Trading with the Enemy: Britain, France, and the 18th-Century Quest for a Peaceful World Order

A groundbreaking account of British and French efforts to channel their eighteenth—century geopolitical rivalry into peaceful commercial competition

Britain and France waged war eight times in the century following the Glorious Revolution, a mutual antagonism long regarded as a “Second Hundred Years’ War.” Yet officials on both sides also initiated ententes, free trade schemes, and colonial bargains intended to avert future conflict. What drove this quest for a more peaceful order?

In thi...