This monograph deals with the first great crisis in international relations with respect to colonial affairs. The main story centres round the struggle of England and France for the colonial and maritime supremacy of the world, and the efforts of both powers to wrest from Spain her American trade and possessions. The narrative opens in 1667 with the signing by England and Spain of the first significant international agreement affecting America. From that point considerable attention has been paid to the evolution of a new French colonial and commercial. policy by Colbert, more particularly as it affected the international relations of France with England and Spain. The second phase pf the story begins with the English revolution of 1688, and during the period 1689-1698 the main interest lies in the contest between England and France for the right to exploit Spain and her American possessions. In the Caribbean itself the most outstanding characteristic of this period is the complete failure of privateering warfare as a means of securing permanent and worthwhile results. The third. phase commences immediately after the unsatisfactory settlement provided by the treaty of Ryswick, with an unsuccessful attempt by England and Holland on the one hand., and France on the other, to attain their ends by peaceful agreement with Spain. In the Caribbean attention is paid to changes in -the naval policy of England and France. During the first years of the war of the Spanish Succession the principal emphasis is laid upon the evolution., failure, and final abandonment of a scheme of naval warfare in America. In 1707 the preliminaries to the Peace of Utrecht were finally evolved, and the real centre of interest shifts the Mediterranean, bringing this story to a close