Catherine II pursues trade, alliances and armed neutrality

Catherine maintained useful commercial ties with Britain because Russia depended on maritime trade, yet she also regarded British power after the Seven Years' War as a threat. Her idea of European balance, with Russia predominant, differed from Britain's preference that no continental state dominate. Her attempted Northern Accord would have linked Russia, Prussia, Poland, and Sweden against the Bourbon-Habsburg alignment, but its failure prompted a more aggressive policy. During the American Revolutionary War she promoted the League of Armed Neutrality to frustrate Royal Navy pressure on neutral maritime commerce.