ABSTRACT
British India was in quite a lot of trouble in 1877–78. It has already been seen how Britain did not give up her established interests easily. When Russia got the better of her war with Turkey, Britain stepped in to make sure that the ‘friendly, inert, and unprogressive power’ was not too heavily bruised by the encounter. But Germany’s colonial challenge was a serious matter. It introduced an unknown factor into colonial affairs, a new member of the club, in addition to the familiar faces of France, the Netherlands and Russia. And it introduced it into areas where Britain had previously regarded herself as having a near monopoly, or at least a pre-emptive right, of vigorous empire-building. Britain's latest series of foreign wars Afghanistan, the occupation of Egypt, the Zulu War, the first Boer War had stretched her resources more than she liked.
