The English Octopus, 1888

This political cartoon is showing John Bull from England as the "octopus of imperialism". John Bull is a national personification of Great Britain (like Uncle Sam for the U.S.A.). This is showing that during imperialism England had a hand in every part of the world. The author’s opinion is that England was the most imperialistic nation of the time because of having a foothold in every part of the world. We can think that this cartoon shows how powerful England was at the time because of how much territory it had.

The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire

It was originally used for the Spanish Empire, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. In more recent times, it was used for the British Empire, mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, the British Empire reached a territorial size larger than that of any other empire in history.