once the "empire of the sun never sets" ~ British Empire

There were two empires that never set in the world. The first empire that never sets was Spain, and then Britain.

Britain's victory in the Napoleonic War in 1815 further consolidated its position as an international political and military power. The industrial revolution made Britain an indisputable economic power. Britain became the factory of the world and established its economic hegemony. After winning the second hundred year war in 1815 (1689-1815), Britain began to claim that the sun never sets. The Victorian British Empire entered its heyday, with a population of 458 million in 1938, accounting for about a quarter of the world's total population.

After gaining the German colony through World War I in 1922, its land area reached 33.67 million square kilometers, which was about 24.75% of the total land area of the world. It spread from the British Isles to Hong Kong, Gambia, Newfoundland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Malta, Singapore and numerous islands All the 24 time zones on have British Empire territory. The international order under British hegemony is called "peace under British rule". The global map of the British Empire published by the United Kingdom usually marks the territory of the Empire in red, which clearly shows the global influence of this huge empire.

In 1865, the British economist javiers described it as follows: "the plains of North America and Russia are our corn fields, Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forest areas, Australia is our pasture land, Peru is our silver mine, South Africa and Australia are our gold mines, India and China are our tea plantations, and the East Indies are our sugar cane, coffee and spices Plantations. The southern United States is our cotton plantation. "

During its heyday, a large number of talents emerged in Britain, including Dickens, the greatest writer since Shakespeare, Maxwell, the greatest physicist since Newton, Palmerston, the famous diplomat, and Gladstone, the pioneer of liberal policy.

Until the end of the Second World War, with the rise of the global nationalist movement and the decline of British national strength, its colonies became independent one after another. At the same time, the rise of the new hegemonic country, the United States, also led to the gradual collapse of the British Empire. Today, Britain and most of its former colonies have formed an international organization, the Commonwealth, to replace the British Empire. But unlike the British Empire, Britain can no longer directly influence other members of the Commonwealth in politics, diplomacy and economy. In other words, after the end of World War II, the era of British hegemony came to an end.

Some people ask, is there still an empire without setting sun?

Mr. Niu of gmtlight said that if there is, it is the United States, which has troops in almost every longitude around the world. What's more, if anyone is dominant in outer space, it may be regarded as an empire that never sets!