The British Empire may be said to have started when Elizabethan importers got into a fight with the Dutch over the price of pepper.

When young Walter Raleigh first came to the court of Queen Elizabeth I he had little more than his wardrobe in his favour, and he wore it wisely.

Elizabethan adventurer Sir Francis Drake combined sailing round the world with really annoying the King of Spain.

Sir Walter’s dizzy life brought him fame and fortune in dangerous places, the most dangerous of which was Court.