Britain, Portugal and South America in the Napoleonic Wars; Alliances and Diplomacy in Economic Maritime Conflict

摘要

Martin Robson's latest book Britain, Portugal and South America in the Napoleonic Wars; Alliances and Diplomacy in Economic Maritime Conflict is a fine follow-up to his previous works on the Napoleonic period; Lord Beresford and British Intervention in Portugal published in 2003 (co-authored with Professor Malyn Newitt) and The Battle of Trafalgar published in 2005. Throughout the book's 13 chapters, Robson emphasises the role and the significance of the Portuguese nation during the momentous years of 1806 to 1808. According to Robson, since 1815 both historians and strategists have been too pre-occupied with the more sensational political and military episodes of the age to fully appreciate the crucial part that Portugal played in the downfall of the Corsican dictator, this work is an attempt to rectify this perceived error. The book's central argument is that without the support of the Portuguese and access to her lucrative overseas trade markets, Britain would have lost her war of financial attrition with France following Napoleon's imposition of the Continental System thereby ending any hope of effective resistance or the formation of a sustainable Coalition.