In the 16th century, at the height of the Elizabethan Age, England was looking for new trading outlets beyond the Mediterranean basin. In this context emerged the figure of merchant Anthony Jenkinson, a diplomat and adventurer in the service of the Muscovy Company, an English trading company founded with the aim of opening up trade with Russia and the East in general. Jenkinson left London in 1557 and after crossing the White Sea arrived in Moscow, where he had an interview with Tsar Ivan IV, known as the Terrible. The latter, impressed by the figure of Jenkinson, gave him permission to go further afield by heading towards the Volga and reaching Bukhara, a city in present-day Uzbekistan, which was to be the scene of several Great Game events during the 19th century. Jenkinson's goal was to find trade routes that could lead to India by circumventing the Ottoman and Portuguese monopolies on eastern trade. Naturally, this was an extremely tough journey, marked by extreme weather conditions, local conflicts and language communication difficulties, as many of the local people did not speak English. Nevertheless, this journey enabled Jenkinson to gather extremely fascinating ethnographic information that was very successful in his homeland, making him one of the first Europeans to provide reliable descriptions of the peoples and customs of Central Asia. Ultimately, Jenkinson did not completely succeed in his endeavour, as he failed to open a direct passage to India. However, his voyage laid the foundation for diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of England and Russia, as the Mediterranean was disputed between the Venetians, Spaniards and Ottomans. In the 16th century, men like Jenkinson were very often people with multiple identities: Jenkinson was a trader, spy, diplomatic explorer and many other things. This was because the roots of modern globalisation were being laid in the 16th century, through the exploits of these brave - and somewhat reckless - men who initiated intense and lively cultural exchanges with the peoples with whom they came into contact.