Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Abbreviations
- Preface
- 1 Peter Mikhailov Travels to England
- 2 The First Entente Cordiale
- 3 Naval Collaboration
- 4 Harmony in Trade
- 5 Growing Naval Affinity under Three Empresses
- 6 Trade, Aid and Logistical Support
- 7 The Onset of Total War
- 8 The French Revolutionary War
- 9 The War Against Napoleon
- 10 Endgame
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Trade, Aid and Logistical Support
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Abbreviations
- Preface
- 1 Peter Mikhailov Travels to England
- 2 The First Entente Cordiale
- 3 Naval Collaboration
- 4 Harmony in Trade
- 5 Growing Naval Affinity under Three Empresses
- 6 Trade, Aid and Logistical Support
- 7 The Onset of Total War
- 8 The French Revolutionary War
- 9 The War Against Napoleon
- 10 Endgame
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
[The Mole at Kronstadt] is enclosed by a strong and elegant rampart built of granite in the sea, under the direction of that gallant commander and upright man, the late Admiral Samuel Greig, to whose unwearied activity and uncommon talents the Russian navy is so highly indebted, and whose loss will not easily be compensated to the Empire.
William Tooke, 1799Despite winning a considerable naval victory over the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, the Imperial Navy under Catherine II witnessed considerable shortcomings – not least the outdated and limited infrastructure of the shore-bases designed to support the fleet. The naval victory gained by the Baltic fleet after transiting into the Mediterranean could not have been achieved without the support of both British naval officers and British naval facilities. Similarly, to improve the overall state of the Imperial Navy, Catherine began a programme of encouraging technically minded British naval officers alongside civil engineers to design and oversee improvements to her various naval yards. Undoubtedly, those opening years of Catherine’s reign were ones in which the rulers of both Great Britain and the Russian Empire were striving, through naval cooperation and trade, to regain the earlier affinity that had come under a degree of strain during the Seven Years War.
Trade
The death of Elizabeth Petrovna in January 1762 saw her successor, Peter III (r. February–July 1762), end Russia’s participation in the war against Prussia, with a treaty of peace signed in May. Strangely, this made little difference to the trading relationship between Great Britain and the Russian Empire, for as already shown, despite being in opposing alliances, the terms of trade, and the nature of that trade, had been unaffected. However, as Russia continued to expand her territories, with her stature in Europe growing, the unequal nature of Russia’s trading relationship with Britain became ever more irksome. Under the terms of the 1734 treaty, Russia’s export trade was more or less totally dependent on the British trading community in St Petersburg and their associates in London. All business transactions and the onward sale of Russian goods were in their hands, with Russia having given numerous rights to British merchants to exploit the Russian Empire.
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- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2022