This course begins with the American Declaration of Independence, which heralded the disastrous loss of Britain's most important colonies, and ends in 1877 with Queen Victoria's proclamation as Empress of India. The intervening century saw Britain emerge from decades of global war, revolution and unprecedented change as the world's first modern industrial nation, possessing wealth, power and prestige without parallel. This course examines the social, economic, political, diplomatic and military developments which brought about this state of affairs. In particular, it will focus on the driving forces behind Britain's imperial expansion, and the ways in which empire shaped Britain itself; the transition from the social turmoil which accompanied the early Industrial Revolution to the social and political harmony which characterised the later period, and the effective adaptation of the British political and social order to demands for political equality.