ABSTRACT
Hegemonic powers such as Great Britain and Russia exerted their influence in their respective spheres of influence but avoided war because it was revolutionary and destabilizing. While Lord Palmerston pushed the rules of this game to their limits in the 1830s, he restrained himself by working within them. As John Cam Hobhouse, President of the Board of Control, explained to Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India, 'China belongs to Palmerston'. Palmerston, an Irish peer, entered the Foreign Office when Lord Grey formed his ministry in 1830 and remained Foreign Secretary until 1841, except for a few short months in 1834/1835 when the conservatives formed a ministry. The Duke of Wellington, who temporarily replaced Lord Palmerston in 1835 when the Grey ministry fell, responded immediately with a succinct note reminding Lord Napier of British policy: commercial privileges were to be obtained by peaceable means, not force. Wellington based his decision on a thorough investigation of Palmerston's China policy.
