1. By Leandro Leviste, Mateo Lorenzo
The Arms Race (1890s to 1914)
By Leandro Leviste, Mateo Lorenzo

2. Background (UK) Since Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
British Royal Navy is the greatest in the world
Protect colonial possessions

3. Background (Germany) Kaiser Wilhelm comes to power (1888)
Industrialization and imperialism
Germany aspires to be great power

4. What happened? Britain developed Dreadnought battleship
Backfired: Germany responds with its own Dreadnoughts
Kaiser Wilhelm: “the armament of the future”

5. How did this raise tensions?
Reciprocal army buildup
Both saw the other as a threat
Conflict was inevitable

6. Bibliography
“The Economic Consequences of Peace” by John Maynard Keynes
“Europe: 1870 to 1991” by Terry Morris and Derrick Murphy
Ross, Kelly L.. "Dreadnought." Fresian. 17 Aug 2009 <
Fabbrini, Prof. Sergio. "Reassessing The Anglo-German Naval Arms." SSI. 17 Aug 2009 <
Cruickshank, Dan. "An arms race." BBC BBC. 17 Aug 2009 <