L. H. Roper is Professor of History at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and the author of Conceiving Carolina (2004) and The English Empire in America, 1602–1658 (2009). He has edited several books of essays and published numerous articles on early American history. He is also co-general editor of the Journal of Early American History.

'In this bold, bracing, and invigoratingly comprehensive reinterpretation of the foundations of the seventeenth-century English Empire in Asia and the Americas, L. H. Roper illustrates the important role of private interests and fundamentally reshapes the understanding of the formation of imperial power in the founding period by looking at the English Empire in the round.' Trevor Burnard, University of Melbourne

• 1. Foundations; 2. The expansion of English overseas interests: America; 3. The expansion of English overseas interests: Guinea; 4. The expansion of English overseas interests: Asia; 5. Civil War and English overseas interests; 6. New modelers; 7. Interregnum, restoration, and English overseas expansion; 8. Climax; 9. A new empire?; Bibliography; Index.

L. H. Roper is Professor of History at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and the author of Conceiving Carolina (2004) and The English Empire in America, 1602–1658 (2009). He has edited several books of essays and published numerous articles on early American history. He is also co-general editor of the Journal of Early American History.

'In this bold, bracing, and invigoratingly comprehensive reinterpretation of the foundations of the seventeenth-century English Empire in Asia and the Americas, L. H. Roper illustrates the important role of private interests and fundamentally reshapes the understanding of the formation of imperial power in the founding period by looking at the English Empire in the round.' Trevor Burnard, University of Melbourne

• 1. Foundations; 2. The expansion of English overseas interests: America; 3. The expansion of English overseas interests: Guinea; 4. The expansion of English overseas interests: Asia; 5. Civil War and English overseas interests; 6. New modelers; 7. Interregnum, restoration, and English overseas expansion; 8. Climax; 9. A new empire?; Bibliography; Index.

L. H. Roper is Professor of History at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and the author of Conceiving Carolina (2004) and The English Empire in America, 1602–1658 (2009). He has edited several books of essays and published numerous articles on early American history. He is also co-general editor of the Journal of Early American History.

'In this bold, bracing, and invigoratingly comprehensive reinterpretation of the foundations of the seventeenth-century English Empire in Asia and the Americas, L. H. Roper illustrates the important role of private interests and fundamentally reshapes the understanding of the formation of imperial power in the founding period by looking at the English Empire in the round.' Trevor Burnard, University of Melbourne

• 1. Foundations; 2. The expansion of English overseas interests: America; 3. The expansion of English overseas interests: Guinea; 4. The expansion of English overseas interests: Asia; 5. Civil War and English overseas interests; 6. New modelers; 7. Interregnum, restoration, and English overseas expansion; 8. Climax; 9. A new empire?; Bibliography; Index.