Argues that the Lord Protector's foreign policy was informed by pragmatism rather than ruled totally by religious fanaticism, and that he should be given credit for England's high international prestige in 1658. Shows how even with domestic unpopularity and subversion and his narrow base of support he exploited the Franco-Spanish war to English advantage, obtained England's first grasp of continental soil in a century, and pressed his claim as leader of European protestants. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.