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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 Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, the latter country's colonial possessions passed to 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. Upon much of Ireland gaining independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State, the other territories of the Empire remained under the control of 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 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 Empress (or Emperor) 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 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. No uniform system of government was ever applied to any of these. A number of 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 ending with the hand over of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Many of the former territories of the British Empire are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fifteen of these (known, with the United Kingdom, as the 16 "Commonwealth realms") retain the British monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) 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. == Governance == The British Empire refers to the colonial possessions and territories under the control of the Crown. Although the Crown claimed absolute sovereignty over them, they were never formally part of the United Kingdom. In addition to the areas formally under the sovereignty of the British monarch, 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 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Territorial evolution of the British Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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