While the European nations had already started exploring various continents and discovering places even before the 15th century, the rise of the British empire began only from the late 16th century when Queen Elizabeth I granted permission for exploration to the further corners of the world. In the process, the already successful Spanish and Portuguese empire ships were attacked. Thus began the domination of England in the world power.
The following sentence best paraphrases the passage:
"Swift maintains that, if asked, people who have lived in poverty their entire lives would say that they would rather have been sold for food at one year of age."
