PREFACE 
THE history of ¢ The Old Empire from the Beginnings 
to 1783 * has been told at length in the first volume 
of ‘ The Cambridge History of the British Empire,’ 
which was published last year. I had the honour of 
writing a few Introductory pages to this comprehen- 
sive work, in which, under most able editors, experts 
on various times and subjects have collaborated with 
great effect. Possibly it was this connexion which set 
me thinking what were the main driving forces in the 
Old Empire as compared with later times. The result 
of plentiful references to standard writers and of some 
tesearch is given in this little book. 
1930, 
C. 
P. LUCAS.