What is the relationship between seapower, law, and strategy? Anna Brinkman uses in-depth analysis of cases brought before the Court of Prize Appeal during the Seven Years' War to explore how Britain worked to shape maritime international law to its strategic advantage. Within the court, government officials and naval and legal minds came together to shape legal decisions from the perspectives of both legal philosophy and maritime strategic aims. As a result, neutrality and the negotiation of rights became critical to maritime warfare. Balancing Strategy unpicks a complex web of competing priorities: deals struck with the Dutch Republic and Spain; imperial rivalry; mercantilism; colonial trade; and the relationships between metropoles and colonies, trade, and the navy. Ultimately, influencing and shaping international law of the sea allows a nation to create the norms and rules that constrain or enable the use of seapower during war.

Long-listed, 2025 Anderson Medal, Society for Nautical Research

‘Anna Brinkman’s first book offers a compelling history of the Seven Years’ War, focussed on the competing interests of neutral and belligerent powers. An exciting and important contribution to the history of maritime strategy and the modern law of war, prize taking and neutral-belligerent relations. Worth reading by anyone interested in understanding how economic and imperial imperatives impact the course and conduct of international conflict.’

Maartje Abbenhuis - Waipapa Taumata Ray University of Auckland

‘Balancing Strategy opens a window into the complex interplay of law, empire, seapower, and strategy. Through meticulous and well-documented case studies that incorporate legal records, private political accounts, and the popular press, Brinkman offers new insight into how Britain sought legitimacy for its increasing projection of power on the global stage.’

Sarah Kinkel - University of Technology Sydney

‘This is imperial, military, legal and maritime history at its scrupulous and creative best, at once both micro- and macro-historical. Through a detailed reconstruction of four cases coming before Britain’s Court of Prize Appeal and concerning two Dutch and two Spanish vessels captured during the Seven Years War, Anna Brinkman convincingly reveals for the first time the overarching strategic role that the court played in balancing domestic and international law to keep the Dutch Republic and Spain neutral during the global conflict. Particularly nuanced - and wholly unique in prize history - is her attention to the human dimension of legal process: the myriad of people, personalities, ties, interests, and environments that destabilized or undergirded neutrality. A triumph of insight and scholarship.’

David Hancock - The University of Michigan

‘This is an excellent book on several levels. Brinkman has used archives in two continents and brought the resulting material together masterfully, both as a piece of history and to contribute to a wider discussion about international maritime law and sea power.’

Andrew Livsey Source: The Naval Review