The so-called British Empire was at its peak in 1914, when it took up about one- fifth of the world’s land surface, (See, map). It held sway over 54 countries and 11 territories and one out of every four people in the world owed their allegiance to the British crown. India was the ‘jewel in the crown’, being the most populous among overseas British possessions.
With far-flung colonies, stretching from Trinidad and Tobago in the west and Singapore and Samoa in the east, it was literally true that the Sun never set on the British Empire.
