Unable to Rage Beyond Screaming

As prime minister, Robert Peel was baffled that two seasoned diplomats could do something so utterly beneath them.

Yet when he learned the details, he hesitated for even a second between war and peace. In the end, he simply tore up the letter addressed to Queen Victoria.

"The people on the European continent are all freaks!"

Robert Peel was furious. At first, when he saw the Pope blasting those Catholic countries, he had thought the man was rather useful—at least, he could be exploited.

But now Robert Peel had abandoned that idea. If they really let a madman like that get his way, he might launch another Crusade.

Robert Peel shook his head, driving the images from his mind. A relentless succession of natural disasters and mounting international challenges had noticeably slowed Britain's economic growth.

The wars in southern Brazil, along Albania's southeastern coast, and on the Indian Subcontinent were constantly draining Britain's coffers.

At first, these wars had been intended to divert domestic tensions and stimulate the economy.

But all those schemes had failed. The Afghans' sudden attack during the Sikh Wars, coupled with the full-scale uprising across the Subcontinent, was now dragging Britain into an even deeper abyss.

Apart from conquering the Sikh Empire, Britain had gained little from this costly military campaign.

And the conquered empire was clearly rotten to the core. Its people and land could not be squeezed for even a drop of profit, while the Sikhs' religious and cultural traditions made them especially determined to resist.

Sir Henry Hardinge believed that at least fifty thousand troops would have to remain behind to keep the region stable, because the Sikh Empire lay near Kabul Pass, the route the Afghans would have to take to invade India.

The British government debated whether it was feasible to