ABSTRACT
This chapter authorizes that foreign policy was a leading political battlefield, in ministerial rivalries, parliamentary contention, and public debate. The determination to influence public debate bound together foreign diplomats and British ministries. Thus the ministry published an account of Ripperdas fall in order to deny claims that he had been bribed by Britain. The operation of British policy from 1716 was based on alliance with Catholic France, with whose ambassador Townshend allegedly spent several hours daily in 1726. While British foreign policy and domestic politics were in a strong relationship, the direction of influence between them was far from uniform, and there were other factors of note. The stress on strength in perception and through confidence, each both foreign and domestic, draws attention to the processes and nuances of the texture already referred to. This stress also underlines the importance of assessing foreign views, both through diplomatic reports and via those of British envoys.
