The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783-1919

With contributions from leading historians of the day, alongside chapters by politicians, journalists and lawyers, this three-volume work was the first comprehensive survey of foreign policy during the rise of Britain as a major power. Published between 1922 and 1923, it is unashamed in its aim to present ‘a national point of view [with] an avowed regard for the interests, and above all for the honour of Great Britain’, but is all the more illuminating for that. Including some original memoranda and documents, it takes as its starting point the Treaty of Paris ending the American War of Independence, and concludes with the Treaty of Versailles (1919). Volume 1 includes a summary of the significant issues and preoccupations of successive British governments and monarchs leading up to the appointment of Britain’s first foreign secretary in 1782. European affairs dominated the period and two chapters are devoted to relations with France.