Britain's First Empire: Acquisition, Governance and Loss

By K. A. J. McLay

Britain's First Empire offers an accessible overview and analysis of Britain's early modern empire, exploring the creation and control of empire, but also looking at why this first empire failed, and why it should be seen as paving the way for the British empire of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Adopting a thematic structure based around acquisition, governance and loss, this book first considers the establishment of Britain's early modern empire, before moving on to examine the role of the political elite in London, the impact of trade and commerce and the participation of the military in maintaining and governing empire through the 17th and 18th centuries. Finally, the failure of empire is assessed, not only as a loss of territory but also in terms of a redefinition of the imperial enterprise to one more tightly controlled and directed by London.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1441188444
• ISBN13: 9781441188441
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 240 Pages