The Ottoman Empire was on the verge of collapsing, this raised the issue of what would happen to the future stability of Europe in terms of creation of new states and the possible expansionist opportunities open to Russia. Britain felt that breaking up the Ottoman Empire, also known at this point as “the sick man of Europe”, was not practical; she had no interest in imperial control of the Empire. Benjamin Disraeli was convinced that this would threaten the Suez Canal in Egypt; therefore the security of the Route Britain took to India. The Russo-Turkish war broke out due to the Bulgarian revolt; Russia was trying to support the Bulgars, who themselves were trying to become an independent state from the Ottomans. Britain’s aim in this crisis was to keep the Ottoman Empire afloat for strategic reasons and to encourage trade. When Russia attacked the Ottoman’s they succeeded in reaching the outskirts of Constantinople. Disraeli’s policy was based more on threat rather than direct action; Britain’s aim was to prevent a Russian takeover of the Ottoman Empire. The Russians won the war and created “big Bulgaria” which worryingly gave her access to a warm water port. Disraeli demanded a congress to revoke the San Stefano Treaty; the terms of the treaty made no direct reference to the control of the Straits but Russia’s impact on an enlarged Bulgaria was a worry for Britain. The balance of power had been compromised with Russia’s increasing influence in South Eastern Europe. At this point Disraeli sent Indian troops to Malta and Austria agreed with Britain on demanding a second international conference; this action placed Britain in a state of war readiness. With Britain’s threat to go to war, Russia backed down and agreed on withdrawing its support from Bulgaria; Britain was gifted Cyprus by the Sultan of Turkey. Britain’s interventions throughout this period led to the preservation of European balance of power.
In 1840 Britain shifted towards a free trade policy; this was trade without government intervention, for example tariffs or foreign goods being taxed. Robert Peel had set out against this idea but was won over by Richard Cobden and John Bright’s speeches made in parliament. Because Britain was going through an industrial revolution free trade was seen as a sensible move forward. By the 1860’s free trade had been achieved in Britain and it began negotiating free trade agreements with European powers via the Cobden-Chevallier treaty. Eventually, Britain could swamp foreign markets with cheaply manufactured goods therefore out-producing other countries and also benefiting British consumers. The binding of countries trading amongst each other was another achievement made through free trade. Obviously free trade between states would encourage a degree of mutual interdependence. This would reduce the probability of warfare. It was also thought that if Britain was the first to follow this concept then others would also change. From 1850 to 1873 Britain became known as the ‘workshop of the world’. Free trade was a consistency applied right through until 1902. Cain and Hopkins’s wrote an essay in 1993 stressing how important they felt free trade was, without it Britain would not be self-sufficient and wouldn’t be providing enough food for their fast growing population. The Cobden Chevalier treaty was signed between Britain and France in 1860. The treaty reduced French duties on most British manufactured goods and reduced British duties on French wines and brandy. Belgium, Prussia, Holland and Austria-Hungry followed later in joining a series of reciprocal free trade policies. In an effort to expand their privileges further in China; Britain demanded the opening up of China and legalising of the opium trade. A policy was gradually formed with Britain, Germany, Russia and France to force open China because of its immense market. The Arrow incident occurred when Chinese authorities boarded what was a British registered vessel as they thought it was trafficking opium. Britain bombarded the major cities on the South East coast of China; this led to the second opium war. The uprising of the Boxer Rebellion in the 1890’s, a pro-nationalist movement in northern China, took place in response to grievances including the opium trade. From 1850-1873 the increasing industrial output in Britain meant that the workforce could enjoy higher wages. This era was known as the ‘age of equipoise’.
Britain’s approach to empire was based upon two concepts; informal and formal imperialism. Informal imperialism in Britain was driven by the free trade economic system of the Empire. It is used to describe the extensive reach of Britain’s interests into regions which were not formally part of their empire or directly controlled by Britain; an example being Britain’s exercised control on South American states. In a 2010 article, Gregory Barton and Brett Bennett defined informal empire as "a willing and successful attempt by commercial and political elites to control a foreign region, resource, or people. Cain and Hopkins analysis was that if countries wanted their economy to grow they would borrow from the stock exchange or banks in London. Britain could use their technological expertise to control or have an effect on a country; this being a form of informal imperialism. The advantage this had for Britain was that it did not need to establish territorial control in order to access profitable markets for British manufactured goods and obtain cheap raw materials. Formal imperialism, being the opposite, meant Britain had control over foreign policies and the defence for the country involved. An example of how formal control was exercised was India; a colony controlled from London. As a result of suffering from free trade, India was unable to introduce measures to protect its own economy. British traders easily flooded India with British imports. After 1889 Britain’s formal empire expanded in Africa. Britain’s Empire resembled a ‘larder’ with meat from Argentina and Australia, tea and spices from India, raw materials from Canada, palm oil from Nigeria and Hard woods from Uganda and Kenya.
Another principal governing foreign and imperial policies was the limited support for constitutional states. Through the 19th and 20th century there was a rise of nationalism, meaning the inner belief in your country; many wanted to break away from the Empires controlling them. It became clear that Britain would only support countries at times when it suited them or their vested interests. At times Britain played the role of breaking up territorial boundaries if it believed it would then succeed. An example of this being Britain’s involvement in the Belgium revolt in 1830. France invaded Belgium after they broke away from the Netherlands. If France controlled Belgium it had access to the Ostend and Zeebrusse ports. Britain intervened and asked France to keep itself to itself in order to maintain the status quo and balance of power. In 1939 the treaty of London was signed by European powers, this treaty guaranteed Belgium’s independence. On a number of occasions, such as the Bulgarian revolt in 1876, Disraeli strategic decision making put Britain’s vested interests at stake. Morally, the best thing for Disraeli to do, in this case, was to support Bulgaria as it rebelled against the Ottomans. Britain effectively stayed neutral but quietly approved the Ottomans, who had access to the Straights, in order to say on good terms for Britain’s foreign policy.
Although the methods used to fulfil the principles proved to be so variable, overall, there was a consistency in British foreign policy from 1846 to 1902. The most important being European peace; this was based on a balance of power. One of the main reasons for this was because a stable Europe enabled the expansion and protection of the British Empire. Also, Russia was perceived as a threat and British governments never adapted this view. Finally, Imperial trade had to be protected and so did the routes that enabled the trades to flourish.
