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Part Ninety-Two: Spinning the Diplomatic Web
Next update's finished. I hope it's all plausible for the timeframe and fits with everything else. 
Part Ninety-Two: Spinning the Diplomatic Web
Spinning the Diplomatic Web:
After the Second Napoleonic War and the unification of the Germany, the diplomatic atmosphere in Europe remained very tense. The Congress of Vienna that was intended to produce a lasting peace has clearly collapsed with two wars raging across the continent, and the balance of power had been completely upset. Great Britain, which had believed themselves to be the supreme power in Europe, was left licking their wounds after a costly defeat to France. The collapse of the Austrian Empire left a power vacuum in eastern Europe which the German Empire quickly filled, upsetting the balance of power on the continent. over the next decades, the countries of Europe watched each other with care while trying to position alliances to their advantage.
The main pivot behind the diplomatic maneuvering in Europe between the European Wars and the Great War centered primarily around the rivalry between the British and the French, and the growing friendship between France and Germany. The first sign of the growing relationship between the two continental great powers was the creation of the European Monetary Standard in 1886. Seven years later during the Congo Conference, the great powers not only discussed the rights of territory along the Congo River, but also arranged secret agreements in back channels. It was at the Congo Conference where ambassador Napoleon Eugene Bonaparte and Kaiser Frederick III arranged the first secret defense pact between France and Germany. This first pact was set to last five years. While the pact was expired in 1898, it was revived a year later as an open mutual defense treaty. The official word of Kaiser Frederick III and the French president was that the alliance was created to "promote a lasting time of peace and stability on the European continent", but many powers in Europe felt it was intended to create a Franco-German hegemony over the continent.
As France and Germany grew closer together, the British government sought to restore the balance of power in Europe by looking for allies to counter the combined strength of Germany and France. The allies of Great Britain during the Second Napoleonic War stayed close to Britain after the French victory. The first alliance the British secured was with Belgium in 1874. Along with the military protection, London also supported Belgian colonial expeditions to prevent France from expanding their influence in Asia. By the outbreak of the Great War, many of the Belgian expeditions in Indochina were partially funded or controlled by British interests. The next countries in Europe to fall in line with the British were Spain and Portugal. Portugal had been an ally of the British for centuries and continued to support Great Britain into the Great War. The Spanish moved into the British camp as allies against France in the Second Napoleonic War. This relationship was furthered with a signing of a formal alliance in 1887. During the 1890s, Great Britain also made diplomatic overtures elsewhere in Europe as a counterweight to German expansion and the growing Franco-German bloc. In 1892 after the German annexation of Austria and Moravia, Great Britain sent diplomat Arthur Balfour to several Mediterranean countries in order to seek alliances as counterweights to the Franco-German bloc. With worries of further German expansion, Balfour was warmly received in Budapest and an agreement of protection was signed with Hungary. However, in Rome and Constantinople, Balfour was unable to get the ministers of Italy and the Ottoman Empire to make any lasting agreements. In Rome, Balfour did get Italy to commission the construction of three cruisers in London for the Italian navy. The settling of borders in Asia and North America improved relations between Great Britain and Russia, but the Tsar was still not receptive to any direct involvement in western European affairs.
While most of the diplomatic wrangling prior to the Great War occurred in Europe, the rest of the world was still host to many efforts by both sides to gain support. Great Britain and California signed an alliance in 1902 in exchange for Great Britain writing off California's debts. This move was also precipitated by the new nationalist Sepúlveda government in California which took a heavily anti-American stance. Britain also signed a treaty with Colombia authorizing the construction of a canal in the Panama isthmus as a counter to the proposed San Juan Canal. However, nothing came of this as the McKinley administration opposed this measure on the Monroe Doctrine and sped up efforts on the construction of the San Juan Canal. In Asia, the rivalry between Great Britain and France fed naturally into competing alliances with Japan and Korea, respectively. After the support France gave Korea in the Sino-Korean War, a Franco-Korean alliance was established in Paris in 1890. A reciprocal alliance between Great Britain and Japan was signed two years later, and both countries became firmly entrenched in their separate alliance systems.
Part Ninety-Two: Spinning the Diplomatic Web
Spinning the Diplomatic Web:
After the Second Napoleonic War and the unification of the Germany, the diplomatic atmosphere in Europe remained very tense. The Congress of Vienna that was intended to produce a lasting peace has clearly collapsed with two wars raging across the continent, and the balance of power had been completely upset. Great Britain, which had believed themselves to be the supreme power in Europe, was left licking their wounds after a costly defeat to France. The collapse of the Austrian Empire left a power vacuum in eastern Europe which the German Empire quickly filled, upsetting the balance of power on the continent. over the next decades, the countries of Europe watched each other with care while trying to position alliances to their advantage.
The main pivot behind the diplomatic maneuvering in Europe between the European Wars and the Great War centered primarily around the rivalry between the British and the French, and the growing friendship between France and Germany. The first sign of the growing relationship between the two continental great powers was the creation of the European Monetary Standard in 1886. Seven years later during the Congo Conference, the great powers not only discussed the rights of territory along the Congo River, but also arranged secret agreements in back channels. It was at the Congo Conference where ambassador Napoleon Eugene Bonaparte and Kaiser Frederick III arranged the first secret defense pact between France and Germany. This first pact was set to last five years. While the pact was expired in 1898, it was revived a year later as an open mutual defense treaty. The official word of Kaiser Frederick III and the French president was that the alliance was created to "promote a lasting time of peace and stability on the European continent", but many powers in Europe felt it was intended to create a Franco-German hegemony over the continent.
As France and Germany grew closer together, the British government sought to restore the balance of power in Europe by looking for allies to counter the combined strength of Germany and France. The allies of Great Britain during the Second Napoleonic War stayed close to Britain after the French victory. The first alliance the British secured was with Belgium in 1874. Along with the military protection, London also supported Belgian colonial expeditions to prevent France from expanding their influence in Asia. By the outbreak of the Great War, many of the Belgian expeditions in Indochina were partially funded or controlled by British interests. The next countries in Europe to fall in line with the British were Spain and Portugal. Portugal had been an ally of the British for centuries and continued to support Great Britain into the Great War. The Spanish moved into the British camp as allies against France in the Second Napoleonic War. This relationship was furthered with a signing of a formal alliance in 1887. During the 1890s, Great Britain also made diplomatic overtures elsewhere in Europe as a counterweight to German expansion and the growing Franco-German bloc. In 1892 after the German annexation of Austria and Moravia, Great Britain sent diplomat Arthur Balfour to several Mediterranean countries in order to seek alliances as counterweights to the Franco-German bloc. With worries of further German expansion, Balfour was warmly received in Budapest and an agreement of protection was signed with Hungary. However, in Rome and Constantinople, Balfour was unable to get the ministers of Italy and the Ottoman Empire to make any lasting agreements. In Rome, Balfour did get Italy to commission the construction of three cruisers in London for the Italian navy. The settling of borders in Asia and North America improved relations between Great Britain and Russia, but the Tsar was still not receptive to any direct involvement in western European affairs.
While most of the diplomatic wrangling prior to the Great War occurred in Europe, the rest of the world was still host to many efforts by both sides to gain support. Great Britain and California signed an alliance in 1902 in exchange for Great Britain writing off California's debts. This move was also precipitated by the new nationalist Sepúlveda government in California which took a heavily anti-American stance. Britain also signed a treaty with Colombia authorizing the construction of a canal in the Panama isthmus as a counter to the proposed San Juan Canal. However, nothing came of this as the McKinley administration opposed this measure on the Monroe Doctrine and sped up efforts on the construction of the San Juan Canal. In Asia, the rivalry between Great Britain and France fed naturally into competing alliances with Japan and Korea, respectively. After the support France gave Korea in the Sino-Korean War, a Franco-Korean alliance was established in Paris in 1890. A reciprocal alliance between Great Britain and Japan was signed two years later, and both countries became firmly entrenched in their separate alliance systems.
- wilcoxchar
- Word Count: 850