under Edward Braddock lands in America to provide support against the French in the Ohio valleyThe army led by Edward Braddock and George Washington is ambushed at Fort Duquesne and Braddock is killed122 people die after being locked overnight in a small room in Calcutta, in an incident that becomes known as the Black Hole of CalcuttaRobert Clive defeats the nawab of Bengal at the battle of Plassey, and places his own man on the throneWilliam Pitt the Elder becomes secretary of state and transforms the British war effort against France in AmericaBritish general James Wolfe sails up the St Lawrence river with 15,000 men to besiege QuebecWolfe defeats Montcalm and captures Quebec, but both commanders die in the engagementIn the treaty of Paris France cedes to Britain all its territory north of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi river, except the district of New OrleansIn the treaty of Paris, Spain cedes Florida to Britain, completing British possession of the entire east coast of north AmericaA French expedition from St Malo, founding a colony on East Falkland, name the islands Britain passes the Sugar Act, levying duty on sugar, wine and textiles imported into AmericaBritain passes the Stamp Act, taxing legal documents and newspapers in the American coloniesThe British Chancellor, Charles Townshend, passes a series of acts taxing all glass, lead, paint, paper and tea imported into the American coloniesCaptain James Cook sails from Plymouth, in England, heading for Tahiti to observe the transit of VenusCaptain Cook reaches New Zealand and sets off to chart its entire coastlineCaptain Cook reaches the mainland of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay, and continues up the eastern coastThe Spanish, now in sole occupation of the Falkland Islands, call them British explorer Captain James Cook is killed in a skirmish with natives in Hawaii over a stolen boatJoseph Banks tells a committee of the House of Commons that the east coast of Australia is suitable for the transportation of convicted felonsThe First Fleet (eleven ships carrying about 750 convicts) leaves Portsmouth for AustraliaAfter a journey of eight months from England the First Fleet reaches Australia, anchoring in Botany BayArthur Phillip, selecting a suitable coastal site for the first penal colony in Australia, names the place Sydney CoveA second fleet arrives in Sydney, bringing more convicts and a regiment, the New South Wales Corps, to keep orderNaval officer George Vancouver sails from Britain on the voyage which will bring him to the northwest coast of AmericaMungo Park sets off on his first expedition to explore the Niger on behalf of the African AssociationWith the Dutch entering the war on the side of the French, Britain seizes their valuable Cape colony in South AfricaBritish explorer George Bass sails round Tasmania in an open whaleboat, discovering the strait which now bears his nameThe British acquire a foothold in the Persian Gulf by making Oman a protectorateTipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, is killed fighting the British at SeringapatamThe Treaty of Amiens restores the Cape of Good Hope to the NetherlandsThe city of Hobart is founded on the southern coast of TasmaniaThe British recapture the Cape of Good Hope from the DutchThe British impose the so-called Hottentot Code, protecting Africans at the Cape but also tying them to employers' farmsRanjit Singh, maharaja of the Punjab, agrees an eastern boundary between himself and the British in the Treaty of AmritsarThe congress of Vienna leaves the Cape of Good Hope in British handsThe newly independent republic of Argentina takes possession of The first big influx of British settlers, numbering some 5000, arrives at Cape Town in South AfricaThe British government imposes a merger on two great squabbling enterprises in Canada, the North West Company and Hudson's Bay CompanyThe merged Hudson's Bay Company now administers a territory stretching from the Great Lakes to the PacificJames Stirling explores up the Swan River in western Australia to find a site for the settlement which he names PerthRichard Lander and his brother John explore the lower reaches of the Niger, proving that the great river is navigableThe last surviving Aborigines of Tasmania are moved by the British to a small island where they soon die outBritain ejects the Argentinians from the Falklands and begins the process of settlement with British farmersMelbourne, founded by settlers from Tasmania, develops as the centre of a sheep-rearing communityA site is selected for Adelaide and emigration begins from Britain to south AustraliaThe British seize the strategic port of Aden and administer it as a province annexed to IndiaA British army invades Afghanistan and installs a puppet ruler, Shuja Shah, as the Afghan amirBritish troops invade China after the Chinese authorities seize and destroy the opium stocks of British merchants in CantonBritain sends four naval ships up the river Niger to make anti-slavery treaties with local kingsThe British abandon Kabul, losing most of the garrison force in the withdrawal to India and bringing to an end the first Anglo-Afghan warThe British take control of the existing Boer republic and proclaim Natal a British protectorateThe first Anglo-Sikh war breaks out between Sikh forces in the Punjab and encroaching forces of Britain's East India CompanyThe first Anglo-Sikh war ends with the Treaty of Lahore, by which Jammu and Kashmir are ceded to the BritishHarry Smith annexes for Britain the land between the Orange and Vaal rivers, calling it the Orange River SovereigntyThe second Anglo-Sikh war begins when a British army invades the Punjab to suppress a local uprisingA British victory at the Battle of Gujarat effectively ends the second Anglo-Sikh war, and is followed by annexation of the PunjabVancouver Island is given the status of a British crown colony, to be followed by British Columbia in 1858The British government buys the Danish fortresses on the Gold Coast, including Christiansborg castle in AccraThe Australian gold rush begins with the discovery of gold fields at Ballarat and a few months later at BendigoDavid Livingstone makes a heroic six-month journey from the Zambezi river to the west coast of AfricaIn the expectation of British and French support, the Ottoman sultan declares war on Russia - launching the Crimean WarThe Boers establish the Orange Free State as an independent republic, with its own custom-built constitutionBritain and France enter the war between Turkey and Russia, on the Turkish sideDavid Livingstone, moving down the Zambezi, comes upon the Victoria FallsThe treaty of Paris ends the Crimean War, limiting Russia's special powers in relation to TurkeyDavid Livingstone urges upon a Cambridge audience the high ideal of taking 'commerce and Christianity' into AfricaRichard Burton and John Hanning Speke set off from Bagamoyo in their search for the source of the NileThe Boers of the southern Transvaal declare independence as the South African RepublicBurton and Speke reach Lake Tanganyika at Ujiji, a place later famous for the meeting between Livingstone and StanleyThe India Act places India under the direct control of the British government, ending the rule of the East India CompanySpeke reaches Lake Victoria and guesses that it is probably the source of the NileLagos, on the coast of Nigeria, is annexed as a British colony when the royal family prove unable or unwilling to end the slave tradeSpeke and Grant find the Ripon Falls, over which the headwater of the Nile flows from Lake TanganyikaJohn McDouall Stuart reaches the north coast of Australia at Van Diemen's Gulf seven months after setting off from AdelaideThe bones of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills are brought back to Melbourne after the heroic failure of their attempt to cross AustraliaThe British North America Act, acknowledging the fears of French Catholics in Canada, guarantees the rights of "dissentient schools"Four former colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec) unite to form the new nation of Canada with Ottawa as the capitalThe Canadian nation is called the Dominion of Canada – the first example of 'dominion status'Britain annexes Basutoland (now Lesotho), the kingdom of the Sotho leader MoshoeshoeThe territory of the Hudson's Bay Company is transferred to the new state of CanadaBritain, France and Italy take joint control of the finances of a bankrupt TunisiaBritish explorer Samuel Baker annexes the southern Sudan, or Equatoria, on behalf of the khedive of Egypt18-year-old English entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes, on a temporary visit to South Africa, arrives in the new diamond town of KimberleyStanley, finding Livingstone at Ujiji, greets him with four words which become famous – 'Dr Livingstone, I presume'The southern region of present-day Ghana becomes a British colony, to be known as the Gold CoastStanley sets off from Bagamoyo, intending to resume the exploration of central Africa where Livingstone left offThe chaotic government finances of Egypt are placed under joint French and British controlStanley passes Nyangwe on the Lualaba, the furthest point down the Congo river system reached by LivingstoneIndia becomes the 'jewel in the crown' of Queen Victoria when Benjamin Disraeli secures for her the title Empress of IndiaLeopold II hosts a conference in Brussels on the subject of opening up the African continentStanley completes his exploration of the Congo, reaching the Atlantic coast at Boma after a three-year journeyThree British armies invade Afghanistan, beginning the second Anglo-Afghan WarThe British find a pretext to march into the territory ruled by Cetshwayo, thus launching the Zulu WarZulu tribesmen surprise and annihilate a British army encamped near IsandhlwanaImmediately after Isandhlwana a tiny British garrison at Rorke's Drift fights off an overwhelming Zulu attackGeorge Goldie and British traders on the Niger form the United African Company (later the Royal Niger Company) to consolidate their interestsThe British destruction of Cetshwayo's kraal at Ulundi ends the Zulu WarThe Boers inflict a convincing defeat on a British army at Majuba, in the TransvaalThe British withdraw from Afghanistan, having achieved nothing in the Second Anglo-Afghan WarAnti-western riots in Alexandria result in many deaths and provoke a British invasionMohammed Ahmed, proclaiming himself the Mahdi, defeats three Egyptian armies in the SudanThe British empire is first described as a 'Commonwealth of Nations', by Lord Rosebery speaking in AustraliaGeneral Gordon marches south to protect Khartoum from the advancing forces of the MahdiThe Boer republic in the Transvaal regains its independence from BritainBritish general Garnet Wolseley sails from London on a mission to rescue Gordon, trapped by the Mahdi in KhartoumBismarck invites the European powers to a West Africa Conference in BerlinBritain annexes Bechuanaland as a protectorate, to secure the route north from the Cape into central AfricaGermany and Britain define neighbouring spheres of interest in east AfricaThe German and British agreement in east Africa creates the present-day boundary between Tanzania and KenyaA gathering of leaders from the British empire holds a colonial conference in London to coincide with Queen Victoria's jubileeThe Ndebele chieftain, Lobengula, grants Rhodes mining rights in what is now ZimbabweThe Imperial British East Africa Company is given a charter to administer Kenya and UgandaCecil Rhodes forms the British South Africa Company to push British commerce and imperial control further northFrance and Britain agree colonial boundaries for Senegal and Gambia in west AfricaCecil Rhodes sends colonists to settle the newly won colony of RhodesiaZanzibar, under its Arab sultan, is declared a British protectorateRhodes wins the right to administer the region from the Zambezi up to Lake Tanganyika, forming present-day ZambiaBritain cedes the tiny island of Heligoland to Germany in return for vast areas of AfricaFrederick Lugard's Maxim machine gun settles a Protestant-Catholic clash in Kampala, the capital of BugandaThe Falkland Islands, by now occupied by some 2000 settlers, become a British colonyLeander Jameson, finding a pretext for war, drives Lobengula out of his kingdom in RhodesiaMahatma Gandhi, travelling with a first-class ticket, is forcibly ejected from the carriage at Pietermaritzburg because of his colourThe British Central African Protectorate is set up in the region of present-day MalawiThe territory south of the Zambezi is given the name Rhodesia, in honour of the man who has colonized itKhama III, the king of Bechuanaland, travels to London to demand the continuing protection of the British crownThe British government takes responsibility for Kenya, as the East Africa ProtectorateLeander Jameson leads a disastrous raid into the Transvaal, in an attempt to topple Paul Kruger's governmentCecil Rhodes' involvement with the Jameson raid forces his resignation as the Cape Colony prime ministerBritain unites Buganda and three other kingdoms into the single Uganda ProtectorateZululand, annexed by Britain in 1887, is now merged with the colony of NatalPaul Kruger, prime minister of the Transvaal, forms an alliance with the other Boer republic, the Orange Free StateThe UK colonial secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, appoints enthusiastic imperialist Alfred Milner as high commissioner in South AfricaThe British burn Benin City in a punitive expedition after members of a British delegation are murderedFrench and British forces meet at Fashoda, in a potentially explosive incident in the scramble for AfricaKitchener's victory at Omdurman brings to an end thirteen years of rule in Sudan by followers of the MahdiThe Sudan begins half a century of supposedly joint rule by Britain and EgyptMohammed ibn Abdullah (the Mad Mullah in British eyes) leads an uprising in British SomalilandThe Boer War breaks out, ostensibly over the rights of British settlers in the TransvaalPaul Kruger flees after the British take Pretoria and annexe both the Boer republicsThe British government assumes direct responsibility for the entire region of Nigeria, previously entrusted to a commercial companySix separate Australian colonies combine to form the independent Commonwealth of AustraliaThousands of women and children die in the concentration camps used by the British army for displaced Boer familiesA treaty at Vereeniging ends the Boer War and brings the Boer republics under British controlAfter the defeat of neighbouring Transvaal in the Boer War, the British take sole control of SwazilandEdward VII, the first British monarch to travel to India, holds a great coronation British troops under Francis Younghusband enter Tibet's holy city of LhasaKaiser Wilhelm II visits Tangier in support of Moroccan independence, causing a diplomatic crisis with the colonial powers France and BritainMahatma Gandhi, confronted by racial discrimination in South Africa, launches a programme of passive resistance (Transvaal is given the self-governing status promised in the treaty ending the Boer WarThe All-India Muslim League is set up at a meeting of the Muhammadan Educational Conference in DhakaNew Zealand becomes independent as a self-governing dominionMahatma Gandhi, on a visit to India, publishes a pamphlet entitled Construction begins on the government buildings in New Delhi, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert BakerBritish rule is consolidated in Nigeria by the merging of north and south as a single colonyThe British government changes the status of Egypt from a Turkish province to a British protectorateAugust 4 - bound by treaty to defend Belgium, Britain declares war on GermanyMahatma Gandhi returns to India after more than twenty years in South AfricaMore than 300 die when British troops fire on a peaceful demonstration in AmritsarMay - League of Nations mandates give Britain responsibility for Iraq, Transjordan and PalestineThe Young Kikuyu Association is formed in Kenya, to fight for African rights and the restoration of Kikuyu landMahatma Gandhi is arrested by the British in India as an agitator and is sentenced to six years in prisonRhodesia becomes a self-governing colony with political power exclusively in the hands of European settlersThe British government takes on the administration of Northern Rhodesia from the British South Africa CompanyThe Balfour Report, by former UK prime minister A.J.