This is a list of all current and former British territories that have ever existed. More precisely, it traces the evolution of British (and '' English '') imperial possessions of all status, from instances of occupation, to Protectorates , to Colonies to Overseas Territories starting with the establishment of the Kingdom Of England . The list is organised by region and gives the status of the territory and the years of which it was effective. It also shows the degree of each it is tied, if at all, to the present United Kingdom . Links to relevant treaty and act can be found under "(Year)".
The rise of the British Empire has its origin in the 15th Century during the reign of King Henry VIII Of England . Colonial expansion and imperial holdings spread British influence across the globe and increased wealth and prestige for the mother country. By late 1890s and early 1900s , British territories scattered over every one of the world's continents and oceans, whence it has been believed to be the height of the Empire.
Through the wave of Decolonisation beginning in the 1960s , many of the newly Independent states retain ties to Britain, in the forms of joining the Commonwealth Of Nations , and/or recognising the British Monarch as the Head Of State .
British influence also left its legacies in many parts of world on the cultural, social, political, economic fronts. Many territories with former colonial ties retain the Common Law legal system and/or using currencies derived from Pound Sterling . Some of the democracies have adopted the Westminster Parliamentary System for their governments. The English Language is now a dominant or official language in many countries formerly under British rule. As a result, English is now the third-most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some 380 Million Speakers . Due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, English has achieved Lingua Franca status worldwide.
The United Kingdom, generally called "Britain", was formed through successive unions of ancient nations:
England ; Northern Ireland ; Scotland ; Wales
Guernsey ; Jersey ; Isle Of Man
Anguilla ; Bermuda ; British Antarctic Territory ; British Indian Ocean Territory ; British Virgin Islands ; Cayman Islands ; Falkland Islands ; Gibraltar ; Montserrat ; Pitcairn Islands ; St. Helena ; South Georgia And South Sandwich Islands ; Turks And Caicos Islands
Akrotiri ; Dhekelia
Antigua And Barbuda ; Australia ; The Bahamas ; Barbados ; Belize ; Canada ; Grenada ; Jamaica ; New Zealand ; Papua New Guinea ; St. Kitts And Nevis ; St. Lucia ; St. Vincent And The Grenadines ; Solomon Islands ; Tuvalu ; United Kingdom
Antigua And Barbuda ; Australia ; The Bahamas ; Bangladesh ; Barbados ; Belize ; Botswana ; Brunei ; Cameroon ; Canada ; Cyprus ; Dominica ; Fiji Islands ; The Gambia ; Grenada ; Guyana ; India ; Jamaica ; Kenya ; Kiribati ; Lesotho ; Malawi ; Malaysia ; The Maldives ; Malta ; Mauritius ; Mozambique ; Namibia ; Nauru ; New Zealand ; Nigeria ; Pakistan ; Papua New Guinea ; St. Kitts And Nevis ; St. Lucia ; St. Vincent And The Grenadines ; Samoa ; Seychelles ; Sierra Leone ; Singapore ; Solomon Islands ; South Africa ; Sri Lanka ; Swaziland ; Tanzania ; Tonga ; Trinidad And Tobago ; Tuvalu ; United Kingdom ; Uganda ; Vanuatu ; Zambia
(north of Mexico )
(continental South America)
(territories south of 60°00')
(islands in the Atlantic Ocean)
(continental Europe and offshore islands)
(islands in the Indian Ocean)
( Australian continent and Pacific islands)
- 1740 - Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the Miskito nation and England
- 1743 - Treaty of Åbo - Ends the Hats' Russian War
- 1745 - Treaty of Dresden - Austria confirms the loss of Silesia to Prussia after the Second Silesian War
- 1748 - Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle - Ends the War of the Austrian Succession
- 1755 - Treaty of Westminster
- 1758 - Treaty of Easton - Native Americans agree not to fight the British during the French and Indian War
- 1763 - Treaty of Hubertusburg - Ends the Seven Years' War
- 1763 - First Treaty of Paris - Ends the Seven Years' War
- 1768 - Treaty of Fort Stanwix
- 1774 - Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji
- 1778 - Treaty of Alliance - Alliance between the United States and France
- 1783 - Second Treaty of Paris - Ends the American Revolutionary War
- 1788 - Third Triple Alliance - Alliance between Great Britain, the United Provinces and Kingdom of Prussia
- 1789 - Jay-Gardoqui Treaty - Trade treaty between United States and Spain
- 1795 - Jay Treaty - Attempts to settle post-Revolution disputes between the United States and Britain
- 1795 - Treaty of Madrid - Defines boundaries of the United States and Spanish colonies
- 1795 - Treaty of Greenville - Ends the war between the United States and a coalition of Native Americans
- 1795 - Treaty of Basel
- 1796 - Treaty of Tripoli - Ends the war between the United States and Tripoli
- 1797 - Treaty of Campo Formio - Ends the first phase of the Napoleonic Wars
- 1801 - Treaty of Lunéville - Ends the Second Coalition against France
- 1802 - Treaty of Amiens - Ends the war between France and Britain
- 1803 - Louisiana Purchase - United States buys Louisiana from France
- 1805 - Treaty of Pressburg - Ends the war between France and Austria
- 1807 - Treaty of Detroit
- 1807 - Treaty of Tilsit - between France, Russia and Prussia; created the Duchy of Warsaw
- 1809 - Treaty of Fredrikshamn - Ends the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia
- 1810 - Treaty of Paris - Ends the war between France and Sweden
- 1812 - Treaty of Bucharest - Ends the Russian-Turkish war
- 1814 - First Anglo-Dutch Treaty
- 1814 - Third Treaty of Paris, ended war between France and the Sixth Coalition
- 1814 - Treaty of Ghent - Ends the War of 1812
- 1814 - Treaty of Kiel - Cedes Norway to Sweden
- 1815 - Fourth Treaty of Paris - Follows the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo
- 1815 - Congress of Vienna
- 1815 - Treaty of Springwells
- 1816 - Sugauli Treaty - Ends Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16)
- 1817 - Rush-Bagot Treaty - Settles boundary disputes between the United States and Britain
- 1818 - Anglo-American Convention of 1818 - Settles boundary disputes between the United States and Britain
- 1819 - Adams-Onis Treaty - Settles a border dispute between the United States and Spain
- 1819 - Treaty of Saginaw - Native Americans cede land to the United States
- 1821 - Treaty of Córdoba - Gives Mexico independence from Spain
- 1824 - Second Anglo-Dutch Treaty - Settles disputes between Britain and the Netherlands
- 1827 - Treaty of London - Alliance between Britain, France, and Russia for end to Turkish action in Greece
- 1829 - Treaty of Edirne - Russia secures control of the Danube mouths and the right to protect Greece
- 1830 - Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek - United States grants rights to the Choctaw
- 1839 - Treaty of London - Guarantees the neutrality of Belgium
- 1840 - Treaty of Waitangi - Makes New Zealand a British colony
- 1842 - Treaty of Nanjing - Ends the First Opium War
- 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty - Settles boundary disputes between the United States and Canada
- 1846 - Oregon Treaty - Establishes the border between the British and American sections of the Oregon Country
- 1847 - Treaty of Cahuenga - Ends the Mexican-American War in California
- 1848 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - Fully ends the Mexican-American War
- 1850 - Clayton-Bulwer Treaty - The United States and Britain agree not to colonize Central America
- 1854 - Kanagawa Treaty - Japan is forcibly opened to American trade
- 1856 - Fifth Treaty of Paris or Congress of Paris - Ends the Crimean War
- 1858 - Treaty of Tientsin - Ends the first phase of the Second Opium War
- 1858 - Treaty of Aigun - Establishes a border between Russia and China
- 1859 - Treaty of Zürich - Franco-Austrian armistice (formalized the Peace of Villafranca)
- 1860 - Convention of Peking - Cedes Hong Kong to Britain
- 1864 - First Geneva Convention - Established rules for the treatment of battlefield casualties
- 1867 - Alaska Purchase - The United States buys Alaska from Russia
- 1867 - Medicine Lodge Treaty - The United States negotiates with Native Americans
- 1868 - Burlingame Treaty - Established relations between the United States and China
- 1868 - Treaty of Fort Laramie - Ends Red Cloud's War
- 1868 - Treaty on Naturalization, United States-North German Confederation - First recognition by a European power of the legal right of its subjects to beome American citizens.
- 1871 - Treaty of Frankfurt - Ends the Franco-Prussian War
- 1871 - Treaty of Washington - Settles grievances between the United States and Canada
- 1878 - Treaty of San Stefano - Ends the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire
- 1878 - Treaty of Berlin - Amends the Treaty of San Stefano
- 1882 - Fourth Triple Alliance - Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
- 1883 - Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property - Intellectual property systems, including patents, of any contracting state become accessible to the nationals of other states party to the Convention
- 1886 - Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
- 1886 - Treaty of Bucharest ends the war between Serbia and Bulgaria
- 1887 - Reinsurance Treaty
- 1895 - Treaty of Shimonoseki - Ends the Sino-Japanese War
- 1898 - Sixth Treaty of Paris - Ended the Spanish-American War
- 1899 - Hague Conventions - One of the first formal statements of the laws of war
{Link without Title}
1900-1999
- 1901 - Hay-Pauncefote Treaty - Nullifies the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
- 1901 - Boxer Protocol- Peace Agreement between the Great Powers and China
- 1903 - Hay-Herran Treaty - The United States attempts to acquire a lease on Panama
- 1903 - Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty - Establishes the Panama Canal Zone
- 1905 - Treaty of Portsmouth - Ends the Russo-Japanese War
- 1906 - Second Geneva Convention - Covers the treatment of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea
- 1912 - International Opium Convention - First international drug control treaty
- 1913 - Treaty of London - Ends the First Balkan War
- 1913 - Treaty of Bucharest - Ends the Second Balkan War
- 1913 - Tibet-Mongolia Treaty - Alliance between Mongolia and Tibet
- 1915 - London Pact - Italy enters World War I
- 1916 - Treaty of Bucharest - alliance between Romania and the Entente
- 1917 - Lansing-Ishii Agreement - Trade treaty between the United States and Japan
- 1917 - Corfu Declaration - Allows for the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- 1918 - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Russia pulls out of World War I
- 1918 - Treaty of Bucharest - between Romania and the Central Powers, never ratified
- 1919 - Treaty of Saint-Germain
- 1919 - Treaty of Versailles - Ends World War I
- 1919 - Faisal Weizmann Agreement - Agreement for Arab-Jewish cooperation in the Middle East.
- 1920 - Seventh Treaty of Paris - Declares the union between Bessarabia and Romania
- 1920 - Treaty of Tartu - Establishes borders between Russia, Finland, and Estonia
- 1920 - Treaty of Trianon - Regulates the situation of newly-independent Hungary
- 1920 - Treaty of Sèvres - Peace between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire
- 1921 - Anglo-Irish Treaty - Ireland becomes independent
- 1921 - Peace of Riga - Ends the Polish-Soviet War
- 1921 - Treaty of Berlin - Separate peace agreement between United States and Germany
- 1922 - Washington Naval Treaty - Limits the naval armaments race
- 1923 - Treaty of Lausanne - Sets the boundaries of modern Turkey
- 1926 - Treaty of Berlin - Germany and the Soviet Union pledge neutrality
- 1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact - Calls "for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy"
- 1929 - Lateran Treaty - The Kingdom of Italy and Vatican City formally recognize each other
- 1929 - Third Geneva Convention - Establishes rules for the treatment of prisoners of war
- 1930 - London Naval Treaty - Regulates submarine warfare and shipbuilding
- 1931 - Treaty of Westminster - Creates the British Commonwealth
- 1938 - Munich Agreement - Surrenders Czechoslovakia to Germany
- 1939 - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - Germany and the Soviet Union pledge non-aggression
- 1940 - Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) - Ends the Winter War
- 1944 - Bretton Woods Agreement - Establishes the rules for commercial and financial relations among the major industrial states
- 1944 - Tito-Subasic Agreement - Attempts to merge Yugoslavian governments
- 1945 - UN Charter - Establishes the United Nations
- 1946 - bilateral Bermuda Agreement on Civil Aviation between US and UK
- 1947 - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - Establishes rules for trade
- 1947 - Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 - Establishes peace after World War II
- 1947 - Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty)
- 1947 - Ratification of the Convention on International Civil Aviation in Chicago, also known as the Chicago Convention of 1944.
- 1949 - North Atlantic Treaty (Treaty of Washington) - Establishes NATO
- 1949 - Fourth Geneva Convention - Establishes rules for the protection of civilians during times of war
- 1951 - Eighth Treaty of Paris - Establishes the European Coal and Steel Community
- 1951 - Treaty of San Francisco - A peace treaty between the Allied powers and Japan and ended the conflict in the World War II.
- 1952 - ANZUS Treaty - Alliance between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States
- 1954 - Baghdad Pact- Central Treaty Organization - Alliance of Arab states
- 1955 - Warsaw Pact - Alliance of Communist states
- 1955 - Open Skies Treaty
- 1957 - Treaty of Rome - Establishes the European Economic Community
- 1957 - International Atomic Energy Treaty (US PL 85-177)
- 1961 - Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (US PL 87-297)
- 1961 - Antarctic Treaty
- 1961 - Columbia River Treaty (ratified 1964)
- 1961 - Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
- 1961 - Alliance for Progress
- 1961 - Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations
- 1961 - Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
- 1963 - Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
- 1963 - Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
- 1963 - Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water
- 1963 - Elysée Treaty
- 1963 - Strasbourg Convention
- 1967 - Outer Space Treaty
- 1968 - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- 1969 - Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
- 1970 - Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
- 1971 - Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms
- 1971 - Convention on Psychotropic Substances
- 1972 - Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (US PL 92-448)
- 1972 - Biological Weapons Convention
- 1972 - Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention)
- 1973 - European Patent Convention
- 1974 - Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite
- 1978 - Camp David Accords
- 1979 - Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
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