I'm about halfway through J. C. Sharman, *Empires of the Weak: The Real
Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World Order*
(Princeton University Press, 2019). Its a stimulating and succinct (fewer
than 200 pages total) look at the nature of European expansion - based on
lots of scholarship and with lots of challenges to prevalent views.

A central theme is Sharman's contention that military might born of the
'military revolution' post-Medieval Europe was not the key to successful
empires in the Americas and the East.  Sharman contends rather that
European expansion relied more on trade, maritime prowess, and the use of
indigenous allies -- an outlook that seems to resonate with a lot of things
in 17th- and 18th-century Virginia (and with stuff I've been reading as
background to my book-in-progress on the Stamp Act).
    I wondering if there are others who might want to get together and talk
about Sharman's book sometime. If so I'd be happy to hear from you off-list
-- no need to clutter people's inboxes.

Obviously (if anyone is interested) folks would need to buy/borrow and read
the book.  Maybe this summer?

-- 
Jon Kukla                            www.jonkukla.com
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