Elizabeth II 1926-2022 | The End of an Empire

How far away are the days when the sun never set on the Empire! When Elizabeth was born in 1926, a quarter of the world belonged to the crown. Today, the British Empire consists of only a dozen overseas territories, generally sparsely populated. Overview of a dislocation.

Jean-Christophe Laurence
The Press

1926

At its height, the British Empire spanned 13 million square miles or about 23% of the land on the planet.

Listing : Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India (now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South Africa, Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Nyasaland (Malawi), Kenya, Uganda, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Sudan, British Somalia, Tanganyika, Cameroon South, Gambia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Guyana, British Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos , Burma, Iraq (protectorate until 1932), Falklands, Cyprus, Malta, Chagos, Singapore, Malaya, Palestine, Hong Kong, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu

1932

Following the signing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa simultaneously became sovereigns and members of the Commonwealth. A year later, Iraq gains its independence.

He stays : India (now India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Nyasaland (Malawi), Kenya, Uganda, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Sudan, British Somaliland, Tanganyika, Southern Cameroons, Gambia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Guyana, British Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, Burma, Falklands, Chagos, Palestine, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Malta, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

1948

India and Ceylon obtain their independence. India will be split into three: Pakistan and Bangladesh to the north, India to the south. Ceylon will be renamed Sri Lanka. Elsewhere in Asia, Burma in turn became sovereign. In the Middle East, Palestine is fragmented to create the State of Israel.

He stays : Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Nyasaland (Malawi), Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, British Somalia, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Tanganyika, Southern Cameroons, Gambia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Guyana, British Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, Falklands, Chagos, Singapore, Malaya, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Malta, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

1957

Elizabeth has been queen for five years. Malaysia is born with a federation that includes Singapore (before its independence in 1965). A year earlier, Sudan gained independence following the Suez Canal crisis in Egypt, which betrayed the weakening of the British Empire. In 1957, the Gold Coast was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to become independent and became Ghana in 1957.

He stays : Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Nyasaland (Malawi), Kenya, Uganda, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Tanganyika, Southern Cameroons, Gambia Mauritius, Seychelles, British Somalia, Guyana, British Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, Falklands, Chagos, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Malta, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

1965

The wind of decolonization is blowing over the Empire. On the African continent, a dozen countries gained independence between 1960 and 1968, as did Cyprus (1960) Malta (1964) and several Caribbean countries. Between 1945 and 1965, the number of people subject to British law fell from 700 million to 5 million.

He stays : Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), British Honduras (Belize), Bermuda, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, Falklands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Hong Kong.

1970-1980

Rhodesia is the last African country to gain independence. A year later, it was the turn of British Honduras, which renamed itself Belize. Several Pacific countries also became independent in the 1970s.

He stays : Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Gibraltar, Falklands, Hong Kong.

1997

After a 100-year lease, Hong Kong is returned to China. Today, fewer than 250,000 Britons live in the UK’s overseas territories – the most populous being Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Gibraltar.

He stays : Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, Falklands.