The Story of the Great War (Vol. 1-8). Various Authors
Читать онлайн книгу.
the United States and England, which, however, were adjusted amicably by the end of 1896. Throughout 1897 and 1898 English troops were busily occupied with the pacification of newly acquired territory in Africa, especially in Egypt and the Sudan. Toward the end of 1898 the Fashoda incident, of which we have spoken at greater length under the French history, brought England and France dangerously near to war.
We have seen now how England, without stirring up a great deal of dust, had been adding continually to her possessions, especially in Africa. This, of course, aroused gradually the attention and, to a certain extent, the jealousy of other countries. By 1899 it had become necessary to adjust some of these difficulties, and England succeeded in doing this by treaties with France and Egypt, as she had done before with Germany. Her aggressive policy in South Africa, however, met determined opposition at the hands of the Boers, who had begun to fear for their own independence which, being of Dutch extraction, they valued greater than life. Conferences between Lord Milner on behalf of England and President Krueger of the Transvaal came to naught. On October 9, 1899, the latter country presented an ultimatum which England did not answer. Then the Boer War broke out. For our purposes it is not necessary to consider its details. It suffices to state that it lasted until April, 1902. For almost three years the brave Boers fought against almost impossible odds. Again and again they defeated the English, but finally they succumbed to the British Empire's inexhaustible resources in men and money, and on May 31, 1902, they were forced to accept England's terms for surrender which cost them their independence. Indeed, as early as September 1, 1900, the South African Republic was annexed, and on October 25, Transvaal became an English colony. In its international aspect the Boer War cost England temporarily the friendship of many nations, who resented the ruthlessness with which they carried on war, and ridiculed the lack of efficiency which was so noticeable during the early stages of the war. Relations with Germany became especially strained as a result of the strong pro-Boer sentiment which was evident throughout the German Empire, and which found even official expression in a much-discussed telegram of the German Emperor to President Krueger.
Although the Boer War cost England much in lives, money, and prestige, its gain far overshadowed its cost. By it Great Britain won the richest gold-producing mines and the most wonderful diamond mines in the world. It consolidated its South African possessions, and, though hard pushed at times, she emerged from it richer and more powerful than ever. Even if this war occupied public attention almost to the exclusion of everything else, a few noteworthy events happened during it. In 1900 the bill providing for the federation of the Australian colonies under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia was approved by the crown, and completed the consolidation of another important part of the British Empire. In January, 1901, Queen Victoria died, after a reign of sixty-four years, and was succeeded by the Prince of Wales as Edward VII.
While the preparations for the coronation of Edward VII were in progress the king suddenly was taken seriously ill and an operation had to be made to save his life. His coronation finally took place in Westminster Abbey in August, 1902. The rulers of all the important countries of the world attended either personally or were represented by important members of their families, and it may well be said that no other event of modern times had brought together such an assembly of the great of the earth. Once more England seemed to have assumed a leading part in the affairs of the world, and the nations of it apparently were not only willing but anxious to acknowledge British power and greatness. Just previous to the coronation, in July, 1902, Lord Salisbury had resigned the premiership and had been succeeded by his nephew, A. J. Balfour. Another feature of the coronation was the enthusiastic loyalty which all the British colonies showed for the new king and the mother country. This found even more definite expression in a series of conferences which were held in November of the same year, 1902, between the prime ministers of the different colonies and the British Secretary of the Colonies. These resulted in resolutions expressing a desire for a closer union of the various parts of the empire and for an arrangement by which the trade with the colonies should receive preferential treatment. In December, 1902, Great Britain and Germany presented a joint ultimatum to Venezuela concerning the payment of debts, and established a joint blockade after having seized the Venezuelan fleet. The South American republic appealed to the United States, at whose suggestion the matter was referred to the Hague Tribunal of International Arbitration.
The friendship between France and Great Britain manifested indisputable signs of rapid growth in 1903 when President Loubet payed a three days' visit to England in July, and was followed later that month by a deputation of French deputies and senators. In 1903 it was also that Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary for the Colonies, began his campaign against free trade and for a policy of a retaliatory tariff and reciprocity with the colonies. Throughout 1902, 1903, and 1904 British troops were fighting in Somaliland, where a revolution had broken out among the natives under the leadership of the "Mad Mullah." In 1904 the Franco-English entente became still more cordial, and in April of that year, 1904, an agreement was signed between the two countries regulating their relations in Newfoundland, Morocco, Egypt, West Africa, Siam, and Madagascar, and removing thereby a prolific source of misunderstandings and irritation. A military expedition was sent to Tibet, one of the few important parts of Asia which had hitherto escaped from the attention of European powers. After many difficulties and considerable fighting this force reached the Tibetan capital, Lhassa, the ancient seat of the Dalai Lama, who fled at the approach of the English. As a result a treaty was signed between Tibet and England giving preferential treatment to English trade and arranging that no other power should thereafter be permitted to have any influence in Tibetan public affairs. In the meantime war had broken out, in February, 1904, between Japan and Russia over the latter's refusal to withdraw from China. In accordance with the Anglo-Japanese treaty of 1902, Great Britain maintained neutrality throughout this war, which, however, was of the benevolent kind toward Japan. English public sympathy was strongly with the latter country. In October, 1904, the continuation of England's neutrality was seriously threatened. After the defeat of the Russian fleet in the Far East, the Russian Baltic fleet was ordered to go to the support of the Russian forces. During its progress through the North Sea some shots were fired at an English fishing fleet, killing two men and wounding others. War between Russia and England was averted only by the prompt disavowal of this action on the part of Russia, and an equally prompt compensation of the Englishmen affected after the incident had been submitted to an international commission of arbitration, which met in Paris. It was at this time that the new entente cordiale between France and England had its first test. For there is no doubt that France exerted considerable pressure on its Russian ally in order to hasten a prompt amicable settlement of the matter.
In 1905 considerable opposition developed against the increase in naval expenditures, occasioned chiefly by the necessity of keeping step with the accelerated pace in naval armament which Germany began to set at that time. In July, 1905, Lord Roberts made a speech in the House of Lords in which he called the attention of the country to the fact that the English army was unfit for war both in members and equipment and training. In August, 1905, the Anglo-Japanese alliance of 1902 was modified to conform to the new conditions that had been created by the Russo-Japanese War. The terms of this new arrangement have already been considered fully in that section of this book which is devoted to Japan's history. In April, 1906, an Anglo-Chinese conference modified the Anglo-Tibetan treaty allowing China to maintain its suzerainty over Tibet, but giving full protection to all English interests. This year, 1906, also saw the beginning of the agitation for woman suffrage, which in the following years assumed rapidly great proportions and violence. Other matters of internal importance—educational, religious, financial, and other legislation—made English internal politics during this period more virulent than at any other period in recent times, and gradually led up to the change from a Conservative to a Liberal Government and to a series of very radical legislative measures.
One of the chief causes of recent friction between Russia and Great Britain was removed in March, 1907, by the signing of an agreement between the two countries regulating their respective interests in Persia. A colonial conference, which met in London in April, 1907, gave new impetus to the imperialistic movement and to the closer union between the United Kingdom and the colonies. In June of that year, 1907, the great parliamentary struggle between the two Houses of Parliament began with the passage by the House of Commons of a bill reducing very materially the powers of the Upper House. As a result of their agreement,