First published in 1983, England's Sea Empire was originally part of the Early Modern Europe Today book series. It explores the relationships between the increase of English merchant shipping, the growth of naval power and the early experiments in overseas trade and colonisation. No other book combines these topics for the period from the middle of the 16 th to the middle of the 17 th century. In dealing with economic, strategic and technical problems, the authors write in language which is intelligible to non-specialist readers. They illustrate the arguments with generous quotations from contemporary sources and with maps of the regions under discussion. This book will be of value on undergraduate courses in early British or colonial or maritime history.