In terms of size it peaked in the 1920s, covering a quarter of the world's land surface area. Most of the growth came after 1783 when Britain lost America after losing the [[American Revolutionary War]]. The large empire was possible because Britain "ruled the seas" through the strong domination of the [[Royal Navy]], and used this to ensure free trading for British interests. With up to a quarter of the world as British subjects, the Empire was also the world's foremost military power. For many centuries, populations lived under a period of relative peace and prosperity that was the ''Pax Brittannica'', though from a modern perspective, the methods used to control and ensure this superiority on occasion were on occasion particularly vicious.
The empire as such no longer exists, though its legacy can still be appreciated today, be it through the popularity of traditional British sports such as soccerfootball, cricket, rugby and golf; or from the status of [[English]] as the current global [[lingua franca]]; or from the use of the [[Westminster system]] of government and English common law around the world.
The Empire's successor is the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], which still features the British monarch [[Queen Elizabeth II]] as the [[Head of the Commonwealth]]. The commonwealth consists of the UK, [[Commonwealth Realms]] which still have the British monarch as Head of State, and republics.