ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the Ford Lectures given at Oxford University on the subject of English or British history, from 1871 to 1879, by Alfred Francis Pribram. Up to 1870, England as sea-power had been stronger, not only than any other single sea-power, but stronger also than any possible alliance of European sea-powers. England’s diplomatic coup was first noticeable at the Algeciras Conference, when Russia sided with Germany’s adversaries; then, more clearly, when Russia’s revived endeavours to expand towards south-eastern Europe resulted in a widening rift in her relations with Turkey and Austria-Hungary. After France and England had peacefully settled their differences by the treaty of 1904 and were bound by a close community of interests, the governmental leaders of Italy felt that the interests of their country demanded that they should avoid anything which might displease the statesmen in Paris or contain the germ of possible hostilities with France.
