<P> Between 1815 and 1914 , a period referred to as Britain 's `` imperial century '' by some historians , around 10,000,000 square miles ( 26,000,000 km ) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire . Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival , other than Russia in Central Asia . Unchallenged at sea , Britain adopted the role of global policeman , a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica , and a foreign policy of `` splendid isolation '' . Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies , Britain 's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries , such as China , Argentina and Siam , which has been described by some historians as an `` Informal Empire '' . </P>
<P> Between 1815 and 1914 , a period referred to as Britain 's `` imperial century '' by some historians , around 10,000,000 square miles ( 26,000,000 km ) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire . Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival , other than Russia in Central Asia . Unchallenged at sea , Britain adopted the role of global policeman , a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica , and a foreign policy of `` splendid isolation '' . Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies , Britain 's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries , such as China , Argentina and Siam , which has been described by some historians as an `` Informal Empire '' . </P>
who controlled the world at the end of the 1800s
who controlled the world at the end of the 1800s
Britain
Britain