The motivations behind the protectorate plan of the Muscovy Company in 1612–1613

Abstract

The planned establishment of a protectorate over North Russia in 1612–1613 represents a significant yet often overlooked episode in the history of Anglo–Russian relations. This paper revisits the previous studies on the protectorate plan focusing on the reasons behind this ambitious but ultimately unrealistic plan. I examine the economic, political and religious reasons behind the creation of the plan which are more or less mentioned in previous scholarly works. In addition to the existing reasons, in this paper I assume that the main reason behind the creation of the protectorate plan was the importance of Russia as a transit country for the Persian and Indian trade and as a starting point for further English expeditions.