Write an essay of 1200 words.

Niall Ferguson poses two main questions in his bestselling book on

Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World (London, 2003):

1. "How did an archipelago of rainy islands off the north-west coast of Europe come to rule the world" (p. xi)?

and

2. Was that empire "a good or bad thing" (p. xi)?

Choose one of these two questions and answer it in 1200 words with reference to at least three different regions of the British Empire between 1688 and 1988. Note on presentation. This is an exam and as such does not requireadditional research into primary materials. It will not be necessary toprovide footnotes or bibliography, unless you quote an author, whenacknowledgement will be required. When citing, please follow the established system described on the departmental website. Your lecture notes, tute readings, and essay bibliographies should suffice as sources to build your argument. The emphasis in an exam is on synthesizing ideas already raised in a unit rather than on finding new ideas or authorities. You will be unable to answer the question without considering at least three different regions of the British Empire.