Although the Treaty of Sixty-Six had revealed only the tip of the iceberg, the London Government was already losing sleep. John Russell got a headache whenever he looked at a map of the Mediterranean Sea. Under the pretext of helping suppress a rebellion, French troops had landed on Sicily.
With Austria suddenly letting go, was there anyone left who could restrain French expansion in Italy?
The answer was brutally simple: no.
Italy had always been the focal point of Franco-Austrian rivalry. Yet now that they had chosen compromise, that conflict naturally ceased to exist.
"Mutually beneficial cooperation" might be useful in resolving international disputes, but to the British Empire's policy of maintaining the balance of power on the European Continent, it was nothing short of deadly poison.
Inside the Prime Minister's residence on Downing Street, John Russell said gravely, "Over the past decade or so, the strength of France and Austria has surged dramatically. They now possess the power to threaten us.
Look at this latest map of Europe. Austria has annexed South Germany and expanded aggressively across the Balkan Peninsula. After this transaction with the French, its homeland has nearly doubled in size.
The French are no less ambitious. A few years ago, Napoleon III took advantage of our suppression of the Indian rebellion to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now they have once again reached into South Italy.
Ever since France and Austria joined forces to dig the Suez Canal, they have been squeezing us out of the Mediterranean Sea. If we do not find a way to stop them from drawing closer, we will soon have no foothold left in the Mediterranean."
John Russell's words were somewhat exaggerated. The so-called squeezing out was utter nonsense. Their expanding spheres of influence had simply collided, and naturally they had