Britain and the Resale of Argentine Cruisers to Japan before the Russo-Japanese War

Abstract

In late 1903 Britain bought Chilean battleships, whereas Japan bought Argentine cruisers in the face of Russian counter-bidding. Previous scholarship has considered this arms trade as a case in which Britain showed its sympathy, or rather gave assistance, to Japan. However, this paper, based on multi-archival research in both Japan and Britain, argues that there was no sign of any such sympathy. The resale and transfer of the Argentine cruisers also shed light on the strategic views of the British government and the actual state of Anglo-Japanese relations just before the Russo-Japanese War.