The explosion of the industrial revolution and the rise of imperialism
in the second half of the nineteenth century served to dramatically
increase the supply and demand for weapons on a global scale. No
longer could arms manufacturers in industrialized nations subsist by
supplying their own states' arsenals, causing them to seek markets
beyond their own borders. Challenging the traditional view of arms
dealers as agents of their own countries, Jonathan Grant asserts that
these firms pursued their own economic interests while convincing
their homeland governments that weapons sales delivered national
prestige and could influence foreign countries. Industrial and banking
interests often worked counter to diplomatic interests as arms sales
could potentially provide nonindustrial states with the means to
resist imperialism or pursue their own imperial ambitions. It was not
mere coincidence that the only African country not conquered by
Europeans, Ethiopia, purchased weapons from Italy prior to an
attempted Italian invasion. From the rise of Remington and Winchester
during the American Civil War, to the German firm Krupp's negotiations
with the Russian government, to an intense military modernization
contest between Chile and Argentina, Grant vividly chronicles how an
arms trade led to an all-out arms race, and ultimately to war.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780674273016
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
Harvard University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter