All about...#21 - Largest Empires

The Modern British Empire was founded in the 1500s or 1700s (depending on who you ask) and peaked in 1920. The story of the British empire is grand...they were one of the only empires to occupy/claim 7 continents and had one of the largest armies in the world. There wasn't ONE person that brought the empire together - it was a line of good and stable rulers that brought it together. In the 1700s, they colonized the Americas. In the 1800s, they colonized Africa and India. But one problem with big empires was that they had enemies. Throughout their history, they had over a couple of dozen wars, across 6 continents; from independence wars to just flat-out, brutal wars (WWI). Speaking of world wars, it wasn't that the empire collapsed because it got weak...it was because of modern times...countries split. Overall, the British empire left a big mark in history around the world...mainly with the speaking of English.

Founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, it went on to be the 2nd largest empire in history, occupying 17% of the entire world! The empire started by defeating local tribes then eventually growing...and growing...and growing. Through their raids, they captured many cities, looted, burned and stole. They even captured Baghdad and made it as far as Turkey. When Mogne Khan died in 1259, the empire split into four, then slowly dissolved into the end of Mongol rule. Today, much of the Remembrance is located in Mongolia.

The story of the Russian empire is interesting because they went through the hard task of conquering no-mans-land (in some cases). Like the UK, Russia had a line of monarchs, until the Soviet Union. But the interesting thing is that the peak of Russia was before the USSR in 1895. But let's learn about the beginning first. It was founded in the 1700s by Peter I, with its rulers being "Czars". It was at that time that Russia became powerful. The Russian empire had a massive influence in the 1800s over Asian countries. Its official language is Russian and its Religion is Orthodox. Today, it is not an empire - just a powerhouse country.

Ah...our first Chinese empire-the Qing! But when was it? The Qing empire peaked in 1790, as it was around for 300 years between 1644 and 1912. The Manchu state/people overthrew the Ming dynasty to found the Qing. The Qing was a large empire during the time - covering more than just China. They were very big on exporting and trade. Sadly, like many empires, they found enemies and fought with Japan. They collapsed before World War I, from pressure from other powers, and neighboring countries, and an economic collapse.

The Spanish empire was one of the largest influencers in the history of empires. You can name 3 off the top of your head: Habsburg dynasty, Conquistadors, and Catholicism. Spain was a big colonizer in the New world, and put their hopes and ambitions on the Americas to get gold (They lost most of their other colonies through trades and war). Spain also colonized countries in Europe, thanks to their Habsburg dynasty and the unification of Castille and Aragon. But of course, none of this would have happened without Christopher Columbus in 1492. The empire became rich and peaked in 1810. The influence is seen today in the language and religion of Spain, spoken all over South America - Spanish.

Yes..there is a difference between the 2nd and the 1st French empires. The first one was Napoleon's empire, plus the American colonies (not big enough to make it to the list). But this one was another 7 continent empire. They won many wars and were very successful, as was their influence on language, cuisine, and military. They had a big rival though...England, which was a little more powerful than them. The cool thing is that after the French Revolution, France didn't have that many problems with their government, besides poverty. They were kinder to their colonies than some other countries like Belgium. France technically still has an empire...the French Guiana in South America as well as many Islands across the oceans. Today, lots of people study the French language and cuisine. The empire peaked in 1920.

The Abbasid Caliphate was a smart and powerful Muslim Caliphate that spanned all of the middle east. Founded in 750 right after the Umayyad fell, it was a fairly nice empire...having ties to lots of people, including the Persians. The sad thing well 2 things...

1. They Ended before the Crusades, so they couldn't help the other Muslims.

2. They kept on decreasing in size right after independence.

Anyways, people remember the Abbasid as the powerful influencer that formed into many smaller Caliphates, who eventually won the Crusades.

Don't mean to be mean, but the Umayyad Caliphate was more powerful, but not popular. They were disliked by many outsiders like the Christians and fought many wars. But you have to give them some credit...they were advanced in Astronomy, Math, Science, and Physics. They helped come up with Algebra and the meaning of the stars and planets. While they weren't learning, they were conquering. They were the most powerful Caliphate ever, peaking in 720. The Umayyad got most of the credit by spreading Islam through forceful ways...and that's their legacy.

The Yuan Dynasty, which peaked in 1294, lasted from 1271-1368. It was actually one of the 4 dynasties that broke off from the Mongols in the 13th century. They were very powerful and known for their best ruler, Kublai Khan, Marco Polo also visited the Yuan dynasties for studies and served in Kublai Khan's court for a while. The Yuan Dynasty was very populous!! Over 80 million people were in the country. Their main language was of course...Mongolian and Chinese. The Dynasty fell in 1368 because they split into 2. And that's the story of the Yuan Dynasty.

The United States has one of the most interesting stories a country could have, it is the most powerful democracy in the world, and at one point, the 10th largest empire, peaking in 1899. The reason they were bigger than was because of the Spanish-American War, in which they received many territories. They just sold off the other territories. Today, the United States has the largest economy in the world, and its GDP is 21 TRILLION. It is interesting that the United States made it on this list because they don't think of themselves as a physical empire but a technological one. Gotta give some credit for them...they have been in many large wars, both proxy and upscale. The United States, no doubt will forever leave a change on the world.