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The law of treason has been criticised for being based on 'outdated' statutes which are inflexible and unsuitable for modern needs. However, a historical examination of the evolution of treason in Britain and its empire suggests that the law was often adaptable. In nineteenth century England, jurists wished to rein in older constructive treasons, to leave the 1351 Act as the appropriate law for wartime treasons, while the more lenient 1848 Act was to be used against 'political' conspiracies to subvert the state by force. However, the 'constructive' treasons remained part of the law, and were given new life in imperial contexts. In Ireland and Canada, the idea that plotting the king's 'political' death was treason remained central to understandings of the 1351 Act. In India, the interpretation of the provision of the penal code against 'waging war' against the government was influenced by old English ideas of 'constructive' treason and used against those who challenged British rule. Imperial understandings of treason were also shaped by cases arising out of the Boer war, where the underlying law was Roman‐Dutch law. Rather than being restrictive and unable to adapt to modern needs, the law of treason was flexible and malleable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]