A penetrating examination of the British Empire's relationship with America from its heyday to its decline


Britain and the United States have helped define much of world history in recent centuries and the relationship between the two is crucial to this history. Crisis of Empire focuses on a key period in the relationship, one that molded the character of the British Empire and of the United States and thus the way they would relate to one another in the future. The rise and crises of empires will always fascinate the observer because in their fate we see much of human history. Certainly, the struggle of and for empire in the 18th Century was key to the fate of North America and more generally to that of the West Indies and North Atlantic.


British victory followed by the American Revolution help to define and delimit the modern world. At the European level, the players were Britain, France and Spain, all eager for predominance and for trappings such as trade, land and prestige. Within North America, there were the local agents of these powers but also their subjects, who held their own interests and views. In addition, the Native Americans were more than simply the passive victims of European expansion. Essential reading for history buffs and students of political science alike, Black ably weaves an enchanting tapestry from these fascinating and complex strands of history, spanning the earliest days of the British Empire to the American Revolution and its aftermath.