British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, Virginia, and more substantially with the founding of the Thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Military Governors and Staff Officers in garrisons of British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784
British possessions in North America c. 1830
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height in the 19th and early 20th century, it was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 percent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
A replica of the Matthew, John Cabot's ship used for his second voyage to the New World in 1497
A 1670 illustration of African slaves working in 17th-century colonial Virginia in British America
Fort St. George in Madras, India was founded in 1639.
Robert Clive's victory at the Battle of Plassey established the East India Company as both a military and commercial power.