History

Relations Between Germany and Britain Pre-WW1: From Birth to Demise

World War One is without a doubt one of the most important events of the 20th century. The consequences it brought onto Europe culminated in the Second World War, which devastated large parts of the continent. However, the end of World War two ultimately gave us the European Steel and Coal Community. In turn, this paved the way for closer relations and the formation of the European Union as we know it today.

While the alliances that ended up fighting each other in the First World War might seem like a foregone conclusion to us today, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, those same European Powers were still settling into their various alliances. Germany and Austria-Hungary seemed bound together, the two diplomatically isolated states France and Russia found common ground for that exact reason. Across the channel, Great Britain – while uncertain of its allegiance – certainly did seek closer relations with Germany. But how serious were these talks, and were these two powers close to joining forces?

The Dawn of Anglo-German Relations

Following the dismissal of Bismarck, Wilhelm II and Count Leo von Caprivi (Chancellor of Germany 1890 – 93) promised to continue the foreign relations Bismarck had set in place. Lord Salisbury (British Prime Minister 1886 – 1892 and then again 1895 – 1902) was not convinced, saying: ”if he [Wilhelm] thinks thus today, what guarantee have we that he will not change his mind overnight?”.

Three months after taking office, von Caprivi announced the signing of an agreement with Britain, the Heligoland Agreement. Through this treaty, Germany surrendered all claims in Zanzibar and the island of Pemba, and in return, Britain gave Germany the island of Heligoland. Germany also agreed to a border of German East Africa proposed by the British. In doing so, Germany lost access to Uganda and the sources of the Nile. However, Salisbury convinced the Sultan of Zanzibar to their sell coastal claims on East Africa, which gave Germany control of the coast. Ultimately, both Powers benefited from the treaty, which resolved former bones of contention.

While Wilhelm considered abandoning German East Africa, they nevertheless sought colonial prestige. One more British concession was that German East Africa now bordered the Congo Free state, a colony Germany hinted they might buy in the future. While the Agreement stirred political rumblings in both states, Salibury was pleased that it halted German expansion in Africa. Von Caprivi was even more against colonies than Bismarck, saying that ”the worst thing that could happen to us would be for someone to give us the whole of Africa”. Despite this, he understood the value of settling disagreements with Britain.

Relations between Russia and Germany
Russian imperial family and Kaiser Wilhem in 1909

The Reception of the Heligoland Agreement in Europe

The Agreement did not sit well with France, who saw a possible future inclusion of Britain into the Triple Alliance, as Heligoland allowed Britain to focus on the Mediterranean. A later naval treaty between Italy and Britain made the French even more suspicious of British plans. The fall of the first Salisbury government in 1892, replaced by the Gladstone government, put Lord Rosebery, who favoured improved relations with Germany, as Foreign Secretary. This seemed to indicate that Salisbury’s policies would continue.

The friendship of the Triple Alliance was important to Britain both in Egypt and the Mediterranean. On one hand, Rosebery told Paul von Hetzfeldt (ambassador to Constantinople) that Britain might act with Italy (a member of said Alliance) in the Mediterranean, but on the other hand, Gladstone contended that Britain was in no position to ally any nation just yet. On top of this, Germany became more aggressive in their request for a formal treaty, implying that they might turn to Russia following the fall of Salisbury.

This shake-up of the newly formed relation took place during the time of the Eastern Question. As such, Britain was well aware that a Russo-German treaty might threaten British interests. By 1893, Russia and France had almost fully committed themselves to each other, with Britain as their common enemy. Russian efforts to cement their control of Afghanistan directly threatened British India, but harsh British protests forced Russia to retreat. France and Britain argued regarding Egypt, but their troubles were even worse in Siam (Thailand). France announced a blockade of the neutral state, and Britain turned to the Triple Alliance for assistance. Unfortunately for Anglo-German relations, no assistance was forthcoming. Despite this, tensions ran high as Britain sent warships to protect Burma and British citizens. Though France “won” the war against Siam, making Siam the buffer between French Indochina and British Burma, it was at the cost of further worsening relations with Britain.

European alliances
European Alliances in 1914 (© WikiCommons)

The Other Side: French-Russian Relations

All the while, French-Russian relations were growing ever stronger, causing a political uproar in Germany. Bismarck had managed to politically isolate France, but now they were threatened with a two-front war. Britain could not be trusted to sit on the sidelines, only a formal alliance would satisfy Germany. When the Franco-Russian alliance became official in 1893, Russia sent a squadron of ships to Toulon, a Mediterranean port. As the Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the area, Britain became incredibly suspicious of these developments.

Once again, Britain turned to the Triple Alliance, and once again Germany remained decidedly cold. In 1894, Germany decided to more or less abandon the African concessions with Britain to placate colonial interests. This was one more nail in the coffin of the relations between the two powers. Even German liberals started to view Britain as their greatest rival, and anti-English sentiments were brewing. Later on, Germany also decided to renegade on a deal struck in 1893. In order to block the French expansion in Africa, Britain had ceded some land to Germany so that German Kamerun would share a border with British Sudan. The Germans had now decided to deal with France themselves by giving them territory Britain had given to Germany.

The Decline of Anglo-German Relations

Ultimately, Anglo-German relations reached their zenith in 1890, after that point Germany seemed to do everything in their power to sabotage those relations, not caring when Britain wanted help, and warming up to France and Russia instead. This was an incredibly short-sighted foreign policy on Germany’s part, constantly moving against British interests.

Eventually, it led to Britain and France resolving their disagreements. France recognised British Egyptian interests and in return, Britain acknowledged French Tunisia. When the two Moroccan crises happened, Britain threw down the gauntlet and forced Germany to back down on both occasions. At the end of the day, Germany had sabotaged all chances of friendship with Britain and it only had itself to blame when they faced Britain as their opponent in the First World War.

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Tobias Lundqvist

CNC-Operator poring over maps and dusty books in his spare time. Loves writing about history, especially Antiquity and the World Wars.

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