Key historical documents from the history of the British Empire, presented with annotations and contextual analysis. These are the raw materials from which imperial history was made.
The great Charter of Liberty... was not the result of any spontaneous movement of the people, but was wrung from the hands of the Crown by the determined resistance of the barons.
— Stubbs, Constitutional History of England, Vol. II
The royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I to the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the East Indies," establishing the corporate entity that would eventually govern much of the Indian subcontinent.
The founding document of New Zealand, signed between the British Crown and Māori chiefs. The English and Māori versions contain significant differences, particularly regarding sovereignty and governance, that remain contested to this day.
The General Act of the Berlin Conference formalised the "Scramble for Africa," establishing the rules by which European powers could claim African territory. Not a single African leader was invited to attend.
A letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild declaring British support for "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. Its ambiguous wording — particularly the phrase "civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities" — continues to shape geopolitical conflict.
The largest single piece of legislation ever passed by the British Parliament at the time. It established provincial autonomy in British India while retaining significant imperial control, setting the stage for the eventual partition of the subcontinent.
A joint declaration by Churchill and Roosevelt affirming the right of all peoples to choose their form of government. Colonial subjects seized upon its language of self-determination, even as Churchill insisted it applied only to nations under Axis occupation.