Sat, 14 July 2007
The British Empire began in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings, where William of Normandy defeated King Harold II of the Saxons. Since then, England has consolidated power by annexing Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the crown dependencies, and numerous other territories and colonies around the world. For example, thanks to Francis Drake's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the United Kingdom has been able to expand throughout the New World. In North America, Britain founded 13 colonies along the eastern seaboard of the modern-day United States. North of these colonies, Britain founded the Dominion of Canada after it defeated the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The next episode focuses on British expansion into Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific. For more information, read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2003_34_thu_01.shtml http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/uk/armada/back/backd.html http://www.britishempire.co.uk The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches by Brian MacArthur The Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler The Guinness Book of Military Blunders by Geoffrey Regan The Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine |