Britain has played a crucial role in the political evolution of modern Europe, yet it has often been ambivalent about involvement on "the continent": sometimes glad to be part of European civilization, but at other times insular and separate.This book examines Britain's evolving role from the English and European viewpoints of politicians, diplomats, historians and travelers in the centuries since the French Revolution. It also reviews the foreign policy of the United Kingdom and its relations with European countries during its imperial domination of the global and in the aftermath. The book studies historical perceptions, experiences and assumptions that preceded and still exist and influence Britain's participation in the European Union.