Summary of Niall Ferguson's Empire

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The British Empire began with the theft of Spanish gold by Henry Morgan in 1663. It was not conceived by self-conscious imperialists, but by thieves who were trying to steal the proceeds of someone else’s Empire.

#2 The British Empire was acquired by imitation. The English were late starters in the European race for empire, and they only acquired Jamaica in 1655. They had dreamt of finding an El Dorado of their own, in the hope that England could become rich on American metals.

#3 The English sense of empire envy grew after the Reformation, when proponents began to argue that England had a religious duty to build a Protestant empire to match the Popish empires of the Spanish and Portuguese. The English crown was always limited by the country’s wealthy aristocracy and Parliament.

#4 The first recorded voyage to find El Dorado was in 1480, when a shipload of optimists set sail from Bristol to look for the island of Brasylle in the west part of Ireland. The success of the endeavor is not recorded, but it seems doubtful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822512603

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Insights on Niall Ferguson's Empire

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The British Empire began with the theft of Spanish gold by Henry Morgan in 1663. It was not conceived by self-conscious imperialists, but by thieves who were trying to steal the proceeds of someone else’s Empire.

#2

The British Empire was acquired by imitation. The English were late starters in the European race for empire, and they only acquired Jamaica in 1655. They had dreamt of finding an El Dorado of their own, in the hope that England could become rich on American metals.

#3

The English sense of empire envy grew after the Reformation, when proponents began to argue that England had a religious duty to build a Protestant empire to match the Popish empires of the Spanish and Portuguese. The English crown was always limited by the country’s wealthy aristocracy and Parliament.

#4

The first recorded voyage to find El Dorado was in 1480, when a shipload of optimists set sail from Bristol to look for the island of Brasylle in the west part of Ireland. The success of the endeavor is not recorded, but it seems doubtful.

#5

The English had tried to find the Large, Rich and Beautiful Empire of Guiana, but they had failed. The only way left for the English to make money was to rob the Spaniards.

#6

The British Empire was built on the sea, and the British were good pirates because they had to overcome some real disadvantages. The clockwise pattern of Atlantic winds and currents meant that Portuguese and Spanish vessels enjoyed easy passage between the Iberian Peninsula and Central America.

#7

The English were also pioneers in improving the health of crews at sea. They were able to do so because their diet was lacking in vitamin C, but they were able to withstand the hardships of life at sea thanks to their toughness.

#8

The British Empire began with the stealing of gold, and it progressed with the cultivation of sugar. In the 1670s, the British crown spent thousands of pounds constructing fortifications to protect the harbor at Port Royal in Jamaica.

#9

The rise of the British Empire was due in part to the British sweet tooth, which led them to develop an insatiable appetite for imported commodities. They also liked to mix their sugar with a drug that was orally addictive and inhaled.

#10

The first recorded English request for a pot of tea is in a letter dated 27 June 1615 from Mr R. Wickham, agent of the East India Company on the Japanese island of Hirado, to his colleague Mr Eaton at Macao, asking him to send on only the best sort of chaw. However, it was not until 1658 that the first advertisement appeared in England for what was to become the national drink.

#11

The introduction of tobacco and coffee transformed not just the economy but the national lifestyle. While alcohol is a depressant, caffeine and