"In 1560, England was a weak kingdom on the margins of Europe. A century later, it was on its way to becoming a powerful empire, beginning to impose its will on people around the globe. In this sweeping account, Alison Games explores this account in which England's global stature was transformed." "Drawing on the life stories of cosmopolitans who traveled, traded, preached, governed, and colonized all around the world, Games uncovers the knowledge and expectations that people transported to new enterprises and the elements that led ventures to thrive or to fail. She links trading posts and colonies, soldiers and ministers, merchants and diplomats, English and Scots, devastating failures and improbable successes. She follows her subjects to Japan, North America, Madagascar, Ireland, Tangier, Istanbul, and other destinations."--Jacket.