Please note: Class schedule has been changed. No class on March 25. Last class is April 1. Tiny England went to sea and built the greatest empire in history. At its height, the British Empire had a quarter of the earth’s land mass and a quarter of the population. England didn’t set out to build an empire but accumulated it under a variety of means.

From isolation to the world’s first superpower and the world’s first industrial nation, England influenced and shaped world events. Many legacies remain today from the accumulation of British power and the relatively orderly dismantling of that vast empire. This course outlines significant events of the last 400 years that together answer how tiny England achieved its empire and why our modern world is the way it is:

• Coming out of Isolation—how England found its identity as a maritime trading nation and competed with larger powers

• Trade is the path to riches—North America and India

• Industrial/agricultural revolutions fuel growth—how Britain achieved economic and technical leadership

• Undisputed world power—the empire fully formed under Queen Victoria

• Scramble for Africa—opening the Dark Continent to European domination

• Fighting tyranny to exhaustion—two world wars are tough on a far-flung empire—the transition back to British Isles

Our ever-popular master instructor, retired Naval officer and business executive, brings his love of world exploration and history to bear on our nation’s story. Note: No class on March 25; course extends one week. 6 Classes. Limit 50.

Todd Clayton
10:00—Noon Wednesday, Starts Feb. 18
The Village at The Triangle  
4517 Triangle Avenue (78751)