The Elizabethan Idea of Empire
| Title: | The Elizabethan Idea of Empire |
| Author: | Armitage, David |
| Citation: | Armitage, David. 2004. The Elizabethan idea of empire. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Sixth Series) 14: 269-277. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
armitage_elizabethan.pdf (807.0Kb; PDF) 
|
| Abstract: | This paper argues that the English idea of empire in the reign of Elizabeth I was derivative, belated and incoherent. Its sources were classical and continental rather than indigenous. It arose more than a century after the Scottish monarchy had elaborated its own conception of empire. Moreover, it expressed a sense of backwardness, isolation and anxiety that mirrored the English failure to establish any permanent settlements in the Atlantic world. As a result, any balance sheet of empire drawn up on Elizabeth's death in 1603 would have valued prospects in the Mediterranean and the East Indies more highly than possibilities in the Americas. |
| Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S008044010400012X |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3382856 |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
FAS Scholarly Articles [5171]
Peer reviewed scholarly articles from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)
