International Relations with other Powers

History: KS3, topic 14.1.7

International Relations, 1857-1890 AD

By the late 1800s, Britain was increasingly concerned about European powers. These tensions helped to contribute to World War One.

Germany was newly unified as a country after a powerful victory against France (1871 AD) and was now a major power.
Germany began to expand its navy and this threatened Britain's hegemony internationally. Britain's navy was the strongest in the world and the British Navy was vital for protecting international colonies.
In the 1890s and 1900s, Germany created new industry cartels. In 1904 AD, the Steel Works Association was created and was subsidised to export steel globally.
Germany was becoming increasingly industrialised and competitive with Britain's manufacturing industries at the same time that Germany's economic and industrial power was growing.

France was embarrassed after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war.
So, France sought to reassert its strength militarily elsewhere in the world.
In 1863 AD, Cambodia's King, Norodom had made Cambodia a French protectorate.
In 1885 AD, France gained territory in Vietnam after its victory over China in the Sino-French War.
In 1887 AD, France combined Cambodia with its territories in Vietnam to create French Indochina. In 1893 AD, after another war, France added Laos to French Indochina.
In response to France's increasing power in South East Asia, Britain took control of Malaya (1874 AD) and Burma (1885 AD).

Russia was increasingly encroaching into the north of China with the 1891 AD Trans-Siberian Railway.

Between 1873 AD and 1896 AD there was a global economic depression.
There had been a bubble in railroad (railway) investments that collapsed and in the UK, the City of Glasgow Bank went bankrupt. Internationally, lots of banks went bankrupt and stopped lending people money (giving them credit to invest). This was similar to the cause of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
With domestic demand falling in the UK, Germany, France, and the USA, all countries could increase their sales and output by selling their goods into new markets like Asia and Africa.