Stephen Saunders Webb argues that both England and its American social experiments were the underdeveloped elements of an empire emerging on both sides of the Atlantic and that the pivotal moment of that empire, the so-called ""Glorious Revolution"", was in fact a military coup driven by religious fears. Webb focuses on John Churchill, who rises from page boy to Earl of Marlborough, winning battlefield glory, influence and promotion, eventually becoming lieutenant general of the English army.