The Forgotten Commissioner: Sir William Mildmay and the Anglo-French Commission of 1750-1755 [Paperback]

Enid Robbie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2003

Sir William Mildmay, a London lawyer, had a reputation for prudence and frugality that secured a position on the Anglo-French Commission in Paris. The Commission’s ongoing negotiations and failure to both ratify the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle and resolve longstanding differences were to have far-reaching consequences for the futures of Britain, France, Canada, the American colonies, and India.
     The contents of William Mildmay’s letters, his private commission journal, and his official commission reports provide remarkable first-hand insight into the tortuous process of eighteenth-century diplomacy. Mildmay’s notes also raise the fascinating possibility that, in the early summer of 1752, a successful end of the treaty negotiations might have been possible, thus preventing or delaying the Seven Years’ War. Given the importance of the resulting conflagration for Britain and its Empire, Mildmay’s detailed descriptions of the commission’s work is a remarkable and unique chronicle of a crucial episode British and French diplomacy.
     Enid Robbie’s Forgotten Commissioner resurrects the uncertainties, personalities, infighting, and political double-dealing behind the Anglo-French Commission through an examination of one of its quietest but most dedicated participants. As Robbie weaves Mildmay’s personal fortunes through the larger diplomatic negotiations, the reader understands that politics and diplomacy were life and death professions, not just for nations, but for individual careers.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Enid Robbie received her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and was a scholar of British diplomatic history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press (May 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870136518
• ISBN-13: 978-0870136511
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,430,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Double-dealings, diplomatic negotiations, and tensions, July 20, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forgotten Commissioner: Sir William Mildmay and the Anglo-French Commission of 1750-1755 (Hardcover)

A seminal work of superbly dedicated scholarship, The Forgotten Commissioner: Sir William Mildmay And The Anglo-french Commission Of 1750-1755 by the late British Diplomatic History expert Enid Robbie, is an informed and informative study of political intrigue between Britian and France during the era when America and Canada were still colonies. Double-dealings, diplomatic negotiations, and tensions that ultimately caused the Seven Years' War are all scrutinized in detail in this singularly absorbing and minutely detailed account.