Book contents
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on the Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction: British World Policy and the White Queen’s Memory
- 1 The War Trade Intelligence Department and British Economic Warfare during the First World War
- 2 The British Empire and the Meaning of ‘Minimum Force Necessary’ in Colonial Counter-Insurgencies Operations, c.1857–1967
- 3 Yokohama for the British in the Late Nineteenth Century: A Hub for Imperial Defence and a Node of Influence for Change
- 4 ‘The Diplomatic Digestive Organ’: The Foreign Office As the Nerve Centre of Foreign Policy, c.1800–1940
- 5 Financial and Commercial Networks between Great Britain and South America during the Long Nineteenth Century
- 6 Britain through Russian Eyes: 1900–1914
- 7 Imperial Germany’s Naval Challenge and the Renewal of British Power
- 8 Views of War, 1914 and 1939: Second Thoughts
- 9 The Ambassadors, 1919–1939
- 10 The Tattered Ties that Bind: The Imperial General Staff and the Dominions, 1919–1939
- 11 Seeking a Family Consensus? Anglo-Dominion Relations and the Failed Imperial Conference of 1941
- 12 Imperial Hubs and their Limitations: British Assessments of Imposing Sanctions on Japan, 1937
- Index
4 - ‘The Diplomatic Digestive Organ’: The Foreign Office As the Nerve Centre of Foreign Policy, c.1800–1940
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2019
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power, c.1830–1960
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on the Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction: British World Policy and the White Queen’s Memory
- 1 The War Trade Intelligence Department and British Economic Warfare during the First World War
- 2 The British Empire and the Meaning of ‘Minimum Force Necessary’ in Colonial Counter-Insurgencies Operations, c.1857–1967
- 3 Yokohama for the British in the Late Nineteenth Century: A Hub for Imperial Defence and a Node of Influence for Change
- 4 ‘The Diplomatic Digestive Organ’: The Foreign Office As the Nerve Centre of Foreign Policy, c.1800–1940
- 5 Financial and Commercial Networks between Great Britain and South America during the Long Nineteenth Century
- 6 Britain through Russian Eyes: 1900–1914
- 7 Imperial Germany’s Naval Challenge and the Renewal of British Power
- 8 Views of War, 1914 and 1939: Second Thoughts
- 9 The Ambassadors, 1919–1939
- 10 The Tattered Ties that Bind: The Imperial General Staff and the Dominions, 1919–1939
- 11 Seeking a Family Consensus? Anglo-Dominion Relations and the Failed Imperial Conference of 1941
- 12 Imperial Hubs and their Limitations: British Assessments of Imposing Sanctions on Japan, 1937
- Index
Summary
Foreign ministries form a central part of modern diplomatic practice. They emerged slowly and haphazardly from the late fifteenth century onwards. With the growth in scope – both geographical and temporal – and intensity of diplomacy came the need for a central organization that could control and coordinate policy at the seat of government.
In Tudor and Elizabethan England, too, the steady growth of diplomatic activity spurred on institutional change in the shape of the Principal Secretary of State. Initially, an officer of the royal household, executing the decisions of the monarch and the Privy Council, over time much of his business came to be focused on foreign affairs.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019