ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the various theories of Palmerstonian gunboat diplomacy and British imperial decline from Great Power status in their relation to innovation in ironclad-related technologies bolted to the historical evidence. It explores the immediate years between the end of the Crimean War and the outbreak of the Civil War in America, when the underlying tone in British foreign policy, was something other than supreme confidence then news arrived that France was investing in ironclad technology across the board. The Industrial Revolution combined with the British Empires insularity from Europe on the one hand, and world-encompassing maritime-economic framework on the other, left the country feeling very much in control of its own fate like never before. Peace was security, and good Anglo-French relations during the Second French Empire would accomplish more than refighting any imagined Battle of Waterloo.
