The British Empire is the name assigned to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its former dominions, colonies and other territories that were under the dominion of the British Crown between the end of the 16th and until the late of the 20th century. The British Empire reached its peak at the beginning of 20th century, comprising over 20% of the Earth's land surface and more than 400 million inhabitants, being the largest empire in history.
During the 17th and the 18th centuries, Great Britain established its first empire based mostly in the Western Hemisphere, especially the Caribbean and North America. It began with the establishment of tobacco plantations in the West Indies and religious colonies located along the coast of North America. Furthermore, Great Britain also secured its presence in India in the 17th century through the activities of the East India Company.
During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Great Britain obtained territorial gains at the expense of France. With The Treaty of Paris (1763), France recognized British dominion over Canada, but the British returned to the French the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Afterwards, the American Revolution came. The British Parliament introduced new taxes in order to be able to maintain and preserve its North American colonies. These actions resulted in a union of the colonists and the formation of the Congress against Great Britain. On the 4th of July of 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The British dominion came to an end when General Charles Cornwallis and his army surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781. This defeat not only marked the end of the war, but also the end of the first British Empire.
After the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, India entered a period of instability. Thus, the East India Company entered in politics to preserve the dominant economic position.