Introduction
Introduction
At the beginning of 1782, Britain was preoccupied with trying to suppress the revolt of its American colonies while waging war with France, Spain, and the Netherlands. The task of making peace and ending the War of American Independence required the efforts of no fewer than five British ministries. The peace brokered in 1783 was essentially framed during the Shelburne ministry. William, earl of Shelburne, was himself heavily involved in the peace negotiations, assisted by his foreign and home secretaries, Lord Grantham and Thomas Townshend. This book examines the peace of 1783, focusing upon the Anglo-French negotiations and the role of the coalition between by British foreign secretary Charles James Fox and Frederick, Lord North. It looks at the peace overtures of the North ministry and reconstructs the substantive negotiations of the Rockingham, Shelburne, and Fox–North ministries. The book also considers the influence of traditional foreign policy, the domestic political context, and the individuals involved in the negotiations themselves.
Keywords: peace negotiations, Britain, American colonies, France, American Independence, earl of Shelburne, Charles James Fox, Lord North, foreign policy, Rockingham
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