An Empire to End Empire: The Dynamic of Early Modern British Expansion

Abstract

The sixteenth century witnessed the emergence of global empires, Arthur H. Williamson observes. These unprecedented states, ruled from Madrid and Lisbon, became a single conglomerate between 1580 and 1640 that was supported by highly developed authoritarian, hierarchical, eschatological, and racial ideologies. It presented itself as the Last World Empire at the end of days, as forecast by biblical, sibylline, and medieval prophecy. European reaction to these signal geopolitical events, especially after the upheavals of 1558–68 across northwestern Europe, led to an alternate vision of politics and, with it, an alternate vision of the end of days. British expansion arose, then, not to rival Iberia but in opposition to empire altogether. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.124 on Wed, 22 Jun 2016 05:27:44 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms