ABSTRACT
The demand for guns came from war, and the second half of the nineteenth century had many wars. World demand for weapons, especially for warships, increased during the 1880s and accelerated in the 1890s, when the great powers launched the armaments races and naval power entered a period of rapid growth and technological development. Elswick entered the world arena early and played a leading part in the international armaments industry which emerged during the second half of the nineteenth century. The British royal treatment and displays of Elswick's technological grandeur may have impressed visitors, but German royalty and Krupp factories were also intoxicating, and armament sales depended upon local agents in the various markets. Elswick's experience in the United States, Europe and Asia provides revealing illustrations of the way the company responded to the growing demand for weapons in three different areas of the world.
