"The dramatic story of the dazzling growth of London in the sixteenth century. For most, England in the sixteenth century was the era of the Tudors, from Henry VII and VIII to Elizabeth I. But as their dramas played out at court, England was being transformed economically by the astonishing discoveries of the New World and of direct sea routes to Asia. At the start of the century, England was hardly involved in the wider world and London remained a gloomy, introverted medieval city. But as the century progressed, something extraordinary happened that placed London at the center of the world stage forever. Stephen Alford's evocative, original new book uses the same skills that made his widely praised The Watchers so successful, bringing to life the network of merchants, visionaries, crooks, and sailors who changed London and England forever. In a sudden explosion of energy, English ships were found all over the world--trading with Russia and the Levant, exploring Virginia and the Arctic, and fanning out across the Indian Ocean. The people who made this possible--the families, the guild members, the moneymen who were willing to risk huge sums and sometimes their own lives in pursuit of the rare, exotic, and desirable--are as interesting as any of those at court. Their ambitions fueled a new view of the world--initiating a long era of trade and empire, the consequences of which still resonate today."--Dust jacket flap.

During the sixteenth century, England was being transformed economically by the astonishing discoveries of the New World and of direct sea routes to Asia. At the start of the century, London was a gloomy, introverted medieval city. But as the century progressed, London was placed at the center of the world stage. Alford brings to life the network of merchants, visionaries, crooks, and sailors who changed London and England forever. As English ships were suddenly found all over the world, the people who made this possible are as interesting as any of those at court.