ABSTRACT

Of northern European nations, the British had the greatest impact on the Americas. Their history there embraces far more than the colonies that became the United States: England had been in the New World for a century before those colonies were established, and the British presence long outlived their loss. This integrated account of that involvement spans the entire arc of British territories from the Caribbean to Canada, and the entire period from the first appearance of the English to the disintegration of the British and other Euro-American empires. A fascinating story, engrossingly told, it fills a major gap in current historiography.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part One|86 pages

Emergence of Empire, 1480–1642

chapter Chapter One|26 pages

English Explorations in the Atlantic

chapter Chapter Two|21 pages

First Colonies

chapter Chapter Three|37 pages

Migrants and Settlers

part Two|122 pages

Expansion and Consolidation, 1642–1713

chapter Chapter Four|32 pages

The Expansion of Empire

chapter Chapter Five|25 pages

English Colonies in the Caribbean

chapter Chapter Six|36 pages

The North American Colonies

chapter Chapter Seven|27 pages

Government and Politics

part Three|98 pages

Transformations of Empire, 1713–1815

chapter Chapter Eight|35 pages

War, Trade and Empire, 1713–1776

chapter Chapter Nine|32 pages

Crisis of Empire

chapter Chapter Ten|29 pages

Realignments of Empire

chapter |4 pages

Epilogue