Naval Arms Race Between Germany & Britain Flashcards
Who started building ships? And why?
Germany and Britain
They both wanted control of the worlds oceans.
Many experts thought if there was going to be a war it would be at sea.
What kind of Ships were they building?
The two nations were building the most state of the art technology of the time.
What were these ships called? Describe one?
Dreadnoughts
They were large, steam-powered vessels with thick armour and powerful guns.
In order to pay for all these ships, what did Britain do?
She had many conferences with her former colonies.
She made a list of expectations for how Canada could help Britain in the event of war.
What were Britain’s requested?
1) If requested Canada would supply soldiers to fight under the flag of Britain.
2) Britain would give Canada several warships but Canada would pay to maintain the boats and loan them to Britain for the war
3) Canada would regularly send money to help pay for defences of the empire
Why did Sir Wilfrid Laurier have a problem agreeing to these requests?
Because he knew that the FRENCH-Canadians would never agree, so he came up with a list of his own requests
What were his list of compromises?
1) Canada would form her own navy (ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY)
2) Canada would build her own warships which would be used for defended of Canada
3) If Britain gets involved in war that Canada was not in; Canada would loan ships to Britain for duration of war
4) ONLY volunteers could serve on these ships (Britain couldn’t demand, which meant that FRENCH-Canadians would not have to serve England)
