"Set against the background of England's economic and military power, the book's recurrent theme is the determination of successive governments to preserve maximum freedom of action throughout the world. An introductory chapter explains how this came to be the main preoccupation of Victorian statesmen, and an epilogue carries the story through the process of gradual commitment to the war alliance of 1914." --from back cover.

"English Historical Documents is the most comprehensive, annotated collection of documents on British (not in reality just English) history ever compiled. Conceived during the Second World War with a view to ensuring the most important historical documents remained available and accessible in perpetuity, the first volume came out in 1953, and the most recent volume almost sixty years later. The print series, edited by David C. Douglas, is a magisterial survey of British history, covering the years 500 to 1914 and including around 5,500 primary sources, all selected by leading historians Editors. It has over the years become an indispensable resource for generations of students, researchers and lecturers. EHD is now available in its entirety online. Bringing EHD into the digital age has been a long and complex process. To provide you with first-rate, intelligent searchability, Routledge have teamed up with the Institute of Historical Research (one of the research institutes that make up the School of Advanced Study, University of London http://www.history.ac.uk) to produce EHD Online. The IHR's team of experts have fully indexed the documents, using an exhaustive historical thesaurus developed by the Royal Historical Society for its Bibliography of British and Irish History. The sources include treaties, statutes, declarations, government and cabinet proceedings, military dispatches, orders, acts, sermons, newspaper articles, pamphlets, personal and official letters, diaries and more. Each section of documents and many of the documents themselves are accompanied by editorial commentary. The sources cover a wide spectrum of topics, from political and constitutional issues to social, economic, religious as well as cultural history."--[Résumé de l'éditeur].

Lowe examines British foreign policy from Castlereagh to Disraeli. Focusing on relations with other European and non-European powers, the author discusses attitudes to empire and analyzes socio-economic and political factors.

A challenging analysis of British Foreign Policy is provided at a time when Britain possessed the biggest Empire that humankind has ever known. In this Empire India had a unique position, comprising 97 per cent of Britain's Asiatic Empire. All British statesmen deemed it essential to maintain their hold over India whatever the risk or cost of doing so. This work focuses on aspects that have been hitherto marginalized. It also contributes to debates surrounding the origins of the First World War, the multipolar diplomacy of the late nineteenth century, and the nature of imperial connections.

British Foreign and Imperial Policy explores Britains role in International Affairs from the age of Gladstone and Disraeli to the end of the First World War, exploring such themes as Britain's involvement in the Scramble for Africa, the Anglo-Boer War, the foreign policy of Lord Salisbury and the prospects for Britain and the Empire at the end of the First World War.

First published in 1988, this encyclopedia serves as an overview and point of entry to the complex interdisciplinary field of Victorian studies. The signed articles, which cover persons, events, institutions, topics, groups and artefacts in Great Britain between 1837 and 1901, have been written by authorities in the field and contain bibliographies to provide guidelines for further research. The work is intended for undergraduates and the general reader, and also as a starting point for graduates who wish to explore new fields.

The Derbys of Knowsley Hall have been neglected by historians to an astonishing degree. In domestic political terms, the legacies of Disraeli and his Conservative successors have long obscured their Lancastrian aristocratic predecessors. As far as foreign policy is concerned, twentieth century politics and scholarship have often suggested crude polarities: for example, the idea of 'appeasement' versus Churchillian belligerence has its nineteenth century equivalent in Aberdeen's apparent rivalry with Palmerston. The subtleties of other views, such as those represented by the Derbys, have either been overlooked or misunderstood. In addition, the fact that much crucial archival and editorial work has only been carried out in the last two decades has had a significant impact. Examining a range of topics in domestic and foreign policy, this collection brings a fresh approach to the political history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through a series of innovative essays. It will appeal to those with an interest in the decline of the aristocracy, Victorian high politics and the politics of the regions, as well as the Conservative tradition in foreign policy.