Contents 
Sponsor's Foreword 7 
Maps 8 
The Beginning 10 
The Ships 20 
Bantam and the Wider World 34 
Spices and the Dutch 48 
India and Textiles 54 
Factors and Factories 72 
The Breakthrough to China 80 
From Trade to Empire 98 
Asia in Britain 108 
Epilogue 126 
Futher Reading 127 
Index 128