Under nineteenth-century naval rules, warships could fly another country's flag until they came within close enough range. Before opening fire, however, they had to raise their true flag; otherwise, it was "absolutely" forbidden.
An experienced lookout could tell which country a ship belonged to by its appearance rather than its flag. But they might also encounter a captured warship. If they were in a situation like the sentry aboard the Achilles, such as during a mutiny, they would be highly wary of a ship approaching silently and might even fire on it.
But in peacetime, sentries might not be so vigilant. Or they might be dead drunk like the Gibraltar garrison. That was another matter entirely.
In any case, this was the "bottom line" Bougainville could accept. Whether the French Navy could accept it was beyond Georgiana's control. Perhaps Britain had already obtained intelligence and raised its guard before the French took action.
Machiavelli and Queen Elizabeth I were roughly from the same era. Or rather, Machiavelli and the founder of British intelligence work were contemporaries.
Besides being able to act so well that neither the white wizards nor the Dark Lord could tell whom he was truly loyal to, Severus had also learned to "predict" each side's response to a situation. Then he made seven Potter plans and had both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters follow his "script." Other than Moody's death and George's ear, everything proceeded according to plan.
In any case, she temporarily set the matter aside. After France and Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens, treaties were also signed with Haussmann and Tunisia. Both concerned most-favored trade.
Naturally, neither treaty was like the Sacrilegious League formed by François I. After Medici became the pope's bankers, they continuously expanded their banking business, and