400 years ago, a trio of tiny kingdoms were perched on some damp islands off the coast of Europe.

Within three short centuries, these islands would become the centre of an empire which ruled a quarter

of the globe and on which the sun never set. I'm Samuel Hume, a historian of the British Empire,

and my podcast Pax Britannica follows the people and events that built that empire into a global

superpower. Learn the history of the British Empire by listening to Pax Britannica,

everywhere you find your podcasts, or go to pod.linkslashpax.

3,300 years ago, a crew of men were working on the banks of the Nile.

There was about 40 of them, maybe more, divided into two groups. They stood on the banks of a canal

or a harbour, and in their hands, these 40 men held a pair of long, thick ropes.

The ropes connected to the bow of a large wooden ship, an enormous construction

elaborately decorated with a tall mast. It had a lavish two-story cabin amid ships.

The roof was bedecked with statues of golden cobras, Ureii, the symbols of royalty, the power of

the Pharaoh. The 40 odd men clutching their ropes were preparing to launch a new state barge,

a magnificent ship for the King of Egypt. Behind the gangs of men, another man stood watching.

He wore a long pleated robe. His belly was heavy, prosperous. His wig was layered,

finely coiffed, and in one hand he held a rod, a short staff, his symbol of office.

The man was a royal official. His name was Mary Nith, and he was in charge of this operation.

Launching the ship was a strenuous, laborious affair. Besides Mary Nith and his two gangs,

there were others making the boat move. A pair of four men stood on the prow of the ship itself.

They shouted directions to the rope haulers below. Beneath the boat, a third group used their

backs and legs to carefully lift the ship out of the mud. Pulling this barge was a communal effort,

and as the work began, the effort was intense. Mary Nith, the overseer, lifted one arm.

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