1900 was a turning point in Britain’s policy of ‘splendid isolation’ as she started to search for allies with much greater urgency than before. A reason for this was that all the other major European powers had alliances so would have back-up in any future conflicts. However Britain’s isolation had been demonstrated by events such as the Venezuela incident and the Boer war where lack of support had been demonstrated towards Britain and it had been difficult to defeat the Boers. Consequently Britain was beginning to wonder what would happen if she was attacked by one or more powers.
However at this time even though Britain was on the look out for possible allies none of the major European powers seemed like possible candidates for future allies. After diplomatic defeats at Nigeria and at Fashoda France were still hostile towards Britain, France also resented British presence in Egypt and Sudan. Russia had designs on India and northern China at this time so was viewed as a likely enemy. This left Germany as been seen as the most probable ally; however Germanys Kaiser, Wilhelm 2nd was seen as unpredictable. In 1900 Germany introduced the Navy Law which suggested that Germany was setting out to match Britain’s navy power. Naval rivalry later became the main cause of Anglo-German friction.
Salisbury at last gave up his Foreign Office in October 1900 and Lord Lansdowne took his place. Lansdowne like Chamberlain was in favour of a more positive approach to Britain finding an ally. In 1900 the matter of Britain finding an ally became urgent as Russian power in northern China continued to grow. By the end of 1900 Russian troops occupied the northern part of Manchuria and in January 1901 details of a Russo-Chinese agreement became known which meant that in practice Manchuria was now a part of Russia. This made Lansdowne determined to form some sort of alliance to check Russian ambitions.
Lansdowne firstly turned towards Germany where he hoped for joint Anglo-German action under the Yangtze Agreement. However Germany refused to co-operate, she was happy for Russia to be occupied in Manchuria as it kept them out of the Balkans where they might clash with her ally, Austria-Hungary. This was another failed attempt for Britain to obtain a formal agreement with Germany; Germany was convinced that Britain would not be able to find allies elsewhere so was not worried about negative alliances towards her.
In January 1902 Britain gained her first ally as the Anglo-Japanese alliance was signed. Lansdowne realised that Japan had the closest interest in checking Russian growth in the Far East. The alliance meant that Japan would recognise British interests in China and the Pacific, and Britain would recognise Japans rights in Korea. The alliance also meant that if Japan was involved in a war with Russia then Britain would remain neutral yet if another power was involved then Britain would help Japan. The alliance meant that both Japans and Britain’s position in the Far East was greatly strengthened. Also if Russia continued to try and expand then Japan would be more likely to resist with force; in 1904-5 war between Japan and Russia happened with Japan emerging victorious.
The Anglo-Japanese alliance also helped gain Britain her second ally. In April 1904 the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale was signed. This was a highly unlikely development as there had been years of strained relations over colonial matters and during the Boer war the French press had been violently anti-British. Nevertheless pressures for understanding had been built up on both sides. Even though France resented Britain’s colonial power she did not want war with Britain as she viewed Germany as her main enemy. France was also alarmed at the Anglo-Japanese alliance as there was a danger of war between Japan and their ally Russia; Russia would expect help from France in the prospect of war which would consequently provoke Britain to help Japan and leave France involved in a war with Britain. The French Foreign Minister, Delcassé worked hard to improve relations and in Britain it was Chamberlain who made the first move in an attempt to sort out colonial squabbles. However Lansdowne was probably thinking in terms of a counter-move against the build up of German naval strength although the government denied that it was an anti-German agreement. In February 1904 the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war made an agreement more urgent and speeded up the final negotiations. The Anglo-French Entente Cordiale agreed that France would give Britain a free hand in Egypt and Sudan and Britain would recognise French interests in Morocco. France also gave up her claim to the Newfoundland coast in exchange for land in Gambia. The Entente Cordiale had the desired effect of limiting the Russo-Japanese war yet it was a just a settling of differences not a military alliance. However the German Kaiser began to view the Entente as an anti-German move and announced that Germany too had interests in Morocco. This was a challenge to the new Entente and gradually pushed Britain into closer commitment to France and away from the German camp.
By 1905 when the conservatives were voted out of government Britain had gone from a country which followed a policy of ‘splendid isolation’ to a country with alliances. During this time the whole balance of power in Europe had shifted and Europe had also become divided into two hostile camps where Britain’s previous ‘splendid isolation’ would have been considered more of a ‘dangerous isolation’. Yet under conservative rule of Salisbury and Lansdowne Britain had formed alliances with Japan and France this had been a major u-turn in British foreign policy and one of the conservative’s better moves.