 Complete the following phrase:  While Bonaparte was preoccupied in the Middle East and then with French politics, the Royal Navy had returned to the Mediterranean in force. British forces had withdrawn from the region in 1796 after France and Spain became allies in the Treaty of San Ildefonso, but Nelsons victory at the Nile had eliminated the French threat, allowing a large scale redeployment in the second half of the year. Malta was 