This book tackles the role of Parliament in the conduct of eighteenth-century foreign policy, the impact of this policy on parliamentary politics, and the quality of parliamentary debates. Drawing on a wide range of British and foreign archival sources, it is an important study for assessing eighteenth-century Britain and for understanding the role of contingency in the evaluation of political systems. Reflecting over a quarter-century of work on parliamentary sources, it highlights as well the influence of Parliament on foreign policy and politics.