For nearly four centuries, Britain ruled over the largest colonial empire in the world. This empire was the product of a long history of naval and commercial opportunities shrewdly exploited by various British leaders. This course examines the key role played by the empire in assuring Britain's prosperity, from the first settlements until the 1930s, along with the British colonial "model" and the decolonization that followed the end of the Second World War. (Formerly HST 722).