British Empire
The British Empire was the name used by the United Kingdom during its time as a colonial power.
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
A day to come[[edit] | [edit source]]
In February 1603, Jared Khan, alias John Dee, told the ailing Queen Elizabeth I of England that a Queen descended from her would rule over the greatest Empire the world had ever known. (PROSE: Birthright [+]Loading...["Birthright (novel)"])
Early history[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the 18th century, the British Empire set its sights on Australia, a landmass whose north and west coasts had been charted by 17th century Dutch explorer Tasman. In later years, the south coast was charted by Captain James Cook of the Endeavour and, on 28 April 1770, his nephew Isaac Smith became the first Englishman to step foot on the east coast. The Empire claimed the land of Australia and used it as a prison colony to ship convicts to. The idea was recommended to the British government by Joseph Banks after he was confronted by Ian Chesterton who accidentally gave Banks the idea. (AUDIO: The Transit of Venus [+]Loading...["The Transit of Venus (audio story)"])
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the British established a lucrative opium trade in India and China. In December 1800, the British Trade Concession in Canton was threatened by a local uprising stoked by the Chinese Emperor and his Chief Astrologer who sought to stamp out the harmful and corrupt opium trade. (PROSE: Foreign Devils [+]Loading...["Foreign Devils (novel)"])
19th century[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1814, Lord Sutcliffe claimed to the Twelfth Doctor that he was helping move the Empire forward. (TV: Thin Ice [+]Loading...["Thin Ice (TV story)"])
When Ryan Sinclair visited Villa Diodati with the Thirteenth Doctor in 1816, Mary Shelley assumed that he was from the British colonies. When Ryan played a tune for her on the piano, Shelley asked if it was popular there. (TV: The Haunting of Villa Diodati [+]Loading...["The Haunting of Villa Diodati (TV story)"])
Through most of the 19th century, the British Empire was ruled by Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"])
In the late 1830s and up until 1842, the Empire went to war with Afghanistan after occupying the country in a gambit to prevent Russian expansion in Central Asia from encroaching on British territory in India. After a disastrous performance from the British Army, a new army invaded Afghanistan to put an end to the war. (PROSE: Mire and Clay [+]Loading...["Mire and Clay (short story)"]) Some years later, the Empire fought a second war against the Afghans. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire [+]Loading...["All-Consuming Fire (novel)"])
By 1850, the British Empire was the most powerful empire in the history of Earth up to that point. (AUDIO: 1963: The Assassination Games [+]Loading...["1963: The Assassination Games (audio story)"])
Before the 1860s, the Empire fought alongside the French against the Chinese Empire in the Opium Wars. (PROSE: The Eleventh Tiger [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Tiger (novel)"], The Nightmare Fair [+]Loading...["The Nightmare Fair (novelisation)"], AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair [+]Loading...["The Nightmare Fair (audio story)"]) In the 1860s, after the wars had ended, the British continued to station troops in China. (PROSE: The Eleventh Tiger [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Tiger (novel)"])
In 1877, the British Empire annexed the Transvaal in South Africa. (PROSE: White Man's Burden [+]Loading...["White Man's Burden (short story)"]) As the Sixth Doctor explained to Peri Brown, the Dutch Boers had settled in the Transvaal, which was rich in gold and diamonds. Hearing about this, many of the British flocked there to make their fortunes. Soon there were more British than Boers, but the Boers refused them any political rights. The British used this as an excuse to take over the Transvaal, including its gold and diamond mines. This led to the Boer Wars which ultimately ended in victory for the British. (PROSE: Players [+]Loading...["Players (novel)"])
In 1879, Queen Victoria survived an assassination attempt by a werewolf who sought to create an "Empire of the Wolf". Despite their part in saving her life, the Queen saw the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler as a danger and so, after having them knighted, she banished them from the Empire, ordering them to never return. In addition, recognising that Great Britain had "enemies from beyond imagination", the Queen founded the Torchwood Institute to investigate other "strange happenings" and to watch for the Doctor, anticipating his return. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"])
Once the Institute was formed by the Queen's Torchwood Charter on 31 December 1879, (TV: Children of Earth: Day One [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day One (TV story)"]) branches and facilites were established across the Empire. Torchwood One was based in London, England. Torchwood Two was based in Glasgow, Scotland. Torchwood Three was based in Cardiff, Wales. In addition, there also existed Torchwood Four (TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"]) and Torchwood India. The latter, founded to find alien technology in the British Raj, (AUDIO: Golden Age [+]Loading...["Golden Age (audio story)"]) was active by 1887. (AUDIO: The Death of Captain Jack [+]Loading...["The Death of Captain Jack (audio story)"])
In 1881, British troops were taken to Mars by a wounded Ice Warrior and sought to claim the planet in the name of the Empire and gather its mineral riches. They came into conflict with Ice Queen Iraxxa and her Ice Warriors, but departed after Colonel Godsacre made peace. (TV: Empress of Mars [+]Loading...["Empress of Mars (TV story)"])
In 1883, Josiah Samuel Smith hoped to take over the British Empire by having Redvers Fenn-Cooper assassinate Queen Victoria. (TV: Ghost Light [+]Loading...["Ghost Light (TV story)"])
The Paternoster Gang protected the Empire as part of their job. (WC: The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later [+]Loading...["The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later (webcast)"]; TV: Deep Breath [+]Loading...["Deep Breath (TV story)"])
In 1899, operatives of Torchwood Cardiff were motivated by their service to the Empire. Alice Guppy shot dead an alien Blowfish who she deemed to be a threat to the Empire whilst Emily Holroyd urged the immortal Jack Harkness to assist the Empire by working for Torchwood lest he be deemed a threat as well. (TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"])
As the Empire continued to grow, the Second Boer War was fought between the British and the Transvaal allies over the ownership of the precious jewels and mineral ores in Africa. (PROSE: Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...["Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"])
20th century[[edit] | [edit source]]
The British Empire was among the allied powers opposing the Central Powers, including the German (COMIC: The Dalek Project [+]Loading...["The Dalek Project (comic story)"]) and Ottoman Empires (AUDIO: What Have I Done? [+]Loading...["What Have I Done? (audio story)"]) during the First World War. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons [+]Loading...["The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)"]) ANZAC, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp, was composed of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who fought with the British Army. (PROSE: Direct Action [+]Loading...["Direct Action (short story)"]) Ultimately, the war ended in victory for the allies. (PROSE: Illegal Alien [+]Loading...["Illegal Alien (novel)"], Just War [+]Loading...["Just War (novel)"])
As early as 1924, the Torchwood Institute anticipated the end of the Empire and so sent Captain Jack Harkness to shut down Torchwood India and confiscate all of its artefacts. (AUDIO: Golden Age [+]Loading...["Golden Age (audio story)"])
In November 1926, anti-Empire protests took place in Burma. The tigress Dawon was captured by Lady Adela Forster in the protests. (AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger [+]Loading...["The Emerald Tiger (audio story)"])
The British Empire participated in the Second World War, fighting primarily against Nazi Germany (TV: The Empty Child [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"], Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"]) and Imperial Japan. (AUDIO: The Forsaken [+]Loading...["The Forsaken (audio story)"], PROSE: Just War [+]Loading...["Just War (novel)"], The Scales of Injustice [+]Loading...["The Scales of Injustice (novel)"]) Through the Empire, the British received assistance from Australia, (COMIC: The Instruments of War [+]Loading...["The Instruments of War (comic story)"]) Canada, South Africa, (PROSE: Just War [+]Loading...["Just War (novel)"]) and India. (TV: Demons of the Punjab [+]Loading...["Demons of the Punjab (TV story)"]) Despite being his enemies, the Empire was admired by Adolf Hitler, an admiration which was exploited by the Seventh Doctor as he convinced Hitler to allow the Dunkirk evacuation. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus [+]Loading...["Timewyrm: Exodus (novelisation)"])
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, felt strongly about the Empire, telling the Eleventh Doctor in 1941 that he wept for it as well as the country. (TV: Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"]) Soldiers serving the British Empire specifically fought "against fascism". (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"]) In March 1941, Oskar Steinmann observed that the neutral countries of Iceland, Iran and Madagascar had been conquered and were now part of the British Empire. (PROSE: Just War [+]Loading...["Just War (novel)"]) Britain, serving as part of the Allied powers, ultimately proved victorious in the conflict. (PROSE: Magic of the Angels [+]Loading...["Magic of the Angels (novel)"], TV: The Doctor Dances [+]Loading...["The Doctor Dances (TV story)"])
The cost of the war proved high, however, and the Empire was crippled by war debts. (PROSE: Endgame [+]Loading...["Endgame (novel)"]) India became independent, which Churchill was opposed to, (GAME: "Looking back at Winston Churchill" [+]Part of Amy's History Hunt, Loading...{"namedpart":"Looking back at Winston Churchill","1":"Amy's History Hunt (video game)"}) and was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947. (TV: Demons of the Punjab [+]Loading...["Demons of the Punjab (TV story)"]) The British Mandate of Palestine ended in 1948, (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]) and the Arab-Israeli conflict erupted. (PROSE: The Suns of Caresh [+]Loading...["The Suns of Caresh (novel)"])
In 1953, Mr Magpie acknowledged that the British were "losing the Empire" but maintained that they could still be proud to watch the coronation of Elizabeth II; he joked that the Tenth Doctor was living "out in the colonies" to be unaware of the coronation. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"]) That year, the Mau Mau attempted to gain self-rule for Kenya and Nairobi. The British eventually granted self-rule when ending the uprising through diplomatic means. Other countries soon followed. (AUDIO: A Thousand Tiny Wings [+]Loading...["A Thousand Tiny Wings (audio story)"]) By 1964, many of the British Empire's colonies had gained independence. (AUDIO: State of Emergency [+]Loading...["State of Emergency (audio story)"])
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1971, Agatha Christie was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"])
Yvonne Hartman of Torchwood One hoped to use alien artefacts to rebuild the British Empire, much to the Tenth Doctor's confusion. (TV: Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"]) This plan was abandoned after the Torchwood Institute's "old regime" was destroyed in the Battle of Canary Wharf in 2007. (TV: The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...["The Sound of Drums (TV story)"])
Upon visiting Venus in the far future, Henry Gordon Jago suggested claiming the planet for Queen Victoria and the British Empire. (AUDIO: Voyage to Venus [+]Loading...["Voyage to Venus (audio story)"])
A human colony, Britzit-247, venerated the British Empire, modelling its world after the Empire's aesthetics. (COMIC: Remembrance [+]Loading...["Remembrance (comic story)"])
Alternate timelines and parallel universes[[edit] | [edit source]]
However, the British or English Empire moniker was also used to denominate several alternate variants of the United Kingdom. For the most part, these were usually more extreme versions of the British government, totalitarian states subject to xenophobia. (AUDIO: Jubilee [+]Loading...["Jubilee (audio story)"]; PROSE: The Domino Effect [+]Loading...["The Domino Effect (novel)"]) One of these parallels was visited by the Sixth Doctor and his companion Evelyn Smythe, which came about when a time fissure caused them to appear simultaneously in England in 1903 and 2003. In the 1903 timeline, they successfully thwarted a Dalek invasion of England, but the local authority seized them both and the remnants of the invasion, scavenging the technology and using it to establish the highly xenophobic English Empire, which by 2003 had all but subdued the entire world under its banner.
The Doctor and Evelyn were imprisoned in the Tower of London, where Evelyn died of starvation; after repeated escape attempts, the Doctor's guards opted to have his legs amputated. This timeline was destroyed when the Doctor intercepted the Dalek invasion fleet before they managed to establish a foothold. While he was successful in restoring history to normal, he was unable to fully erase the taint of the Empire, worried some of it still endured in the minds of the English people. He hoped they would dare to look into the darkness and confront it, eliminating the possibility of the Empire's resurgence. (AUDIO: Jubilee [+]Loading...["Jubilee (audio story)"])
Another such parallel came to be due to an alternate Sabbath's manipulations, based on the Oracle, a malicious entity from the Time Vortex. It diverged when, on the Oracle's orders, various agents were spread to murder key personnel essential to the development of the computer. This version of the Empire cowed its citizens into submission and enforced its xenophobia by routinely staging acts of terrorism and blaming them on minorities, terrified of the idea of change. Its ruling council, the Star Chamber, was convinced by the Oracle to prevent the development of weapons that could threaten its citizens and endanger their decent lives, though the Eighth Doctor saw through the flimsy argument and learned of the Oracle's manipulations. It was destroyed when Alan Turing, who was forced to become the focal point of the entire reality, was killed. (PROSE: The Domino Effect [+]Loading...["The Domino Effect (novel)"])
On the Inferno Earth the British Empire remained a superpower into the 1970s as the Second World War never happened in that universe. (TV: Inferno [+]Loading...["Inferno (TV story)"], PROSE: The Face of the Enemy [+]Loading...["The Face of the Enemy (novel)"]) The Party, under the leadership of an individual believed to be the parallel counterpart of the Doctor according to one account, (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation [+]Loading...["Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)"]) overthrew democratic government in a revolution in 1943. The British Royal Family were executed after being implicated in the assassination of Oswald Mosley some seven years previously.
When faced with insurgency the Empire was quick to crush it mercilessly. In Aden violent reprisals were authorised against villages suspected of harbouring rebels. (PROSE: I, Alastair [+]Loading...["I, Alastair (novel)"])
While South Africa and New Zealand were content to embrace the new order, Australia rejected it and subsequently became a safe haven for enemies of the regime. (PROSE: The Face of the Enemy [+]Loading...["The Face of the Enemy (novel)"], Still Lives [+]Loading...["Still Lives (short story)"]) However, it was implied that Australia's economic situation was poor, and that skilled people struggled to find work. Australian engineer Greg Sutton sought employment in Great Britain despite his distaste for the Party's ideology. (TV: Inferno [+]Loading...["Inferno (TV story)"])
India's relationship with the Empire was unclear. India was represented on the Conclave, but their delegate, Roshan, was elderly and had little more influence than Nkome, the representative for Britain's African territories. (PROSE: The Face of the Enemy [+]Loading...["The Face of the Enemy (novel)"])
