The theft of England's territory (1914)

This map, published by Pharus Verlag in 1914, shows the possessions of the British Empire at the very beginning of the First World War.

This is a Prussian propaganda map, which seeks to show not only the extent of the British Empire, but also the territory that the British had seized from other European powers around the world. The aim was to tarnish the image of the British Empire and help Germany win allies in the run-up to the war.

With the title Map of England's land grab (map of land appropriation in England), the entire territory colonised by the British Empire is shown in red, and then the territories that the British Empire had seized from other colonial powers are shown with red borders:

• With the pink background, the territory seized from the French, such as Sierra Leone or Mauritius.
• With the yellow background, the territory seized from the Netherlands, such as Malaysia, South Africa, or Guyana.
• Against the dark green background, the territory seized from Spain, such as Gibraltar, Jamaica, or Bermuda.
• With the green background scratched out, the territory seized from Portugal, as part of India or Barbados.
• With the light green background, the territory seized from the United States, such as the Bahamas.

In addition, the tables for the Atlantic and Indian Oceans also show the year in which each of these territories transitioned from their original settlers to becoming part of the British Empire.

Sources

• Map of England's land grab