British-Russian Relations, 1708-1719: Crisis, Diplomacy, and Monarchy

This thesis examines the changes that took place in British-Russian relations between 1708 year and 1716, which ultimately resulted in a military confrontation between the two states in 1719. This thesis makes use of personal correspondence and official orders to examine the themes which strained British-Russian diplomacy and damaged this historically important relationship. These themes include the impact of individuals, geographical proximity, policy differences towards Baltic affairs, and cultural and diplomatic misunderstanding. This thesis focusses on the extreme nature of the shift in British-Russian perception of each other’s power, status and threat. The years of 1708 and 1716 are particularly significant case studies in examining how it came to be that the two states found resolutions for crises in the former but not the latter. The monarchs played a significant role in this downturn of relations. This thesis examines how the spectre of Jacobitism became a part of the Baltic power game in the early eighteenth century, arousing Hanoverian suspicions. This thesis also adds to the limited research into Peter views towards the Pretender. Some historians have argued Russian intentions to be predatory in the Empire, which this thesis shows to be erroneous, arguing that the British ostracization of the Tsar by 1719 had potentially adverse effects on British commerce and security.