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.

"A powerful account of how the complex mercantile and military relationships between the British, Dutch, and American territories made the Industrial Revolution possible. Between 1500 and 1800, the North Sea region overtook the Mediterranean as the most dynamic part of the world. At its core the...