Countdown to Crisis 1905 to 1914 Book

Long centuries of imperial rule in China came to an abrupt end in 1912 when the last emperor, six year old Puyi, was removed from power and a Republic of China declared. Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the revolution, briefly became the Republic's first president. Meanwhile, China's northern neighbour Japan was flexing it muscles with increasing confidence: in 1905 it emerged an easy victor from the Russo-Japanese war, and followed its triumph by ammexing Korea. The Edwardian years saw a reforming Liberal government in Britain, and the granting of Dominion status to New Zealand. The USA successfully took on the major construction project of the day - the Panama Canal - but a high-handed manner with its Latin neighbours was beginning to lose it friends. The real trouble, however, was brewing in Europe, where the major powers were spoiling for a fight. War was narrowly avoided in an international crisis in Morocco, but the nationalist fire in the Balkans was burning out of control, with the great powers doing little to extinguish the flames.Read More