This book focuses on British defence policy in the period between the Seven Years' War and French intervention in the American Revolution. It is a study of coercive diplomacy and of the influence of defence considerations in foreign policy, particularly as applied to the naval relationship between Britain and Fance at the outbreak of the American Revolution -- a subject of considerable significance in understanding how American independence was made possible.

Nicholas Tracy is an adjunct professor of History at the University of New Brunswick, with his research focusing mainly on naval and seapower history from the age of sail to the present. He is an Associate of the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Visiting fellow of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He currently lives in New Brunswick.

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A thought-provoking introduction to the study of the two decades during which British naval power plummeted from its zenith to its apparent nadir.

Canadian Historical Review

A valuable and stimulating contribution to the debate on the role of the Royal Navy and sea power in British history.

Times Higher Education Supplement

An instructive book, not long but solidly based upon the records and an understanding of how such things work.

Choice