Timeline of key events Britain: losing and gaining an empire, 1763-1914

Sugar Act

A law passed in 1764 to raise revenue through the taxation of sugar and molasses.

Quartering Act

This 1765 act required colonial governments to provide housing and supplies to British soldiers.

Stamp Act

1765 law that imposed a tax on printed goods, leading to widespread protest.

Repeal of the Stamp Act

1766 action where the British Parliament revoked the Stamp Act due to colonial resistance.

Boston Massacre

A deadly confrontation in 1770 where British soldiers killed five colonial protesters.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against the Tea Act where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts

1774 punitive laws passed by Britain in response to the Boston Tea Party.

Olive Branch Petition

A 1775 appeal from the Second Continental Congress to King George III, seeking peace.

American Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document declaring the colonies' independence from Great Britain.

Battle of Saratoga

A key battle in 1777 that marked a turning point in the American Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris

The 1783 agreement that recognized American independence from Britain.

Abolition of slave trade

The 1807 act that made it illegal to trade enslaved people within the British Empire.

Battle of Trafalgar

An 1805 naval battle during which the British fleet achieved a significant victory over France.

Corn Laws

Tariffs on imported grain enacted in 1815 to protect domestic producers.

First Opium War

Conflict between Britain and China from 1839 to 1842 over trade and the opium trade.

Great Famine in Ireland

A period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1849.

Government of India Act

The 1858 act that transferred control of India from the East India Company to the British Crown.

Berlin Conference

The 1884–1885 meeting where European powers negotiated the partitioning of Africa.

Fisher's naval reforms

Initiatives started in 1904 to modernize the British Royal Navy.

First World War

Global war that began in 1914 and lasted until 1918, involving many of the world's great powers.