Introduction

Foreign policy indeed was one of the most important aspects of state activity. The implications of British strategic culture for foreign policy need to be considered alongside the consequences, for both mercantile and imperial policy, of diplomatic commitments and concerns. The multi-faceted character of policy is also displayed by the problems posed by the use of evidence, most pointedly in the case of selective quotation. Analytical problems need to be borne in mind whenever connections are offered in this or other works, as there is not generally the space to discuss the evidence, which is frequently only suggestive. The difficulty of assessing the relationship between trade and foreign policy in this episode offers a good instance of a wider problem. Commercial considerations certainly helped affect the parameters within which foreign policy was discussed, but it was equally true that the general direction of policy affected trade. Foreign policy favoured trade without being the slave of traders.