German Diplomatic Documents 1871–1914 Volume 1: Bismarck’s Relations with England 1871–1890(German Diplomatic Documents 1871–1914)

Originally published in English in 1928, this volume deals mainly with Anglo-German relations at the end of the 19th Century. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s voice can be heard clearly in the documents which give an extensive picture of the alternating phases of relations between Great Britain and Germany, as influenced by their respective obligations and interests in the international issues which united or divided the Powers over a period of twenty years. The strongest impression which these documents leave is the revelation of how greatly the mentality of the western world changed since they were drafted, and especially during the decade which came after World War I. The shaping of policy, as exhibited in these despatches and memoranda, is governed almost exclusively by the ultimate idea of war as the deciding factor. The menace of war and the prospects of success or failure in aggression or defence appear to be the essential motives of policy.

Table of Contents:
Preface Rennell Rodd. Historical Introduction J. W. Headlam-Morley. 1. The War Scare of 1875. 2. The Eastern Crisis, 1876 3. The Constantinople Conference, the London Protocol, and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 4. The Congress of Berlin I 5. The Congress of Berlin II 6. The Congress of Berlin III 7. War Averted Between England and Russia 8. Germany’s Estrangement from Russia. Central European Alliances. 9. The German Rapprochement with France, 1879 10. Anglo-German Relations, 1879–80 11. The Egyptian Question 12. The German Colonial Question 13. The Afghan Boundary Dispute 14. The Anglo-German Rapprochement of 1885 15. Zanzibar and Samoa, 1886-7 16. The Near East and Egypt, 1886–7 17. Zanzibar and the Pacific Ocean 1887 18. Negotiations for an Alliance Between England and Austria 19. Bulgaria, from the German Standpoint, December 1886 20. Negotiations for an Entente Between England and Italy, 1887 21. The Adhesion of Austria-Hungary to the Anglo-Italian Entente of 1887 22. The Bulgarian Crisis, 1886 23. The Entente Between England, Italy and Austria: The Eight Points 24. The Entente Between England, Italy and Austria: England’s Adhesion to the Entente 25. The Battenberg Marriage Question 26. Bismarck’s Offer of Alliance to England, 1889

About the Author :
E. T. S. Dugdale (1876–1964) chose and translated these four volumes of selections from the stupendously large collection of diplomatic documents held in Berlin after the First World War. Dugdale was a keen shot, an academic, a pipe-smoking stamp-collector, and an ardent admirer of Dickens, who for a time made the translation of German texts his métier. On leaving Balliol, he had hoped to join the British Foreign Office; and to that end in the late 1890s spent two years in Germany perfecting his grasp of German – an experience which admirably qualified him for the more literary occupation. In the event, having married in 1902, he instead became an underwriter at Lloyds, and ended the War, wounded, as a captain in the Leicester Yeomanry. The four volumes of Diplomatic Documents were Dugdale’s chefs d’œuvre. The very many and generous contemporary reviews of these are as uniformly struck by their historical importance as by the skill of their presentation and choice.

Review :
Original Review of German Diplomatic Documents 1871–1914, Volume I: 'The documents are allowed to speak for themselves...nothing could be more interesting and instructive than the picture we have here of the old Continental system.' The Times, September 27 1928. 'The selections by Mr E.T.S.Dugdale help us materially to understand such things as the part played by Queen Victoria in the war scare of 1875, the varying orientations of Lord Beaconsfield,, Mr Gladstone and Lord Salisbury on the Eastern Question, and Prince Bismarck’s advances or reactions to these statesmen.' Daily News, September 27 1928. 'The issue in four volumes is a public service of the first value. Too high a tribute cannot be paid to Captain E.T.S..Dugdale for this summary of the forty volumes published since the war by the German Foreign Office. The volume never fails in interest...We have Bismarck revealed anew indefatigably pulling the strings and expressing himself with ruthless candour on high politics. The recurring theme throughout these diplomatic exchanges is, indeed, that of war.' The Sunday Times, September 30 1928. 'The volume deals with the period when Bismarck still dominated the European scene... it reveals his earnest desire for peace. He had obtained the Germany and the Europe which he had planned and he wanted above all to preserve it. ' The Observer October 14, 1928 'We owe a big debt of gratitude to Mr Dugdale, doubled by the manner in which the work has been done. The translation is admirable.' Daily Herald October 17, 1928 'Most serious readers will be profoundly grateful to Mr Dugdale and to his publishers for undertaking a four-volume selection of the documents that are of primary importance...The first volume, covering the Bismarck era, would alone justify the enterprise. Bismarck spoke in the Reichstag of “England as the old traditional Ally . . . I desire to cling to the friendship that we have enjoyed for at least 500 years with England, even in colonial questions”. ' Daily Telegraph January 8 1929