“Give with One Hand and Take with the Other:” British Diplomatic Gifts to Russia, 1795–1797

Abstract

After the “Ochakov crisis” of 1791, Russia and Britain were on the verge of war. In 1788 Russia had seized the Ochakov fortress from the Ottoman Empire, and the British Prime Minister, William Pitt (1759–1806), had attempted to forcibly secure its return. Pitt perceived Russian successes in the former Ottoman territories, such as Ochakov and Bender, as threats to British trade interests in the Baltic Sea, but he was quickly forced to withdraw his ultimatum when the idea of war with Russia became unpopular among the British public. Relationships between the two countries improved a few years later, due to their shared antipathy for Revolutionary France, which entered into war with Britain in 1793. The British Government hoped to persuade Catherine II (“the Great”) to join the military coalition against France and commit Russian troops to battle. In addition, the British Ambassador to St Petersburg wished to facilitate the signing of a long-term trade agreement that would give British merchants Baltic trade preferences similar to those that had been granted under the Treaty of 1766. These delicate circumstances required pressure to be applied to Russia in matters of trade and war. Consequently, during the period of 1795–1797, the British Government sent a range of diplomatic gifts to Russia: a Herschel telescope for Empress Catherine II; hundreds of exotic plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew for Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna; and six horses for Emperor Paul I.