Through a series of chronological essays surveying the important period of 1500 to 1707, The New British History explores new perspectives on the Atlantic Archipelago. Created and developed by Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII and remaining until the Act of Union in 1707, the Atlantic Archipelago encompassed the interacting powers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This volume, supplemented by a detailed historiographical introduction by Glenn Burgess, contains a range of thematic essays exploring concepts of British national identity and whether a 'British' approach to the history can be extended to social and economic history.