Navy Laws - W Flashcards
State what happened with the Navy Laws in 1898, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1912.
1898: German Navy League established the First Naval Law - gained approval to increase the size of the navy by 7 battleships resulting in a total of 19.
1900: Second Naval Law - double size of navy to 38 battleships.
1904: Entente Cordiale agreement between Britain and France which was intended to protect eachother against the growing threat of Germany and support eachother in the case of a war.
1906: Third Naval Law - 6 more battleships.
Britain launches the first dreadnought which lead to an amendment of the Naval Laws where some battleships were changed to dreadnoughts.
1907: Triple Entente form between Britain, France and Russia.
1908: Naval Laws resulted in 21 approved dreadnoughts.
1912: Further amendments to Naval Laws increased the size of the fleet.
Why were the Navy Laws made?
The Kaiser wanted a large navy to:
- Gain industrial growth.
- Take over more countries and protect those already part of the German Empire.
- Rival Britain’s navy.
What were the benefits of the Navy Laws?
Despite there not being many countries with good resources left in comparison to Britain’s empire, Germany did take over East Africa, South West Africa, Kiachow, Togo and the Camaroons.
Britain’s response to the Navy Laws helped create greater fear within Germany which generated support for the Kaiser’s other policies.
Industries and businesses were benefitted as it helped create more work and employed more people.
It encouraged patriotism and nationalism which helped win the support for the Kaiser’s policy of Weltpolitik.
What were the consequences of the Navy Laws?
Taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this.
Germany was put in a national debt of 490 million marks by 1913, as Germany had spent more money on ships than they could afford.
SPD gained support due to their opposing views on the Navy Laws. However, this also helped the Kaiser present them as unpatriotic.
Army leaders disapproved of the Navy Laws because they believed the navy was growing at the expense of the army, bringing them into conflict with the Kaiser.
