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Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783

Drivers of imperial expansion: the Crown, the adventurers and the search for trade

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on royal charters and private investment, Drake, Raleigh and Clive, the North West and North East Passages, the spice trade and the importance of the West Indies.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

Why did the spice trade prove a disappointing imperial priority for England?

Who and when

Why did Elizabeth I back overseas ventures through private investors rather than royal fleets?

Key term

Explain how the granting of a royal charter allowed the Crown to promote expansion without spending money.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Why did Elizabeth I back overseas ventures through private investors rather than royal fleets?

    Model answer

    The Crown was short of money and wanted deniability in its dealings with Spain, so joint-stock and syndicate finance spread the risk while still delivering a royal share of the profits.

  2. 2

    Explain how the granting of a royal charter allowed the Crown to promote expansion without spending money.

    Model answer

    A charter gave a company or proprietor a legal monopoly and the right to govern a territory in return for private capital, so the Crown gained influence and revenue while investors carried the cost and the risk.

  3. 3

    State Francis Drake's single most celebrated achievement and give its dates.

    Model answer

    He completed the first English circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, returning with a vast haul of Spanish plunder.

  4. 4

    How did Walter Raleigh attempt to turn Elizabethan enthusiasm into permanent settlement?

    Model answer

    He organised the Roanoke colonies of 1585 and 1587 in the territory he named Virginia, both of which failed for lack of supply and support.

  5. 5

    Why is Robert Clive regarded as a driver of expansion of a different kind from the Elizabethans?

    Model answer

    He extended power through the East India Company's army and its revenue rights rather than through settlement, winning Plassey in 1757 and securing the diwani of Bengal in 1765.

  6. 6

    What was the North West Passage, and why did the English keep searching for it?

    Model answer

    It was a hoped-for sea route to Asia around the north of America, sought by Frobisher, Davis and Hudson because it would have bypassed Iberian control of the southern routes.

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