Anglo-French rivalry by 1900

• Britain followed a policy of ‘Splendid Isolation’ from European affairs, because:

  • They wanted to focus on maintaining and building their Empire
  • It avoided rivalry with powerful nations, a concern that grew with the creation of Germany
  • Britain felt self-sufficient economically due to the industrial revolution, so needed no economic allies
• French politicians were too distracted by the problems in the Third Republic to focus much on foreign policy
• There was a stronger rivalry with the German after the Prussian-Franco War which over-rode all other rivalries
• The German policy of Weltpolitik led to Germany trying to assert themselves over Britain in Africa, leading to Anglo-German rivalry which over-rode that of Anglo-French rivalry