ABSTRACT
The portrayal of the English as ‘a nation of sea-farers’ was an illusion, but the mere fact that Britain is an island situated at the edge of the continent of Europe has had a profound influence on her foreign policy. From 1815 to 1865 continuity is a more dominant theme in British foreign policy than change. Foreign secretaries rarely seemed to expound a coherent set of ideas that might represent the principles on which British foreign policy was conducted. The main upset to the balance of power followed Russia’s defeat in the Crimean war in 1856 and her self-imposed withdrawal from an active role in European affairs. The issue of continuity in British imperial policy is in some respects linked to the problem of defining the meaning of imperialism. Dependence on imports of food and raw materials meant that ‘our only sure policy is to strengthen our fleet’ as Rosebery said in 1894.
