Abstract

This paper offers a new analysis of the passage and political ramifications of the 1889 Naval Defence Act, which formally introduced the ‘two power standard’ for the Royal Navy. Once regarded as a necessary strengthening of the British navy, recent studies have done much to seriously question the need for the Act, arguing that it was the product of a ‘myth of British naval weakness’. This revisionist work has not extended into the political realm, however, where the Act is still regarded as a popular measure that passed smoothly through parliament. This paper rejects this assumption and demonstrates that the Act was in fact opposed, however ineffectually, by the majority of the Liberal Party. In particular, the Bill received a furious reception from the Party’s Radical wing, which regarded it as a direct attack on the foundations of liberal internationalism. Through analysing the debates and votes of 1889, the paper thus offers a new perspective on the naval policy of the Gladstonian Liberal Party and the history of the two power standard itself.

In its final section, the paper extends its narrative to a reassessment of the events leading to the final resignation of William Gladstone as Prime Minister in 1894, a consequence of his refusal to support the naval estimates proposed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Spencer. Finding himself outnumbered by his colleagues, who now accepted the myth of naval weakness as fact, Gladstone was forced to bow before the ‘vortex of militarism’ he feared would soon sweep Europe into war. Placing these events in the context of British naval policy stretching back into the 1880s, the paper suggests that his final resignation should be seen as a direct result of his failure to offer leadership on the naval issue during 1888-1889.

 

Biography

About Peter Keeling:  Peter Keeling holds a BA in History from the University of Gloucestershire, an MA in History from the University of Bristol and is a PhD student at the University of Kent. His thesis focusses on the politics of national defence in Britain, 1880-1894.

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