The intended bargain was that local dependence on Royal Navy protection would bind the Empire together. That arrangement could function only if Britain funded the Royal Navy at a level matching its global defensive promise. Treaty-era retrenchment and post-First World War spending choices weakened the force on which the bargain rested, even as London continued to claim the benefits of imperial reach. The contradiction matters because Britain still relied on imperial influence to support its economy and status while avoiding much of the naval bill that sustained them.
Chapter · 4:05-6:13
Imperial naval dependence without Imperial-scale funding
British imperial policy made colonial and dominion forces dependent on the Royal Navy, then failed to fund that central guarantee after the First World War.