The First British Empire: Global Expansion in the Early Modern Age

The First British Empire is an authoritative, highly readable and substantial account of the origins, growth and transformation of the British Empire from its European beginnings until the aftermath of the American Revolution.Taking a regional and chronological approach, and highlighting the dual drivers of profit and power, it shows that the early empire was a mechanism not for dominance but for survival. From the naval war against Spain to the ‘Glorious Revolution’ to the wars against Nap...