Empire and Nation in Early English Renaissance Literature

Sensitive readings of Renaissance texts offer new insights into the perception of imperialism in the sixteenth century. The complex topics of colonialism, empire and nation run throughout English Renaissance literature. Here, the author moves beyond recent work on England's "British" colonial interests, arguing for England's self-image in the sixteenth century as an "empire of itself", part of a culture which deliberately set itself apart from Britain and Europe. In the first section of the book