This pioneering comparative study of British imperialism in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds draws on the perspectives of British newcomers overseas and their native hosts, metropolitan officials and corporate enterprises, migrants and settlers. Leading scholars examine the divergences and commonalities in the legal and economic regimes that allowed Britain to project imperium across the globe. They explore the nature of sovereignty and law, governance and regulation, diplomacy, military relations and commerce, shedding new light on the processes of expansion that influenced the making of empire. While acknowledging the distinctions and divergences in imperial endeavours in Asia and the Americas - not least in terms of the size of indigenous populations, technical and cultural differences, and approaches to indigenous polities - this book argues that these differences must be seen in the context of what Britons overseas shared, including constitutional principles, claims of sovereignty, disciplinary regimes and military attitudes.

In examining the history of northeastern North America in the seventeenth and eighteen centuries, it is important to take into account diverse influences and experiences. Not only was the relationship between native inhabitants and colonial settlers a defining characteristic of Acadia/Nova Scotia and New England in this era, but it was also a relationship shaped by wider continental and oceanic connections.

The essays in this volume deal with topics such as colonial habitation, imperial exchange, and aboriginal engagement, all of which were pervasive phenomena of the time. John G. Reid argues that these were complicated processes that interacted freely with one another, shaping the human experience at different times and places. Northeastern North America was an arena of distinctive complexities in the early modern period, and this collection uses it as an example of a manageable and logical basis for historical study. Reid also explores the significance of anniversary observances and commemorations that have served as vehicles of reflection on the lasting implications of historical developments in the early modern period. These and other insights amount to a fresh perspective on the region and offer a deeper understanding of North American history.

Born in 1651 in what is now Maine, William Phips became a sea captain out of Boston, an adventurer in search of Spanish treasure in the Caribbean. He captured and plundered Port Royal in Acadia, now Nova Scotia, and led an unsuccessful expedition against Quebec in 1690. He became the first royal governor of Massachusetts in 1692, put an end to the Salem witchcraft trials, and negotiated a treaty with the native Wabanaki.

This biography presents a well-rounded picture of Phips, one that looks at all phases of his colourful career. He was an unusual figure among colonial governors, and his very uniqueness, as well as his difficulties as governor, help us to understand the politics and society of New England during his era. Helped and hindered by his obscure origins, Phips struggled for advancement, and his struggle illustrates the fluid nature of the British Empire in the late seventeenth century.

Phips's life was left unexplored by scholars for the past seventy years. The New England Knight reconstructs his career using contemporary material that brings life and immediacy to the narrative. It interacts with recent studies in colonial, imperial, aboriginal, and marine history to set Phips's eventful life in context.

This pioneering comparative study of British imperialism in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds draws on the perspectives of British newcomers overseas and their native hosts, metropolitan officials and corporate enterprises, migrants and settlers. Leading scholars examine the divergences and commonalities in the legal and economic regimes that allowed Britain to project imperium across the globe. They explore the nature of sovereignty and law, governance and regulation, diplomacy, military relations and commerce, shedding new light on the processes of expansion that influenced the making of empire. While acknowledging the distinctions and divergences in imperial endeavours in Asia and the Americas - not least in terms of the size of indigenous populations, technical and cultural differences, and approaches to indigenous polities - this book argues that these differences must be seen in the context of what Britons overseas shared, including constitutional principles, claims of sovereignty, disciplinary regimes and military attitudes.