PhD Thesis: Episode 5.2 (Patreon)

[PATRONS]

In this episode, we delve deeper into the domestic situation in Britain during the Sch;eswig Holstein crisis. After proving embarrassingly ineffective, the government's diplomacy was a ripe target for the opposition's criticism. That London had promised Denmark would not stand alone, and urged the Danes to withdraw from defensive positions, was plain to the opposition figures who had been denied an opportunity to make their displeasure known. By 4 July 1864 though, finally, the gloves could come off, and the litany of disgraceful decisions could be properly laid bare. The language of national honour was never far behind, but how would Palmerston and his colleagues react? As Bismarck set in motion the first phase of his quest to make Prussia supreme, was the Prime Minister coming to terms with the fact that the era of British supremacy was at an end?