"The Elizabethan Idea of Empire"

In David Armitage's article, "The Elizabethan Idea of Empire" from Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, he discusses how he believes that the rule of Elizabeth was "derivative, belated and incoherent" (269). Frankly he discusses the negative aspects of Elizabeth's reign, a different outlook on England that is usually seen.

Throughout the article Armitage discusses the viewpoints of three different men. The first, Fernand Braudel. He discusses that Braudel believed that England had become an "island" an "autonomous unit distinct from continental Europe" (269). Armitage states that this idea omits both Scotland and Ireland and instead shows that England was more interested in their endeavor to cross the Atlantic and colonize the New World. He discusses how England became inclusive but that somehow took on the persona of expansion. The second person he brings into for the discussion is Carl Schmitt who has the same ideals and thoughts about England's expansion as Braudel. The last person he brings in is A. L. Rowse.

All three of these scholars he brings in are in the same mind set of an "inside-out Empire" and Armitage argues the negative aspects of this mind set and how it detached England from the rest of Europe, creating it's own entity on the outskirts of the country. He discusses that since Elizabeth was so focused on looking over seas she missed out on specific relationships and gains that she could have made with the other countries directly next to England. He also discusses that Elizabeth acquired many things for the empire outside of England and through trade even though it would have been more beneficial and easier to trade with closer countries who had stronger ties with the empire.

Armitage has a very interesting view that could possibly be beneficial when looking at the differences between Elizabeth and James's reign. This article can be found on JSTOR.