English overseas possessions

Uncommon card · No. 164716

The English overseas possessions, sometimes referred to as the English Empire, comprised a variety of overseas territories and colonies that were conquered or otherwise acquired by the Kingdom of England before 1707 when the Acts of Union joined England with the Kingdom of Scotland and created of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Formerly Scots were excluded from English overseas possessions, but following 1707 they could participate in the expanding British Empire. The first English overseas settlements were established in Ireland and patterns of rule over a subordinated populated territory developed following the sixteenth-century Tudor conquest. There were initial English voyages of exploration during the reign of Henry VII of England, and further settlement in Ireland. During the reign of Elizabeth I(1558-1603) there were unsuccessful attempts at North American colonization. Not until the succession in 1603 of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England (ruling as James I) were permanent...

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