ABSTRACT
The years after 1815 witnessed intense political challenges to Britain’s military and naval world role. Fiscal restraint after decades of heavy borrowing, rather than imperial vision, drove government policy. Internal political turmoil as the country adjusted to post-war economic dislocation and then engaged in prolonged debates over political reform crowded out any meaningful debate about colonial mission, except for the pressure to end slavery in the West Indies. There were times, especially in 1819 and 1830–32, when political discontent so dwarfed any external agenda as to threaten revolution. Such facts of political life should not, however, disguise the continued commitment to imperial rule and the continued development of a particular military culture.
