A detailed study of the first two Anglo-Dutch Wars and the ideological contexts in which they were fought.

Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; Part 1. The Rod of the Lord: Ideology and the Outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War: 2. Historiographical overview; 3. The attempt at unification; 4. The road to war; Coda: the popular apocalyptic context; Part II. To Unite Against the Common Enemy: The 1654 Treaty of Westminster and the End of Apocalyptic Foreign Policy: 5. Historiographical overview; 6. The causes of the war stated; 7. Peace proposed; 8. Political upheavals and ideological divisions; 9. The rejection of apocalyptic foreign policy; 10. The Protectorate's new foreign policy; Part III. Popery, Trade and Universal Monarchy: Ideology and the Outbreak of the Second Anglo-Dutch War: 11. Historiographical overview; 12. The establishment of an Orangist foreign policy; 13. The Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1662; 14. The Northern Rebellion and the reestablishment of Anglican Royalist consensus; 15. The April 1664 trade resolution; 16. Popery, trade and universal monarchy; Part IV. The Medway, Breda and the Triple Alliance: The Collapse of Anglican Royalist Foreign Policy: 17. Historiographical overview; 18. The circulation of news and the course of the war; 19. The popular understanding of the war; 20. The government's war aims; 21. An Orangist revolution; 22. Victory denied and wartime consensus shattered; 23. The rise of political opposition; 24. The road to Chatham: the decision not to send out a battle fleet; 25. The demise of Anglican Royalist foreign policy; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.