ABSTRACT
Vegetius’ maxim of realpolitik was not applied by Britain to the USA in the twentieth century.
Between the first and the second Venezuelan crises of 1895 and 19023, there came about a sea change in Anglo-American relations. The most dramatic evidence of this was a 1904 decision by the British government that preparations for a war with the USA would no longer be part of its defence plans. This came at a time when the USA had embarked upon a naval expansion programme, which led the authoritative annual Jane’s Fighting Ships to rank her second after Britain in 1906, and when the USA had asserted her ascendancy in the Western hemisphere over Britain in the first Venezuelan crisis. For a great power to abandon war plans with regard to such a nation was contrary to the canons of realpolitik and must be unique in the annals of international relations.
