Stratford Canning de Redcliffe, an Inconvenient Ally for Edouard Thouvenel
Stratford Canning de Redcliffe, an Inconvenient Ally for Edouard Thouvenel

Summary/Abstract: When the issue of the Romanian Principalities’ union appeared as an international matter after the Peace Congress of Paris, following the Crimean War, it became the major reason of tension and discontent between the British ambassador in Constantinople, Stratford Canning, and his French colleague and official ally, Edouard Thouvenel. Stratford Canning’s encounters with Thouvenel concerning this issue enable us to understand much better not only his complicated last years of activity, but also the way his personality was perceived in the diplomatic world by one of his opponents. The relationship between the two is an interesting example of a tense relationship between ambassadors that officially are representatives of allied states but, in reality, they act as rivals. The private and official correspondence of the two ambassadors with friends or members of their Government is very important in order to understand their attitude towards the union, as well as their problems in dealing with the issue and with each other. The British documents help us to bring more light on this matter between 1856 and the beginning of 1858.

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