Britannia’s Realm

Britannia’s Realm examines the British merchant service from the end of the Seven Years’ War to the defeat of Napoleon. Between 1763 and 1815, commercial shipping supported colonial expansion, carried troops and supplies, and kept trade moving through the American Revolutionary and French wars.

The volume follows the relationship between private enterprise and state power as merchants, shipowners and seafarers adapted to blockade, privateering and global conflict. It shows how wartime demand enlarged Britain’s maritime reach while exposing crews and cargoes to capture, violence and political upheaval.