A colonial empire in crisis -- Empire beyond the mercantile system -- Between enslaved territories and overseas provinces -- Supplying or supplanting the Americas -- A revolutionary crescendo -- Conclusion: Ancien Regime legacies.

This book advances a new theory of why nationalism emerged in the modern world. In particular it explains why nationalism and economic development are closely linked, and why warfare plays a crucial role in the spread of the nation-state system. It is based on qualitative and quantitative...