London is treated as a mercantile city-state operating within a larger territorial kingdom. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, its guild-supported trained bands and its merchant companies gave it interests and resources of its own. The East India Company and Hudson's Bay Company illustrate the commercial organisations associated with that centre. Ship money is discussed as supporting a fleet with obligations to convoy merchant trade as well as fight wars. This combination provides an interpretation of Britain's development as a hybrid commercial and territorial sea power. The argument extends to London's lasting financial influence within the United Kingdom.
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London's commercial institutions and British sea power
London's trained bands, merchant companies and interest in convoy protection help explain Britain as a hybrid commercial and territorial sea power.