Customer Reviews

The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire: British Overseas Enterprise to the Close of the Seventeenth Century

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Nicholas Canny in the origins of Empire organizes historians into the key categories on the foundation of the British Empire. By taking not only a macro approach and looking at how the empire developed through trade, seapower, and technology but also a micro approach. Each author walks the reader through their area of expertise and the development of how each colony came into existence is clear. This truly is a study in early world history as the reader is taken around the world from the shores of Bombay to the wilds of the early North American continent and the Indians that interacted with empire. It also assesses what one might call the development of the domestic empire by analyzing Ireland and Scotland. As no study of the time period would be complete without NAM Rodger's seapower analysis and Canny's immigration theories this book really does have it all. For those who want to understand the development of the British Empire this is the essential book to own and a must read for those who love British and Atlantic world history.

If you are a history buff then this is the book for you. It gives you a lot of detail. I plan on getting the other books in this series. It is top notch and a must have for anyone that seriously wants to study history.