English Translation

7 - 69 thus seeks to put En:land's suspicion to sleep, and also achieves this goal. On 1 September 1987, the Englinders had initiated the Russian mediation between England and France, which had been decided in Tilsit, with the five-day bombing of Copenhagen and the robbery of the Danish war fleet. Now Alexander and his brother Constantine were also out of inner conviction against the English, "the brigants of the seas, the sturgeons of the European calm, which only intervened with this anti-Brigland policy, which advocated the freedom of the oceans to the English naval dictatorship, the policy of the same adopted by his grandmother that every response to the British proposals had to result in the war with France, for which it was not prepared at the time. Thus, the new English approximation attempts and extensive offers made after the Copen- hegen incident to Russia remained unsuccessful, especially since England did not find itself ready to divide Turkey. At the time of Catherine II, England had promoted Russia in its oriental policy. We did not like to see our own trading partner at the same time damage the interests of France, the English enemy of inheritance, in whose hands the main thing was still in the first century of the Levant trade. Pitt alone saw the danger that England was threatening if the country's road to India, which at that time became increasingly important for the British Empire, passed from the weak hand of the Turks to that of mighty Russia. But he was not able, as we have seen, to assert himself against the general mood which was without reason against a war with Russia.3) 1) Stählin 3, p.130. 2) Cf.Vandal 1, p.64. 3) For this and the following Vandal 1, p.159-170.