Britain in the Wider World

<p>Britain in the Wider World traces the remarkable transformation of Britain between 1603 and 1800 as it developed into a world power. </p><p>At the accession of James VI and I to the throne of England in 1603 the kingdoms of England/Wales Scotland and Ireland were united only by having a monarch in common. They had little presence in the world and were fraught with violence. Two centuries later the consolidated state of the United Kingdom established in 1801 was an economic powerhouse and increasingly geopolitically important with an empire that stretched from the Americas to Asia and to the Pacific. The book offers a fresh approach to assessing Britain’s evolution situating Britain within both imperial and Atlantic history and examining how Britain came together politically and socially throughout the eighteenth century. In particular it offers a detailed exploration of Britain as a fiscal-military state able to fight major wars without bankrupting itself. Through studying patterns of political authority and gender relationships it also stresses the constancy of fundamental features of British society economy and politics despite considerable internal changes. </p><p>Detailed accessibly written and enhanced by illustrations <i>Britain in the Wider World </i>is ideal for students of early modern Britain. </p>