In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire

What does it take to build an empire? Money, power, and the willingness to undertake risks. In the 16th Century, England was in transition. Queen Elizabeth, Daughter of Henry VIII had a precarious grip on power. The imposing empire commanded by Spain had its eye on England. Elizabeth was intent on England making its mark in the New World. Enter Francis Drake. In 1577, Drake began a circumnavigation of the globe with silent assent from Elizabeth. Elizabeth desired not to incur the ire of Spain, as Drake sailed across the world, stopping to plunder every now and then.

Elizabeth was unaware of Drake’s almost pathological hatred of Spain, which stemmed from their homicidal inquisitions of religious persecution. The two countries’ differences were stark as Drake sailed off on his journey. England was Protestant and cash strapped, Spain was staunchly Catholic and obscenely wealthy. Drake’s raids on his voyage would forever alter both countries’ paths.

In Search of a Kingdom engages the reader with the meteoric rise of the British Empire in the late 1500s. The David & Goliath struggle between Spain and England is written with breathtaking prose by Author Laurence Bergreen. The daring of Drake is contrasted with the wily leadership of Elizabeth, a duo forging a fortuitous future.