Lord Palmerston and the Empire of Trade is a short biography of the 19th century British statesman and prime minister who helped make England a global economic power during the Age of Imperialism. The book introduces readers to the life, times and world of Palmerston, who was one of the 19th century’s most influential figures, in order to explain how Britain prompted the spread of Western ideas and practice around the world in the last two centuries through free trade and a network of collaborating states.

Each interpretive biography in the Library of World Biography Series focuses on a person whose actions and ideas either significantly influenced world events or whose life reflects important themes and developments in global history.