ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

English overseas possessions

Have you ever had a toy that belonged to someone else but you got to play with it? That's kind of like what English overseas possessions were. England had things that belonged to other countries but they got to use them.

In the past, England was very powerful and had many colonies which were places that they took over and ruled over like their own country. These colonies were often in other parts of the world and English people would go there to live or to trade. The people who lived in these colonies were often forced to speak English and follow English rules.

These colonies were important for England because they provided them with things they needed like food and materials to make things. They could also sell the things they made to other countries and make lots of money.

England had many overseas possessions including places like India, Canada, Australia, and parts of Africa like South Africa. They even had a little place called Gibraltar which is a small piece of land at the very bottom of Spain.

Eventually, many of these colonies became independent and were no longer owned by England. But today, English is still spoken in many countries around the world because of these old colonies.