subclass_of united states customary units
___MASK39___ units are the historical units of ___MASK48___ used in England up to 1826 ( when they were replaced by Imperial units ), which evolved as a combination of the Anglo - Saxon and Roman systems of units . Various standards have applied to ___MASK39___ units at different times , in different places , and for different applications . Dominions were semi - independent polities under the British ___MASK21___ , constituting the British Empire , beginning with Canadian Confederation in 1867 . They included Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Newfoundland , South Africa , and the Irish Free ___MASK55___ , and then from the late 1940s also India , Pakistan , and Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ). The Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognised the Dominions as " autonomous Communities within the British Empire ", and the 1931 ___MASK17___ of Westminster granted them full legislative independence . A ___MASK100___ is a definite magnitude of a quantity , defined and adopted by convention or by law , that is used as a standard for measurement of the same quantity . Any other value of that quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the ___MASK100___ . The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign ___MASK50___ in ___MASK7___ Europe . Lying off the north - ___MASK7___ coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole ___MASK50___ ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic ___MASK36___ , with the North ___MASK73___ to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic ___MASK73___ to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish ___MASK73___ lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous ___MASK50___ , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated ___MASK50___ in the European Union . A protectorate , in its inception adopted by modern ___MASK6___ , is a dependent territory that has been granted local autonomy and some independence while still retaining the suzerainty of a greater sovereign state . In ___MASK69___ for this , the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations , which may vary greatly , depending on the real nature of their relationship . Therefore , a protectorate remains an autonomous part of a sovereign state . They are different from colonies as they have local rulers and people ruling over the territory and experience rare cases of immigration of settlers from the country it has suzerainty of . However , a state which remains under the protection of another state but still retains independence is known as a protected state and is different from protectorates . The ___MASK57___ " the empire on which the sun never sets " has been used with variations to describe certain global empires that were so extensive that there was always at least one part of their ___MASK77___ that was in daylight . The ___MASK58___ of imperial units or the imperial ___MASK58___ ( also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1825 ) is the ___MASK58___ of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 , which was later refined and reduced . The Imperial Units replaced the Winchester Standards , which were in effect from 1588 to 1825 . The ___MASK58___ came into official use across the British Empire . By the late 20th century , most nations of the former empire had officially adopted the metric ___MASK58___ as their main ___MASK58___ of ___MASK48___ , although some imperial units are still used in the United Kingdom , Canada and other countries formerly part of the British Empire . The imperial ___MASK58___ developed from what were first known as English units , as did the related ___MASK58___ of United States customary units . A trading post or trading ___MASK78___ was a place or establishment where the trading of goods took place ; the term is generally used , in modern parlance , in reference to such establishments in historic Northern America , although the practice long predates that ___MASK14___ ' s colonization by Europeans . The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts , was known as a trade route . United States customary units are a ___MASK58___ of measurements commonly used in the United States . The U . S . customary ___MASK58___ developed from ___MASK39___ units which were in use in the British Empire before American independence . However , the British ___MASK58___ of measures was overhauled in 1824 to create the imperial ___MASK58___ , changing the definitions of some units . Therefore , while many U . S . units are essentially similar to their Imperial counterparts , there are significant differences between the systems . The majority of U . S . customary units were redefined in terms of the meter and the kilogram with the Mendenhall Order of 1893 and , in practice , for many years before . These definitions were refined by the international yard and pound agreement of 1959 . Americans primarily use customary units in commercial activities , as well as for personal and social use . In science , medicine , many sectors of industry and some of government , metric units are used . The International System of Units ( SI ) , the modern form of the metric ___MASK58___ , is preferred for many uses by the U . S . National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) . The British Empire comprised the dominions , colonies , protectorates , mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states . It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by ___MASK33___ between the late 16th and early 18th centuries . At its height , it was the largest empire in ___MASK53___ and , for over a century , was the foremost global power . By 1913 , the British Empire held sway over 412 million people , % of the world population at the time , and by 1920 , it covered , % of the Earth ' s total land area . As a result , its political , legal , linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread . At the peak of its power , the phrase " the empire on which the sun never sets " was often used to describe the British Empire , because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories . ___MASK33___ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The ___MASK28___ ___MASK73___ lies northwest of ___MASK33___ and the Celtic ___MASK73___ lies to the southwest . ___MASK33___ is separated from continental Europe by the North ___MASK73___ to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight .