Palmerston and Africa
Subtitle: the Rio Nunez Affair : competition, diplomacy, and justice
By: Roderick Braithwaite.
Publisher: British Academic Press; Distributed by St. Martin's Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 350
Subjects: Braithwaite, Joseph, 1817-1854 -- Claims vs. Belgium.; Braithwaite, Joseph, 1817-1854 -- Claims vs. France.; Martin, George -- Claims vs. Belgium.; Martin, George -- Claims vs. France.; Palmerston, Henry John Temple, Viscount, 1784-1865.; British -- Foreign countries -- History -- 19th century.; Citizenship -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.; Boké (Guinea : Region) -- History, Military -- 19th century.; Boké (Guinea : Region) -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century.; Great Britain -- Commercial policy -- History -- 19th century.
Description: Palmerston and Africa brings British imperial history into vivid focus when the British Empire was at its most powerful, self-confident and serene, and when Palmerston was in his prime.

It concerns two British traders, Joseph Braithwaite and George Martin, whose trading station was destroyed by an act of 'piracy on land' by a Franco-Belgian naval force in 1849. In June 1850, Palmerston proclaimed his doctrine of 'Civis Romanus sum' in the Don Pacifico Affair in a triumphant speech in the House of Commons. He asserted the right to defend the citizen of the empire anywhere in the world and that 'the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong'.

Palmerston pursued the cause of Braithwaite and Martin with the same vigour despite the demands of high politics until frustrated by his 'dismissal' from office.

The Rio Nunez Affair shows Palmerston supporting 'legitimate trade' as opposed to the slave trade and recognising the importance of West Africa as a great international highway and centre of commerce. Commercial rivalry was growing among the European powers and here was a faint foreshadowing of the 'Scramble for Africa' and the practical limitations of imperial power even at its height.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [315]-327) and index.