Empire on the March
1600
Royal Charter granted to the East India Company
Elizabeth I's government grants exclusive trading rights in the East Indies to the British East India Company. Britain joined other earlier established European trading companies...
1651
Navigation Act, 1651
Passed by Oliver Cromwell, this landmark Act sought to challenge the Dutch shipping trade by only allowing English owned ships with majority English crews to...
1652
First Anglo-Dutch War
English and Dutch trading rivalry reached boiling point in 1652. The Dutch were in the ascendant as they had wrested control of the spice trade...
1660
Navigation Act, 1660
Reinforcement of the Act of 1651. Crews had to be a minimum of 75% English. The Act reflected the mercantalist nature of European economic competition...
1663
Navigation Act, 1663
Further reinforcement of protectionist trade policy. All European trade with British colonies had to pass through England.
1673
Navigation Act, 1673
Sought to encourage English trade and commerce in the North and Baltic Seas. Duties on this trade and requirements on having more than 75% English...
1696
Navigation Act, 1696
Additional reinforcement of previous protectionist policies outlined in the Navigation Act of 1660. All trade within English territories had to be carried out by registered...
1730s
Introduction of ‘curry’ to Britain
The first documented establishment to offer curry was the Norris Street Coffee House, Haymarket, London in the 1730s. In 1810, the first Indian restaurant was...
1733
Molasses Act
Enacted upon the lobbying of plantation owners in the British West Indies. This act imposed a tax of six pence per gallon of molasses from...
1740 - 1748
War of the Austrian Succession
The war between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs redrew the balance of power in Europe in favour of Prussia.
1756 -1763
Seven Years’ War
Spanning five continents, the Seven Years' War involved all major European powers in a conflict over many territories all at once, with Churchill later describing...
1757-1857
British Colonial Expansion in India
After the Battle of Plassey, the East India Company (EIC) became one of many territorial powers in India. The once powerful Mughal Empire was crumbling,...
1766
First Anglo-Mysore War
While Company rule was rapidly spreading across Northern India, the military commander Hyder Ali assumed rule of the Kingdom of Mysore in 1761, working with...
1774
First Anglo-Maratha War
Following the death of the Peshwa Madhavrao I, a succession dispute arose between his younger brother Narayanrao and his uncle Raghunathrao. British gernadiers keep Maratha...
1787
Arrival of Freed Slaves in Sierra Leone
In May 1787, the British government-funded Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor established Granville Town, in what is now Freetown, Sierra Leone.
1789
Third Anglo-Mysore War
Unlike the two previous eponymous conflicts, Britain had the assistance of the Maratha Empire, the Kingdom of Travancore and the Nizam of Hyderabad. Supernatural being...
1795
British Capture of Cape Colony
Seeking to control the Cape to prevent French naval access to India, the British wrested the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch East India...
1798
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Greatly outnumbered by Britsh, Hyderabadi, and Maratha forces, Mysore lost nearly all its remaining territories. Henry Singleton, 'The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun',...
1802
Second Anglo-Maratha War
Following the capture of the Mysore Kingdom, the Maratha Confederacy was one of two major Indian powers (the other being the Sikh Empire) still operating...
1806
British Recapture of the Cape of Good Hope
Forming one part of the Napoleonic Wars ensuing in Europe, the Battle of Blaauwberg established permanent British rule over the Cape Colony. The Treaty of...
1808
Establishment of Freetown, Sierra Leone
Freetown began as a community of 411 Black Londoners, governed by a constitution based on the British legal framework and Church of England principles. This...
1833
Abolition of Slavery
The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 criminalised slavery and the slave trade in the British Empire, with the exception of territories administered by the East...
1839
First Anglo-Afghan War
Afghanistan and the surrounding regions were contested by multiple forces including Russia and the Sikh Empire. Britain had made substantial territorial gains in India and...
1841
Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade
Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia agreed to take measures to supress the African slave trade. Britain signed a second anti-slavery treaty with Sultan Said bin...
1843
Britain Annexes the Natalia Republic
Desirous of containing Boer ambitions of political independence and after some hesitation Britain annexed the territory then known as Natalia and proclaimed it a British...
1845 - 1846
First Anglo-Sikh War
The Sikh Empire was established by Ranjit Singh in 1799. Like other Mughal successor states, the empire emerged in the political context of Mughal decline...
1848 - 1849
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Sikh Empire's power was severely diminished after the First Anglo-Sikh War. The British were effectively the senior partner in the royal court with British...
1850
British government buys Danish territory in Accra
Accra was home to Dutch, Portuguese, French, Danish, Swedish, and British forts from the 17th century. Fort Christiansborg, constructed in 1661. Source: unknown artist, public...
1858
End of Company Rule in India
By the mid-19th century, India was an important symbol of Britain's rise as a great power as well as a source of its economic wealth....
1861
Britain Annexes Lagos
Britain backed the deposed and exiled Oba Akitoye and reinstalled him as sovereign in 1851. Britain annexed Lagos after a ten year period of military...
1862
Speke and Grant seek the source of the Nile
John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant were soldiers and explorers. They are noted for being the first Europeans to document the source of the...
1868
Britain annexes Basutoland
Basutoland was a kingdom founded in 1822, now known as Lesotho. Conflict with the Boers led to King Moshoeshoe seeking protection from Britain. [caption id="attachment_755"...
1869
Britain, France, and Italy take financial control of Tunisia
Attempts at modernising Tunisia under Muhammad III as-Sadiq failed to raise state revenues. Tunisia was unable to keep up with interest payments on its foreign...
1874
Britain colonises the Gold Coast
Britain consolidated its position in western Africa with the defeat of the Ashanti empire in 1874. The Ashanti Empire emerged in present-day Ghana at the...
1876
Henry Morton Stanley visits the court of the Kabaka of Buganda
Henry Morton Stanley, an explorer and colonialist, made contact with the Kingdom of Buganda in present-day Uganda. Stanley made the second recorded European visit to...
1877
Britain annexes the South African Republic
Britain annexed the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal Republic) on the pretext of Boer mismangement of its state. This ultimately set the...
1877
Arrival of British missionaries to Uganda – Church Missionary Society
British Protestant missionaries of the Church Missionary Society arrived in Uganda from 1877. This initiated a period of European competition between rival missionary factions. Alexander...
1878-80
Second Anglo-Afghan War
Britain invaded Afghanistan after Amir Sher Ali Khan refused to allow a British diplomatic mission to enter the country. Afghanistan was an important frontier region...
1879
Zulu War
The Zulu Kingdom bordered the Transvaal which brought Boers and Zulu into conflict over territory in the border region. However, it was the British seeking...
1879
Arrival of French Catholic missionaries to Uganda – Peres Blancs
The Society of the Peres Blancs or White Fathers was a Catholic mission based in Algiers, French Algeria. They arrived in Uganda two years after...
1880
Scramble for Africa
With 10% of the African continent under European control in 1870, by 1914 this figure had risen to 90%. The colonisation of the African interior...
1881
Boers defeat British army at Majuba
The final battle of the First Boer War saw British forces defeated by the Boers on Majuba Hill.
1882
British invasion of Alexandria
Britain sought to quell the nationalist uprising against Khedive Tewfik Pasha and secure its trade which ran through the Suez Canal
1884-1885
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference was organised by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck of Germany with the aim to establish an agreement amongst European states and the United...
1884
South African Republic regains its independence
Britain and the South African Republic signed the London Convention Treaty to establish British suzerainty over the Republic. This meant that the Boers of the...
1885
Britain annexes Bechuanaland
A region home to the Tswana and contested by the Boer Republics of Stellaland and Goshen in the 1880s. The territory was wrested by Britain...
1885
Establishment of the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress began as an elite political forum for Britons and Indians seeking greater political participation of Indians in their own affairs. It...
1887
British colonial conference to mark Queen Victoria’s jubilee
Delegates from white-majority colonies of Britain's empire meet to discuss greater imperial co-operation between the colonies and Britian. Chair of the Colonial Conference, Henry Holland...
1888
Imperial British East Africa Company given charter to administer Kenya and Uganda
The Imperial British East Africa Company was led by the trader William Mackinnon who had established trading operations in East Africa prior to receiving a...
1888
Sikkim Expedition
Britain sought to wrest control of Sikkim from Tibet. British Indian forces successfully expelled Tibetan forces from the region.
1889
France and Britain agree on boundaries for Senegal and Gambia
After years of British and French colonial expansion in West Africa, formal boundaries were established between the two European powers. French railway in Kayes, previously...
1889
First Mosque in Britain
Historic England cites 'The Muslim Institute' on Brougham Terrace, Liverpool as 'the earliest recorded mosque in Britain', whilst Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking is 'Britain's...
1889-1902
Second Boer War
The discovery of diamonds and gold in the Boer Republics initiated British plans of annexation. After some Boer successes through the use of guerrila warfare...
1889
Cecil Rhodes forms the British South Africa Company
Cecil Rhodes arrived in Africa in the early 1870s, making his fortune in diamond mining in Kimberley, Northern Cape Province. By the late 1880s, various...
1890s
Emergence of mission schools in Uganda
Mission schools were established by French Catholics and Anglicans in the 1890s. The colonial government would later establish secondary schools for Africans in the 1920s....
1890
Rhodes attains right to administer present-day Zambia
Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company made an agreement to provide protection of Barotseland in exchange for exclusive access to the rich mineral reserves of...
1890
Gunga Din
Author: Rudyard Kipling GUNGA DIN You may talk o' gin and beer When you're quartered safe out 'ere, An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot...
1890
Zanzibar becomes a British protectorate
Zanzibar was made up of islands along the coast of East Africa. The Portuguese, and then the British and Germans, sought control over these commercially...
1890
Cecil Rhodes sends colonists to Rhodesia
Cecil Rhodes opened up the British South Africa Company controlled territory to European colonists after receiving a royal charter that allowed for the colonisation of...
1891
Anglo-Manipur War
Court intrigues in the state of Manipur surrounding the succession of 1886 developed into a fratricidal contest for the throne in 1890. The king's brothers...
1891
Britain cedes Heligoland to Germany
Britain ceded Heligoland to Germany in exchange for German African territories and sphere of interest agreements. The move reflected British efforts to further African expansion...
1892
War between Protestant and Catholic factions in Uganda
Tensions between Protestant and Catholic factions of Uganda erupted at the Battle of Mengo. Frederick Lugard, military administrator for the Imperial British East Africa Company...
1892
Establishment of British Central African Protectorate
Present-day Malawi was declared a British Protectorate to preclude other European claims to the territory.
1894
Establishment of the British Protectorate of Uganda
Political hostilities between various religious factions in the Kingdom of Uganda had followed European missionary activity in the region from the 1880s. The Imperial British...
1895
Establishment of the Uganda Rifles
The Imperial British East Africa Company recruited troops from the Sudan, Swahili speakers from the East African coast, Egyptians, and Indians. Frederick Lugard recruited troops...
1895
Establishment of the East African Protectorate
What is largely present-day Kenya, became a British Protectorate. Britain had gained access to existing trade routes by establishing links with the Omani Sultanate in...
1895
Khama III, king of Bechuanaland seeks continued British protection
Khama III, the Kgosi (regent) of the BagammaNgwato in the region of Botswana, petitioned Queen Victoria for protection from the colonial predations of the British...
1895
Creation of Rhodesia
The territory of the British South Africa Company was officially named 'Rhodesia' (present-day Zimbabwe) in honour of Cecil Rhodes. 'Colossus of Rhodes', Punch magazine, 1892....
1896
Buganda and three other kingdoms are unified under the Protectorate of Uganda
Kingdom of Buganda, Bunyoro, Busoga, and Tooro were unified under the British Protectorate of Uganda. The Protestant faction amongst the Baganda chiefs establish a favourable...
1897
British destroy Benin City
British forces destroyed and occupied the city of Benin in present-day Nigeria in retaliation to the killing of a British expeditionary party to the city....
1897
Appointment of Alfred Milner as High Commissioner in South Africa
Alfred Milner became an important British official in South Africa. He reinforced Britain's anti-Boer stance and was instrumental in subsequent conflicts with the Boer republics....
1897
Uganda Rifles mutiny
Sudanese forces of the Uganda Rifles mutiny due to poor conditions, poor pay, and lack of recognition of their importance for the British military in...
1897
Zululand merged with Natal
The independent Kingdom of Zululand was a major power in early 19th century southern Africa. By the late 19th century, European colonial powers came to...
1897
Kabaka defeated by British forces
Kabaka Mwanga II sought to rid Buganda of the British with forces of his army and Sudanese mercenaries. Crucially, the Baganda chiefs refused to join...
1898
Kitchener defeats Mahdi forces in Sudan
The Mahdi state of Sudan and the Khedivate of Egypt (allied to Britain) engaged in a war for control over Sudan. The Sudan had been...
1898
French and British hostilities in Fashoda
British and French troops stand-off at Fashoda, a strategically important town at the head of the White Nile river. Ultimately, heavily outnumbered French forces withdrew...
1898
Kabaka exiled to the Seychelles
Kabaka Mwanga II was exiled to the Seychelles after an unsuccessful attempt to rid Buganda of the British. Kabaka Mwanga II Source: Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft (DKG),...
1899
Mohammed ibn Abdullah leads an uprising in British Somaliland
European expansion in East Africa and the redrawing of the political map in the Horn of Africa led to the Mahdist War as well as...
1899
British and Egyptian rule of Sudan
Sudan becomes a condominium (a political territory ruled equally by multiple powers) of Britain and Egypt on the conclusion of the Mahdist War. Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,...
1900
Uganda Agreement of 1900
Commissioner of Uganda, Harry H. Johnston reached agreement with Buganda chiefs on taxes, private-land tenure, and continuity of the Buganda polity with the signing of...
1900
Elevation of Protestant Bakunga client-chiefs as administrators led by Apollo Kagwa
The native administration of Buganda was made up of appointed officials in various branches of the state. Apollo Kagwa (right) and Ham Mukasa in 1902...
1900
British capture Pretoria and annex both Boer Republics
Britain annexed the South African Republic and the Orange Free State during the Second Boer War.
1900
Toro Agreement
Similarities can be drawn with the Uganda Agreement between Britain and the Baganda chiefs in the same year. All uncultivated land was declared Crown land,...
1900
British government assumes direct responsibility of Nigeria from the Royal Niger Company
Various British commercial entities were in operation along the Niger river and the surrounding region from the early 19th century. In 1879, through the initiative...
1901
Deaths of Boer women and children in British concentration camps
Upwards of 26,000 Boer women and children died in British concentration camps during the Second Anglo-Boer War. The growing number of Boer refugees resulted from...
1901+
Expansion of cash crop cultivation by Ugandans
Cultivation of cash crops was expanded under the arrangements of the Buganda Agreement of 1900. A class of landed chieftains and captive tenant farmers was...
1901
Ankole Agreement
The Ankole chiefs observed developments in Buganda and Toro and saw the benefits of establishing a similar system under British protection. 'Ankole District', 1945. Source:...
1901
Completion of the Uganda Railway
The Uganda Railway, despite its name, did not run through Uganda but the East Africa Protectorate from Mombasa to Kisumu, Lake Victoria. Construction began in...
1902
Transfer of the eastern section of the Uganda Protectorate
Infrastructural developments including railways and roads were essential to the process of colonial economic extraction. The merging of territories based on these developments reflected the...
1902
End of Boer War and Boer Republics become British territories
The end of the Second Boer War saw the Boer Republics become British territories with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. Britain extended its...
1902
Establishment of the King’s African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was formed in the context of political competition over the Horn of Africa and more broadly, the 'Scramble for Africa'...
1903
Edward VII’s Imperial Durbar
Two-week long festivies held in India to mark the beginning of the monarch's reign as Emperor of India. images: Roderick Mackenzie, the lost gallery, CC...
1905
Partition of Bengal
Present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal were once the province of Bengal during British rule. The colonial government under Viceroy Lord Curzon...
1906
Establishment of the All-India Muslim League
The Muslim League emerged, in part, as a response to the Swadeshi movement of 1905 which saw the Indian National Congress objecting to the partition...
1907
Banyoro rebellion
Banyoro rebelled against the British installing Baganda as chiefs in Bunyoro territory.
1909
Indian Councils Act
Also known as the Morley-Minto reforms, the Act of Parliament introduced separate Muslim electorates and provided for greater Indian participation in government. John Viscount Morley,...
1910s
Emergence of native journals and newspapers in Uganda – Ebifa, Munno, Sekanyolya
The emergence of native journals in Uganda ushered in a new age of public discourse and went on to play a crucial part in the...
1910
Union of South Africa becomes an independent dominion of the British Empire
Various southern African colonies merged to form the Union of South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire. Botha Government, 1910. Image: SA government, Public...
1911
First Gurudwara in Britain
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala provided funds of £8,000 for Britain's first Gurudwara founded by the Khalsa Jatha organisation in Putney, London. The Maharaja was...
1914 - 1918
Ugandans in the King’s African Rifles saw action against German forces in East Africa
During the start of the First World War, most of the British troops in the Kings' African Rifles consisted of Indian Army troops. However, more...
1914
Establishment of the Uganda Intelligence Department
The Uganda Intelligence Department was set-up in response to the outbreak of the First World War and in anticipation of military engagement with German forces...
1914 - 1918
First World War
The First World War was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarejvo on 28th June 1914....
1914
North and South Nigeria are merged into a single colony
The Northern Nigerian Protectorate and Southern Nigerian Protectorate were merged to form the Protectorate of Nigeria.
1915
South African troops capture German South West Africa
German South West Africa surrendered to South African troops on 9 July 1915.
1916
British and French forces capture Togoland and Kamerun
British and French forces swiftly occupy Togoland with little resistance.
1919
Third Anglo-Afghan War
Triggered by an Afghan contest over succession after the death of Emir Habibullah. Nasrullah, brother of the deceased Emir, seeking to consolidate his power and...
1919
Amritsar Massacre
The Amritsar Massacre took place at a time of heightened social unrest in India after the First World War. Britain was wary of a socialist...
1919
South West Africa becomes a British mandated territory administered by South Africa
South West Africa was a German colony that was captured by South African and British forces and was later governed by the Union of South...
1919
German East Africa becomes British mandated Tanganyika
British and Belgian forces captured German East Africa. It became British mandated Tanganyika after the war.
1919
Establishment of the Young Baganda Association
The Young Baganda Association sought political reform of the system that was established in Buganda in 1900. It protested against the privilege conferred on the...
1919
Government of India Act, 1919
The Act of 1919 introduced elected representatives to the provincial councils and paved the way for later reforms that would grant Indians a greater say...
1919 - 1924
Agitation of Ankole and Toro chiefs
Ankole and Toro chiefs sought the same privileges that the Buganda chiefs enjoyed under the Mailo system that was established in Buganda in 1900. Map...
1920s
Bataka uprisings
The Bataka uprising was the culmination of peasant and worker frustration at the system of economic exploitation set up in Buganda which had benefitted the...
1920s
Asians establish sugar plantations in Uganda
Under the colonial system, Asian businessmen were able to establish large cotton and sugar plantations by purchasing land from the British colonial administration. The Madhvani...
1923
South African National Native Congress renamed African National Congress
The South African Native National Congress was formed in 1912 and was loosely modelled on the Indian National Congress. It pursued constitutional methods to push...
1923
Southern Rhodesia becomes a self-governing settler colony
Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing colony of the British Empire after a referendum on the future political status of the territory in 1922 which returned...
1924
Bunyoro and Busoga chiefs demand mailo system
The Mailo system was a form of land tenure that was established in Buganda in 1900. It conferred land on Bugandan chiefs in parcels of...
1924
A Passage to India
Author: E. M. Forster "Dr Aziz is a young Muslim physician in the British Indian town of Chandrapore. One evening he comes across an English...
1924
British government takes on administration of Northern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company
Like Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia was a territory of the British South Africa Company. In 1924, Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia), became a British Protectorate.
1926
Resignation of Apollo Kagwa, generational change of leadership
Apollo Kagwa served as Katikkiro (prime minister) of Buganda between 1890 and 1926. Kagwa was part of the privileged strata of Protestant chiefs who solidified their...
1927
Buganda land reform
Land reforms under the 'Land Law', 'Succession Law', and 'Busuulu and Envujjo Law' of 1927 prevented the emergence of large land estates and lowered rents...
1929
Colonial Development Act
The Colonial Development Act of 1929 reflected a change in British colonial policy towards direct investment in economic development of British colonies by the British...
1930 - 1932
Round Table Conferences
Indian political representatives were consulted by the British government on plans for reform of the government of India. Differences between groups emerged on issues of...
1933
Bunyoro Agreement
The Bunyoro Agreement defined tax arrangements between the British administration of Uganda and the Kingdom of Bunyoro which had been transformed by colonial conflict in...
1938 - 1945
Sons of Kintu Movement
Formed in response to historic greivances related to the Buganda Agreement of 1900 which privileged the landed Baganda chiefs.
1939 - 1945
Second World War
British and French appeasement at repeated German violation of its treaty obligations in the hopes of keeping the peace proved futile. Remilitarisation of the Rhineland...
1940
Colonial Development and Welfare Acts
Further reinforced the new policy direction of investment in British colonies that was set out in 1929. The Act made £50 million available for colonial...
1940
Fabian Society established the Fabian Colonial Bureau
The Fabian society and its Colonial Bureau shaped the British left's thinking on matters relating to Britain's empire. Its ideas on Britain's international role and...
1945
Strikes and protests in all the main towns of Uganda
The strikes and riots of January 1945 arose from political disaffection, economic inequality, anti-Kabaka feeling, and the perceived economic exploitation of Africans by Asian businesses...
1945 - 1949
Establishment of the Bataka Party
The Bataka Party was established by educated young men of Buganda who were seeking political reforms of the Lukiiko (Buganda parliament) and the relationship between...
1947 - 1949
Establishment of the Ugandan African Farmers’ Union
The Ugandan African Farmers' Union sought to address the economic hardships that resulted from Asian and European control of cotton ginning and trade in cotton....
1949
Popular uprising against Asian businesses and Buganda chiefs
Continued resentment towards economic disparities erupted in violence towards Asian businesses and the Baganda chiefs who enjoyed a relatively privileged position within the colonial order....
1952 - 1956
Constitutional changes under colonial governor Andrew Cohen
Constitutional changes were enacted in Uganda in a bid to foster greater unity between the territories of Uganda and prepare it for independence. These moves...
1952
Establishment of the Uganda National Congress
The establishment of Uganda National Congress sought to realise the nationalist ambitions of Ugandans. First Secretary General of the Uganda National Congress, Abu Kyakama Mayanja...
1953
Kabaka Crisis
The Kabaka Crisis was the result of political reforms led by the Governor of Uganda, Andrew Cohen. Cohen and other like-minded British officials favoured a...
1960
UPU changed name to Uganda People’s Congress
The Uganda People's Congress was formed by the merging of the Uganda National Congress and the Ugandan People's Union led by Milton Obote. President of...
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