Nepali Wanderer

At the height of its power, the British Empire was famously referred to as “the empire on which the sun never sets.” Such was the vastness of its territories that the sun was always shining on some part of its realm. Following in the footsteps of the Iberian countries during the first phase of exploration and the Dutch Empire thereafter, Britain ushered in the next era of exploration and colonization.

Although Britain had dabbled in exploration as early as 1497, it wasn’t until 1607 that it firmly established its presence in the New World. Similar to the Netherlands, a company spearheaded this effort. The London-based Virginia Company founded Jamestown on the eastern coast of North America.

Following the establishment of its first colony, waves of British settlers migrated to North America, leading to the creation of 13 colonies along the eastern coast. Unlike the Netherlands and France, which initially focused on the fur trade, Britain concentrated on cultivating cash crops, starting with tobacco and later expanding to cotton. The immense profits generated by these ventures enabled Britain and its other companies to establish colonies in Asia’s resource-rich territories. This expansion included the colonization of India, which would later be dubbed the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. The British East India Company, established in 1600 to control the spice trade in India and the Indies, gradually transitioned from traders to rulers, extending their influence over the region. With significant victories, such as the Battle of Plassey in 1757 against the Nawab of Bengal, Britain solidified its control over India.

However, the British Empire suffered a massive blow in North America. The 13 colonies on the eastern coast grew in power and soon began to unify against British rule due to issues like increased taxation and lack of representation in the British Parliament. Finally, these 13 states fought together against the British and declared their independence in 1776. These unified colonies eventually formed the massive country we know today as the United States. Losing these colonies was a significant setback for the British Empire, resulting in the loss of not only land but also global power and supremacy, as the newly formed United States would go on to become the most powerful nation on Earth.

Yet, even with this loss, there was another gain. Less than 12 years after losing the American colonies, Britain added a crucial piece to its empire. In 1788, Britain established a colony on the continent of Australia. Contrary to popular belief, Australia was not discovered by Captain James Cook. It was discovered by other explorers more than a century earlier, with Dutch explorers encountering the islands as early as 1606. The Dutch even named the islands ‘New Holland’ and ‘New Zeeland,’ after two of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic. ‘New Holland’ eventually became Australia, and ‘New Zeeland’ became New Zealand. James Cook’s discovery is notable because it led to the eventual arrival of British fleets in New South Wales, Australia, on January 26, 1788, marking the beginning of British colonization there. Britain ruled Australia for over a century, and January 26 remains Australia’s official national day, despite its later independence.

If you think of it, within a span of 30 years, the fate of three massive countries collided — USA, India, and Australia — all at the hand of one nation, England. The era of exploration led to the rise of four of the six largest countries in the world, whether measured by land (Canada, USA, Brazil, Australia) or population (India, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan). The era of exploration significantly shifted global power dynamics, moving influence and economic power from Asia to Europe, and within Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. But above all, the discovery of Australia marked a major milestone in human history. The world map we know today, once half-empty before the exploration era, had been largely filled in. While smaller islands and landmasses would be discovered later, the major landforms on modern maps had finally come together.

Maps, however, are essentially lines and curves drawn over physical structures of land and water. The elements we associate with maps are also constructs, a fiction that feels as real and central to our lives as our other main characters: religion and money. Consider how we casually refer to a piece of land as Australia, the Netherlands, or India, without any inherent physical features defining these names. It’s as if we assign them personalities and identities, much like characters in a grand narrative. In reality, all countries are fictional characters.

Though these fictional entities seem timeless, they are relatively recent phenomena, especially when compared to the ancient constructs of money and religion. As we saw with the formation of the United States, these nation-states have only recently become dominant players in our global story.

Next, we will explore the rise of the nation-states that are so prominent in our contemporary world.