
Niall Ferguson's "Empire" reveals how Britain forged our modern world through conquest and commerce. Praised as "a rattling good tale" by the Wall Street Journal, this controversial bestseller asks: Did the empire that once ruled a quarter of humanity ultimately benefit those it colonized?
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At its peak, the British Empire controlled a quarter of Earth's land and population-the largest empire in human history. Yet this staggering achievement began not with grand strategy but with pirates robbing Spanish treasure ships. While Spain discovered American silver mines, England found none. So the English simply stole Spanish gold on the high seas, with privateers like Henry Morgan becoming folk heroes. This wasn't empire-building; it was organized crime that happened to pay extremely well. What transformed piracy into commerce was an addiction: England's insatiable craving for caffeine and sugar. Between 1746 and 1750, tea imports tripled. Tobacco, initially condemned by royalty, became ubiquitous. These stimulants-glucose, caffeine, nicotine-didn't just change trade patterns; they rewired English society itself. The consumer revolution extended to fashion, with Indian textiles replacing traditional English wool across all social classes. Empire emerged not from military ambition but from the mundane human desire for a good cup of tea and fashionable clothing.
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Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco
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Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco

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