ABSTRACT
American diplomatic history did not begin in 1775. The colonists had to negotiate with those with whom they wished to ally or could not dispossess of their land. Colonial warfare usually was merciless and negotiations duplicitous. The colonists’ relations with the colonists of other European nations were competitive and sometimes violent. The most important of the British colonists’ relations was with the government and people of Britain itself. It is no coincidence that the 1720s and 1730s, the decades of what was later characterized as “salutary neglect” of the colonies, were also the sole period of a British alliance with France. The War of Austrian Succession also effectively ended the era of “salutary neglect” and began the gradual deterioration of the friendly British-colonial relationship. The French foreign ministry, anxious to counter the Russian threat, favored better relations with Britain.
