Analysis of British and German Economic Rivalry

The place that didn't like that was the hegemon of the world, Britain.

That clearly was, from their viewpoint, a rival

being

built up and growing. It is one thing to start to lose market share

because Britain used to be the number one economic power, industrial revolution and

mass production really happened first in Britain

and then spread from there

to other countries. Britain was in the sequence chronology of

economic development was number one.

But then soon after Germany came in, of course, also at the same time,

America also

rose

as an emerging economy, high growth economy as well.

Let's not forget that.

But of course, America is further away

and was for international documents using

English. So I suppose the British felt less

immediately threatened

by America. Germany is very close

and

the decision was made, we've got to do something about this.

But a key turning point in this, in really resolving

the British goals

and creating this conviction that war has to be made

on Germany was the following development.

So British power was projected across the globe

through the seas, the oceans, the navy, because it was a

global empire from Britain to Australia and

many parts of the world.

Shipping was, of course, very important and control of the

seas was important. And that was, it was in British hands.

So no doubt about that. Nobody could even come close to

the numbers of ships and British naval dominance.

But then something else happened that

was felt as a huge threat. Germany developed this plan

in working on the continent. It's a continental power.

And we have this conflict between the sort of sea power and the continental power

now.

Germany made plans

to, I mean, it's quite natural, to improve its access

to resources. You know, Germany

didn't really have many resources.

It has coal

for the steel industry. You know, it had some input, but

it still needed other raw materials and inputs from across the

globe. So how do you get that? If it's via the seas,

then essentially it's beholden to the British, can be blackmailed by the

British,

as actually happened, demonstrated in 1919.

You know, the First World War

in Germany was over in 1918

when the armistice was signed.

And Germany, I mean, German leaders have always been slightly

on the naive side,

believing, okay, that's an armistice. That's that. The First World War is ended.

Germany wasn't defeated. No foreign troops on German territory.

Yet.

And it disbanded its army and its navy, right?

But the British, of course, didn't disband their army and navy.

And they then staged a naval blockade of Germany.

Suddenly shipping was entirely cut off.

As a result, one million, it's estimated around one million Germans

starved to

death in the famine of 1919,

which was engineered by the British.

Just to illustrate the reality when you're beholden to a sea power that

controls the seas for your inputs.

And so on the one hand, Germany had been aware of that risk and

it was working on alternatives. And on the other hand,

Britain had adopted countermeasures. What were the countermeasures?

So around-

A million Germans starved to death.

Yeah, in 1919. And of course, Britain continued to fight

on British cenotaphs of the First World War.

Often in the countryside, you see the

First World War

defined as 1914 to 1919.

Because, you know, dead bodies were still arriving in the villages.

You couldn't tell the

pastor, no, write 1918 on the cenotaph.

Well, we were still at, you know, our fallen coming, you know,

and the villages recording the deaths in 1919.