The empire on which the sun never sets

The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" (Spanish: el imperio donde nunca se pone el sol) has been used to describe certain global empires that were so territorially extensive that it seemed as though it was always daytime in at least one part of their territory.

The concept of an empire ruling all lands where the sun shines dates back to the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Persians, and the Romans. In its modern form, it was first used for the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, who, as Duke of Burgundy, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor, attempted to build a universal monarchy. The term was then used for the Spanish Empire under Philip II and his successors, when it reached a global territorial size, particularly in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.^[1]^[2]^[3] It was also used for the British Empire, mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period in which it reached a global territorial size. In the late 20th century, the phrase was sometimes adapted to refer to the global reach of American power.

^ Holslag, Jonathan (25 October 2018). A Political History of the World: Three Thousand Years of War and Peace. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780241352052 – via Google Books. Spanning both hemispheres and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, the Habsburg Empire was – as its propagandists proudly boasted – the first 'upon which the sun never set'.^{[page needed]}
^ Lothar Höbelt (2003). Defiant Populist: Jörg Haider and the Politics of Austria. Purdue University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55753-230-5.
^ Cropsey, Seth (2017). Seablindness: How Political Neglect Is Choking American Seapower and What to Do About It. Encounter Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-59403-916-4.

[1] Holslag, Jonathan (25 October 2018). A Political History of the World: Three Thousand Years of War and Peace. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780241352052 – via Google Books. Spanning both hemispheres and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, the Habsburg Empire was – as its propagandists proudly boasted – the first 'upon which the sun never set'.^{[page needed]}

[Hobelt2003-2] Lothar Höbelt (2003). Defiant Populist: Jörg Haider and the Politics of Austria. Purdue University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55753-230-5.

[3] Cropsey, Seth (2017). Seablindness: How Political Neglect Is Choking American Seapower and What to Do About It. Encounter Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-59403-916-4.

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