The British Empire refers to the studies, sources, critical methods and interpretations used by scholars to study the history of the British Empire. Scholars have long studied the Empire, looking at the causes for its formation, its relations to the French and other empires, and the kinds of people and their ideas who became imperialists or anti-imperialists. The history of the breakdown of the Empire has attracted scholars of the United States, as well as India and the African colonies. Colonizing, civilizing, converting, and commerce. In the First British Empire there was no single imperial vision, but rather a multiplicity of private operations led by different groups of English businessmen or religious groups. While protected by the Royal Navy, they were not funded or planned by the government.