This is not a poll because people are bound to have a different opinions regarding this. This thread is more of a discussion rather than a comparison of different empries and civilizations.
Personally I would have to select the British Empire as being the greatest ever. Not only was arguably the greatest ever in terms of demographics, but coinsidering the impact it has left on the world and the fact that its legacy continues to grow.
Below are a few sources that impressed upon me in this regard.
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The British Empire
The British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400–500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area).
The British Empire came together over 300 years through a succession of phases of expansion by trade, settlement or conquest, interspersed with intervals of pacific commercial and diplomatic activity, or imperial contraction. Its territories were scattered across every continent and ocean, and it was described with some truth as "the empire on which the sun never sets." Arguably, its zenith was achieved in the 1890s and 1900s.
The Empire facilitated the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government around much of the globe. Imperial hegemony contributed to Britain's extraordinary economic growth, and greatly strengthened its voice in world affairs. Even as Britain extended its imperial reach overseas, it continued to develop and broaden democratic institutions at the homeland.
From the perspective of the colonies, the record of the British Empire is mixed. The colonies received from Britain the English language, an administrative and legal framework on the British model, and technological and economic development. During decolonisation, Britain sought to pass parliamentary democracy and the rule of law to its colonies, with varying degrees of success. However, almost all former British colonies have since chosen to join the Commonwealth of Nations, the association which replaced the Empire.
Nonetheless, British colonial policy was always driven to a large extent by Britain's trading interests. While settler economies developed the infrastructure to support balanced development, tropical African territories found themselves developed only as raw-material suppliers. British policies based on comparative advantage left many developing economies dangerously reliant on a single cash crop. A reliance upon the manipulation of conflict between ethnic and racial identities, in order to keep subject populations from uniting against the occupying power — the classic "divide and rule" strategy — left a legacy of partition or inter-communal difficulties in areas as diverse as Ireland, India, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Uganda, Iraq, Guyana and Fiji. Colonel Frank Kitson, in his book Gangs and Countergangs (1960), described how British colonial authorities in Kenya successfully manipulated the Mau Mau uprising so that it became warfare between rival factions; ultimately only 22 Whites were killed, as opposed to 18,000–30,000 natives.
The credit for the first ever usage of the words "British Empire" is usually given to Doctor John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer, alchemist and mathematician.
Extent
At its height in 1921, the British Empire consisted of the following territories —
Africa
* Bechuanaland (now Botswana)
* British Togoland
* Cameroon
* Gold Coast (now Ghana)
* Egypt
* Kenya
* Nigeria
* Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)
* Sierra Leone
* Somaliland
* South Africa — including Lesotho
* Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
* South West Africa (now Namibia)
* Sudan
* Tanganyika (now Tanzania)
* Uganda
The Americas and Atlantic
* Ascension Island
* British Guiana (now Guyana)
* British Honduras (now Belize)
* Canada
* Falkland Islands
* Newfoundland
* West Indies
o Anguilla
o Antigua and Barbuda
o Bahamas
o Barbados
o Bermuda
o British Virgin Islands
o Cayman Islands
o Dominica
o Grenada
o Jamaica
o Montserrat
o Saint Kitts and Nevis
o Saint Lucia
o Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
o Trinidad and Tobago
o Turks and Caicos Islands
* St Helena
* Tristan da Cunha
* South Georgia
Antarctica
* British Antarctic Territory
Asia
* Aden (now part of Yemen)
* Bhutan
* British New Guinea (southern part of what is now Papua New Guinea)
* Brunei
* Burma (now Myanmar)
* Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
* Hong Kong
* British India (now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh)
* Iraq
* Kuwait
* Malaya (now part of Malaysia)
* Maldives
* Palestine (now Israel and the occupied territories)
* Nepal
* North Borneo (now part of Malaysia)
* Oman
* Qatar
* Sarawak (now part of Malaysia)
* Singapore
* Transjordan (now Jordan)
* Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates)
Europe
* Cyprus
* Gibraltar
* Malta
* United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Pacific
* Australia
* Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu)
* Fiji
* Gilbert Islands (now part of Kiribati)
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Pitcairn
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
Motto: God and my right
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Which do you think was/is the Greatest Empire ever?
Personally I would have to select the British Empire as being the greatest ever. Not only was arguably the greatest ever in terms of demographics, but coinsidering the impact it has left on the world and the fact that its legacy continues to grow.
Below are a few sources that impressed upon me in this regard.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The British Empire
The British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400–500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area).
The British Empire came together over 300 years through a succession of phases of expansion by trade, settlement or conquest, interspersed with intervals of pacific commercial and diplomatic activity, or imperial contraction. Its territories were scattered across every continent and ocean, and it was described with some truth as "the empire on which the sun never sets." Arguably, its zenith was achieved in the 1890s and 1900s.
The Empire facilitated the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government around much of the globe. Imperial hegemony contributed to Britain's extraordinary economic growth, and greatly strengthened its voice in world affairs. Even as Britain extended its imperial reach overseas, it continued to develop and broaden democratic institutions at the homeland.
From the perspective of the colonies, the record of the British Empire is mixed. The colonies received from Britain the English language, an administrative and legal framework on the British model, and technological and economic development. During decolonisation, Britain sought to pass parliamentary democracy and the rule of law to its colonies, with varying degrees of success. However, almost all former British colonies have since chosen to join the Commonwealth of Nations, the association which replaced the Empire.
Nonetheless, British colonial policy was always driven to a large extent by Britain's trading interests. While settler economies developed the infrastructure to support balanced development, tropical African territories found themselves developed only as raw-material suppliers. British policies based on comparative advantage left many developing economies dangerously reliant on a single cash crop. A reliance upon the manipulation of conflict between ethnic and racial identities, in order to keep subject populations from uniting against the occupying power — the classic "divide and rule" strategy — left a legacy of partition or inter-communal difficulties in areas as diverse as Ireland, India, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Uganda, Iraq, Guyana and Fiji. Colonel Frank Kitson, in his book Gangs and Countergangs (1960), described how British colonial authorities in Kenya successfully manipulated the Mau Mau uprising so that it became warfare between rival factions; ultimately only 22 Whites were killed, as opposed to 18,000–30,000 natives.
The credit for the first ever usage of the words "British Empire" is usually given to Doctor John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer, alchemist and mathematician.
Extent
At its height in 1921, the British Empire consisted of the following territories —
Africa
* Bechuanaland (now Botswana)
* British Togoland
* Cameroon
* Gold Coast (now Ghana)
* Egypt
* Kenya
* Nigeria
* Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)
* Sierra Leone
* Somaliland
* South Africa — including Lesotho
* Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
* South West Africa (now Namibia)
* Sudan
* Tanganyika (now Tanzania)
* Uganda
The Americas and Atlantic
* Ascension Island
* British Guiana (now Guyana)
* British Honduras (now Belize)
* Canada
* Falkland Islands
* Newfoundland
* West Indies
o Anguilla
o Antigua and Barbuda
o Bahamas
o Barbados
o Bermuda
o British Virgin Islands
o Cayman Islands
o Dominica
o Grenada
o Jamaica
o Montserrat
o Saint Kitts and Nevis
o Saint Lucia
o Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
o Trinidad and Tobago
o Turks and Caicos Islands
* St Helena
* Tristan da Cunha
* South Georgia
Antarctica
* British Antarctic Territory
Asia
* Aden (now part of Yemen)
* Bhutan
* British New Guinea (southern part of what is now Papua New Guinea)
* Brunei
* Burma (now Myanmar)
* Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
* Hong Kong
* British India (now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh)
* Iraq
* Kuwait
* Malaya (now part of Malaysia)
* Maldives
* Palestine (now Israel and the occupied territories)
* Nepal
* North Borneo (now part of Malaysia)
* Oman
* Qatar
* Sarawak (now part of Malaysia)
* Singapore
* Transjordan (now Jordan)
* Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates)
Europe
* Cyprus
* Gibraltar
* Malta
* United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Pacific
* Australia
* Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu)
* Fiji
* Gilbert Islands (now part of Kiribati)
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Pitcairn
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
Motto: God and my right
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Which do you think was/is the Greatest Empire ever?