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Britain’s 17th Century Colonial Blitzkrieg
The seeds of the world’s greatest empire were sown long before they bore fruit
The British Empire reached its venerable peak during the Victorian Age. There were British colonies and protectorates spanning the globe from the southern tip of Africa to India, from Hong Kong to Gibraltar, and beyond. It was fashionable to say that the sun never set on the British Empire, both in fortunes and in the very literal sense. However, this empire did not spring from nothing. The seeds for England’s eventual greatness and global domination were planted in a century that gets very little attention.
England quietly and determinedly began laying the foundation for her eventual record breaking empire in the earliest days of the 17th century. They were little victories, small battles, and a continual march towards greatness that we can appreciate now but seldom do.
Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies
In 1599, a group of capitalists and adventurers approached the crown in England to ask for a charter granting…
