Road to the First World War: British-German relations 1885-1914
Throughout most of the 19th century, Anglo-Prussian relations have been marked with cooperation and meaningful interactions. The countries often allied in wartime and their respective royal families intermarried (the King of Britain and the Kaiser of Germany were in fact related - cousins). However, this situation changed after the unification of Germany in 1871, as it presented a new, perplexing state of affairs. Since then, these relations deteriorated due to Germany’s emergence as a European strongest industrial power, its active participation in the colonial race, ensuing naval arms’ race, alliances and decisions made in the July Crisis of 1914. This growing antagonism would eventually lead to the First World War.
The new-formed Germany became not only a country not to be trifl...