6. The naval arms race between Germany and Great Britain
Between 1898 and 1912, the Imperial Navy of the German Kaiser and the Royal Navy of Great Britain engaged in an arms race which saw both fleets expand dramatically. At the time the most powerful weapon available to seagoing nations was the battleship. The Germans averaged three capital ships placed under construction per year until 1908, when they increased it to four. The British had little choice but to match their pace, keeping the Royal Navy as the largest in the world. British shipyards also built ships for the Japanese Navy, collecting some badly needed hard specie to maintain their own frantic pace of construction.
While the Kaiser and the King built up their fleets with the enthusiasm of two boys playing with toy boats, representatives of their governments tried to establish rules regarding their use. In 1909 they joined France, Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the United States, and the Japanese Empire in signing the London Declaration Concerning the Laws of Naval Warfare.