Empire

Conrad Dixon describes how, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, Pelsaert of Antwerp was the first European to spend some time on shore.

Iris Macfarlane describes how the East India Company in 1714-17 sought to flatter the Mughal Emperor.

Constance Head describes how, in the tenth century, a scholarly young man and an ambitious admiral presided over the large Byzantine empire.

D.G. Chandler introduces Marlborough; a man, ‘whose mind was not confined to battle ... at once a captain and a diplomatist,’ as Napoleon a century later said of the British commander.

J.J. Saunders describes the Papal envoy to the Mongol conquerors who travelled through Russia to eastern Asia in 1245-7.

J.W. Blake describes the development of a maritime empire of trade, built by traders.

Iris Macfarlane describes how the Malabar coast in western India was the earliest scene of European sea-borne trade.

Bruce Chatwin describes how the dispute between Abel and Cain, the nomadic shepherd and the city-dwelling planter, has continued throughout history.

C.R. Boxer describes how the Spanish and Portuguese empires were troubled by smugglers and interlopers on the high seas.

B.G. Gokhale takes us on a visit to Surat, where the English adventure in India began.