History: British Empire

What was the first permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607?

Jamestown

Which private corporation was granted a royal charter in 1600 to trade in the Indian Ocean region, eventually ruling large parts of India?

The East India Company

How did the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) fundamentally change the British Empire's global standing?

It removed French influence from North America and India, making Britain the dominant global colonial power.

What major loss in 1783 forced Britain to shift its imperial focus toward the 'Second British Empire' in the East?

The loss of the thirteen American colonies in the American Revolution.

What was the primary economic theory driving early British colonization, which emphasized a positive balance of trade and the accumulation of gold?

Mercantilism

What term describes the period of relative peace and British global hegemony from 1815 to 1914?

Pax Britannica

What 1858 legislation transferred the governance of India from the East India Company directly to the British Crown?

The Government of India Act 1858

Who was the British monarch during the empire's peak expansion and the height of the Industrial Revolution?

Queen Victoria

What was the primary purpose of the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference regarding the British Empire?

To regulate European colonization and trade in Africa, leading to the 'Scramble for Africa'.

What philosophy did Mahatma Gandhi use to lead the Indian independence movement against British rule?

Satyagraha (non-violent resistance)