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A fleeting empire : early Stuart Britain and the merchant adventurers to Canada

Before the future of North American rule was decided by the battle between British and French forces on the Plains of Abraham, Britain's emerging imperial interests were represented by ambitious merchants and privateers. A Fleeting Empire examines the lives and exploits of early European adventurers in North America, revealing the murky mix of self-interest, patriotism, and adventure that motivated them. The union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603 gave rise to a new British seafaring community, which the early Stuart monarchy used to pursue some of the first commercial and colonial ventures in North America. Among those who sailed across the Atlantic were the Kirke brothers, who in 1629 forced Samuel de Champlain's surrender of Quebec, Sir William Alexander of Menstrie, a rising political figure and patentee of Nova Scotia, and James Stewart of Killeith, leader of a colony on Cape Breton Island. King Charles I was more concerned with brokering a peace with France than looking to the new world, so the gains of the merchant adventurers were short-lived, but their adventures provide a tantalizing glimpse of a moment of British colonial control, suggesting what might have been. Andrew Nicholls showcases the enterprises of knights and privateers alike, providing a fascinating account of early European colonies, commerce, and military force in North America. A Fleeting Empire forces us to see the early histories of Canada and the United States in a new light.

Online EBSCO Academic Comprehensive Collection

A fleeting empire : early Stuart Britain and the merchant adventures to Canada

Before the future of North American rule was decided by the battle between British and French forces on the Plains of Abraham, Britain's emerging imperial interests were represented by ambitious merchants and privateers. A Fleeting Empire examines the lives and exploits of early European adventurers in North America, revealing the murky mix of self-interest, patriotism, and adventure that motivated them. The union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603 gave rise to a new British seafaring community, which the early Stuart monarchy used to pursue some of the first commercial and colonial ventures in North America. Among those who sailed across the Atlantic were the Kirke brothers, who in 1629 forced Samuel de Champlain's surrender of Quebec, Sir William Alexander of Menstrie, a rising political figure and patentee of Nova Scotia, and James Stewart of Killeith, leader of a colony on Cape Breton Island. King Charles I was more concerned with brokering a peace with France than looking to the new world, so the gains of the merchant adventurers were short-lived, but their adventures provide a tantalizing glimpse of a moment of British colonial control, suggesting what might have been. Andrew Nicholls showcases the enterprises of knights and privateers alike, providing a fascinating account of early European colonies, commerce, and military force in North America. A Fleeting Empire forces us to see the early histories of Canada and the United States in a new light.

Online EBSCO University Press

The Jacobean union : a reconsideration of British civil policies under the early Stuarts

Despite the failure of the Anglo-Scottish union negotiations in 1607, the early Stuart monarchs encouraged various civil policies aimed at fostering cooperation and unity among their three kingdoms. However, the opposition they faced from leading subjects frequently forced them to limit or retreat from British ventures. In arguing that the early Stuarts maintained a consistent yet uncomplicated policy of encouraging cooperation among their subjects, this work offers a new perspective on the role of multiple monarchy in the early modern British kingdoms. It has been generally accepted that James VI (James I of Britain) abandoned most efforts aimed at British unity following the failed Anglo-Scottish union negotiations of 1604-1607. This study asserts that James' desire for British unity and inter-kingdom cooperation should not be assessed within the context of that aborted political effort, but, instead, should be analyzed as a long-term project. Union designs predated his ascension to the English throne by some 20 years and continued up to his death in 1625. James was mindful of the possibilities for cooperation which were inherent in inter-kingdom defence policies, trade practices, colonial projects and foreign policy. Many of the assumptions that caused James to project encompassing policies were continued by Charles I, an unstudied element of British continuity between the two reigns. Ultimately, failure to emphasize the need for British unity in relation to a variety of civil policies would be an important factor in the fall of the Stuart monarchy during the British civil wars of the 1640s.