Group

Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)

State Defunct 1801 CE – 1927 CE Capital London Middlesex United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is established as a sovereign state on January 1, 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merge the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.

The growing desire for an Irish Republic leads to the Irish War of Independence, which results in Ireland seceding from the Union and forming the Irish Free State in 1922.

Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom, and the state is consequently renamed the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

The UK finances the European coalition that defeats France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars.

The British Empire thereby becomes the foremost world power for the next century.

The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars are relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century.

Rapid industrialization that began in the decades prior to the state's formation continue up until the mid-nineteenth century.

A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the mid-nineteenth century, leads to demographic collapse in much of Ireland, and increased calls for Irish land reform.

It is an era of rapid economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance, in which the UK largely dominates the world economy.

Outward migration is heavy to the main colonies and to the United States.

The UK also builds up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, which it rules through a small number of administrators who supervise local elites.

India, by far the most important possession, sees a short-lived revolt in 1857.

In foreign policy the UK favors free trade, which enables its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America.

The UK forms no permanent military alliances until the early twentieth century, when it begins to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moves closer to the United States.

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Moran, J. (n.d.). Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). History Atlas. Retrieved 31 October 2026, from https://www.historyatlas.com/groups/britain-united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-ireland/

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