This is the historical biography of Sir James Lancaster, a 'forgotten' Elizabethan international merchant and naval commander who was celebrated in his own day but has been neglected by historians. Best remembered as the commander of the first fleet of the East India Company (1601-3), Lancaster had a fascinating and varied career, touching many aspects of Elizabethan life, in the country in north Hampshire, in London and overseas. Using new material based on archive research and re-working of the published sources, Franks argues the case for recognising Lancaster as one of the earliest 'global traders'.