Did Britain benefit from her empire in the eighteenth century?

To what extent did Britain benefit from her empire in the eighteenth century?
Britain's impact upon the world and the importance of her overseas involvements in the eighteenth century was at least as significant as in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the ages normally taken as the epitome of British imperialism. The eighteenth century saw Britain at near constant war with France, and the role of the empire in providing the revenues that could finance the war grew in importance as the century progressed. Unlike in previous centuries, conflict now centred around the colonial…