Overview

This study presents Rochford's important and substantial contribution to Britain's eighteenth century foreign policy in the context of his times. The work also offers the first detailed account of the domestic work of a British secretary of state before the 1782 division into Foreign and Home offices. Lord Rochford was the only British secretary of state in the period 1760-78 who had been a career diplomat. This book argues that his experience as an ambassador significantly benefited British foreign policy in the period 1768-75. His diplomatic service at Turin, Madrid and Paris is examined in detail, along with his major negotiations on the Manila Ransom, the Falkland Islands, Dunkirk and the French acquisition of Corsica (1768). As Northern Secretary 1768-70 Rochford is credited with rebuilding British foreign policy after the drift of the 1760s, with more vigorous diplomacy in Sweden and Russia. This book reveals Rochford as the key figure in Britain's response to the Falklands Islands crisis of 1770, using the threat of naval force to compel Spain to back down. As Southern Secretary 1770-75 Rochford opened secret negotiations for friendlier relations with France, which were wrecked by the fallout from the Swedish Revolution of 1772. His 1775 'Plan for Peace in Europe' reveals him as the most imaginative British foreign minister of his generation. This book also offers the first detailed account of the domestic work of a British secretary of state before the 1782 division into Foreign and Home offices.

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9780773413009

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Brilliantly researched, and written in an unusually lively and immensely readable style, this splendid study is a book that anyone interested in the eighteenth century will want to read and cherish. -Prof. Hamish Scott University of St Andrews a remarkable book.... it will interest many scholars and quite a few not so scholarly. It casts light and amusement in a figure of more importance than most would know. -Prof. Paul Langford University of Oxford

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