[12 treaties between Britain and her allies following the French…

[12 treaties between Britain and her allies following the French declaration of war in 1793] [comprising:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Empress of Russia. Signed at London, the 25th of March, 1793. Published by authority. by (TREATIES). < >
  • Another image of [12 treaties between Britain and her allies following the French declaration of war in 1793] [comprising:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Empress of Russia. Signed at London, the 25th of March, 1793. Published by authority. by (TREATIES).
  • Another image of [12 treaties between Britain and her allies following the French declaration of war in 1793] [comprising:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Empress of Russia. Signed at London, the 25th of March, 1793. Published by authority. by (TREATIES).

~ [12 treaties between Britain and her allies following the French declaration of war in 1793] [comprising:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Empress of Russia. Signed at London, the 25th of March, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793.

Pp. 8.

[bound with:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Empress of Russia. Signed at London, the 25th of March, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 8.

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. Signed at Cassel, the 10th of April, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 16.

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the King of Sardinia. Signed at London, the 25th of April, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 7, [1].

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the King of Spain. Signed at Aranjuez, the 25th of May, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 6.

[and:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and His Sicilian Majesty. Signed at Naples, the 12th of July, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 9, [1].

[and:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the King of Prussia. Signed at the camp before Mayence, the 14th of July, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 7, [1].

[and:] Convention between His Britannick Majesty and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. Signed at Maykammer, the 23rd of August, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 5, [1].

[and:] Convention between His Majesty the Emperor, and His Britannick Majesty. Signed at London, the 30th of August, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 7, [1].

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the Margrave of Baden. Signed at Carlsruhe, the 21st of September, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 13, [1].

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the Queen of Portugal. Signed at London, the 26th of September, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 6

[and:] Treaty between His Britannick Majesty and the Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt. Signed at Langen Candel, the 5th of October, 1793. Published by authority. London: Edward Johnston, 1793. Pp. 13, [1].

[and:] Treaty of alliance and subsidy between His Britannic Majesty and His Serene Highness the Elector Palatine of Bavaria. Signed at Munich, the 16th day of March 1800. Published by authority. London: A. Strahan, 1800. Pp. 13, [1].

13 pamphlets bound in 1 vol., square 8vo (204 × 174 mm.), French and English text in parallel columns. Small stain and manuscript ink initials to title of first pamphlet, a few pages trimmed along bottom edge slightly affecting text. Contemporary continental sprinkled pink paper, brown morocco label, remains of contemporary library shelf label with the number "37" in manuscript black ink, red sprinkled edges. Slightly rubbed. Nice copies in an exceptionally well preserved contemporary binding.

A collection of 12 scarce treaties between Britain and her allies following the French declaration of war in 1793 and one further treaty negotiated with Bavaria in 1800. The backbone of the British war policy, these 1793 agreements were designed to create an allied coalition against the French, of which the axis would be Britain and the German powers, with further support from subsidiary powers in the Baltic, Mediterranean and Atlantic. However, the speed and efficiency with which these agreements were signed belies the complex and conflicting aims of each nation and the subsequent rapid disintegration of the policy.

Britain's initial admiration for the evolving Revolution in France quickly changed to alarm with the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793, followed by the French declarations of war on Britain and the Dutch Republic on February 1 and Spain on March 7. French war-mongering had already led to the annexation of Savoy, Belgium and the Rhineland in 1792 and French ambitions were spelt out by Danton in the National Convention: "The frontiers of France have been mapped by nature, and we shall reach them at the four corners of the horizon, on the banks of the Rhine, by the side of the ocean and at the Alps. It is there that we shall reach the limits of our Republic."

Notably, the first two agreements were conventions signed with Russia, one uniting the two countries as allies against the aggressions of France and securing Russia's cooperation in the naval war, the other being a trade agreement, which finally settled a longstanding commercial dispute between Britain and Russia. Signed on the same day in March 1793, a contemporary commentator wryly noted that it seemed the two powers were competing as to "who shall be most fond and shall kiss the first". However, despite the apparent goodwill on both sides, the conventions never led to full and binding treaties.

Similarly, the terms of the convention signed with Prussia unravelled almost as soon as the ink was dry and within two months Frederick William II was demanding significant additional terms. Lord Grenville, Britain's Foreign Secretary, took a dim view of such demands and having first shored up his own position by negotiating a separate agreement with Austria, he initially refused to comply with Prussian requests. However, under pressure from Pitt and Dundas, Grenville was forced to negotiate further with the Prussians, with the result that the Austrians were in turn estranged.

Like Russia, the Spanish had their own motives for joining the war and despite the successful signing of the convention of Aranjuez, which committed both parties to explore the prospects of an alliance, a further agreement was never reached. Alliances with Portugal, Sardinia and Sicily proved equally problematic in the following months. The four earliest agreements were also published as a collection in London by J. Debrett in 1793. The identical title pages of the first two Russian treaties make it impossible to identify which edition is held at each of the 5 libraries listed on ESTC. The final treaty, published by A. Strahan, is particularly scarce, with only one copy recorded on ESTC (Cambridge).

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