The duel for posterity

Castlereagh was hated in his lifetime, accused by radicals such as Shelley of being the henchman of absolutism at home and abroad: ‘I met Murder on the way/ He had a mask like Castlereagh.’ Stress, overwork and perhaps illness led to his suicide in 1822, aged 53. Many now consider him one of Britain’s greatest Foreign Secretaries.

He was succeeded by his old rival Canning. Where Castlereagh had used personal contact, quiet persuasion and conciliation, Canning was a unilateralist (‘Every nation for itself, and God for us all’), ready for confrontation.

He used oratory in the Commons to promote a patriotic and idealistic foreign policy - ‘the extension of liberty and liberal principles throughout the world’. He protected South American independence: ‘I have brought a New World into existence to redress the balance of the old.’ This won him popularity and identified Britain with Progress.

So who won the duel?