Pax Britannica at britannica.us

What Is Pax Britannica History

The British Peace

Objective: The British Empire

Pax Britannica is Latin for "the British Peace". It is about the British Empire. It was a time of peace in Europe when the British Empire was basically running the show when it came to the naval trade routes. There was so much fear nobody dared challenge the British Empire, where there were no attempts to take over the trade routes at sea. It refers to a time period after the Battle of Waterloo, (1815), which further led to a time of overseas British expansion. Britain harshly dominated overseas markets and managed to put fear in China, where the British nearly dominated the Chinese markets shortly following the Opium Wars.

Encyclopedia Summary

During research an encyclopedia is helpful. We have researched Pax Britannica in many encyclopedias and have confirmed the information to be identical.

There is also an excellent book we ran into (Amazon) by author Jan Morris. The book has an easy name to remember: Pax Britannica, Climax of an Empire. Search on Amazon and you'll find a lot.

Britain Ruled The Seas (for a while)

Britannica Sea Patrol There were changes in the European and world economies and in the Continental balance of power shortly after the Franco Prussian War. As this occurred the Pax Britannica of the British Empire begain to collapse.

What Built The British Empire?

The British Empire was not built by government. Instead it grew from chartered companies. These were given a Royal Charter to trade in certain areas as a monopoly, in return for taxes paid to the Crown. The earliest of these were the Merchants of the Staple - the woollen industry that traded with Flanders in the medieval period. Later there were the Merchant Venturers. In the time of Queen Mary (1555) was the Muscovy Company to trade with Russia. The most successful was the East India Company which grew into the government of India, only being replaced by a colonial government in 1857.

Britannica Game

Pax Britannica Game A multi player game of empire, diplomacy, and global confrontation. The Great Powers of Great Britain, France, the US, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia, and Japan vie throughout the world for the wealth and esteem conferred by vast colonial holdings in the far-flung corners of the Earth. Each player maneuvers their administrative and military assets to establish control over the most strategic areas, keeping a wary eye toward encrouching opponents whose colonial ambitions are every bit as great. Conflict between national wills is more often resolved through peaceful negotiation than through war; but when national honor is too severely tried, war can occur- on a scale that threatens to evolve into the War to End All Wars!

British World Dominance Becomes Reality

British World Dominance The pound sterling became the standard currency of the world during Pax Britannica, and the Bank of England enjoyed becoming the hub of all international finance. British made products, machines, and shipping dominated during this time period. (You'd almost think it was China today).

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