Between 1894 and 1905 the question of the Chinese Empire's future development, its survival even, was the most pressing overseas problem facing the Great Powers. The China Question had the most profound implications for the Powers. Since China's defeat by Japan in 1894–5, the country's complete disintegration was widely anticipated. Fuelling imperial rivalries, a wider Great Power conflict in the event of China's implosion, seemed to be on the cards. At times, that prospect seemed very real. Crucially, the prospect of China's break-up and of large–scale international conflict in its wake alter ... More

Between 1894 and 1905 the question of the Chinese Empire's future development, its survival even, was the most pressing overseas problem facing the Great Powers. The China Question had the most profound implications for the Powers. Since China's defeat by Japan in 1894–5, the country's complete disintegration was widely anticipated. Fuelling imperial rivalries, a wider Great Power conflict in the event of China's implosion, seemed to be on the cards. At times, that prospect seemed very real. Crucially, the prospect of China's break-up and of large–scale international conflict in its wake altered the configuration among the Great Powers. Instability in the Far East had ramifications beyond the confines of the region; and, as this study shows, with the events of 1894–5 began a wider transformation of international politics. No Power was more affected by these changes than Britain. The ‘China Question’ provides an ideal prism for the study of the problems of late 19th-century British world policy. This study seeks to break new ground by adopting a deliberately global approach, emphasizing the connections between European and overseas developments, and by encompassing diplomatic, commercial, financial, and strategic factors as well as the politics of foreign policy. The notion of a British policy of ‘splendid isolation’, usually associated with the person of Lord Salisbury, Britain's prime minister and foreign secretary at the time, is the chief focus of this study. Controversially, the book concludes that, while ‘isolation’ was reaffirmed at the end of the Russo–Japanese War, this apparent success helped to undermine its continued justification.