1. Introduction: The rival empires -- 2. Contest for empire in the West 1700-1763: Introduction ; Motives and problems of empire ; Areas of tension : North American and the Caribbean 1713-1748 ; Climax of the contest : the Seven Years War 1756-1763 -- 3. Widening horizons 1740-1790: Introduction ; The clash of trading empires in India 1744-1763 ; Expansion of India and the eastern seas 1763-1793 ; The opening of the Pacific -- 4. The colonial empires in an age of revolution 1763-1815: Introduction ; Reorganization and rebellion in the Americas 1763-1789 ; War and revolution overseas 1789-1815