Introduction

In 1703 England and Tuscany were on the brink of war. A powerful Anglo-Dutch fleet of 52 men-of-war was heading towards the port of Livorno with orders to obtain satisfaction ‘by all means’, and war seemed inevitable. However, when Tuscany refused to bend to English demands, the fleet did not attack and headed home without firing a single shot. Tuscany cleverly managed to avoid the worst, but confrontation was far from over and was yet to enter its most dramatic phase.