Britain's empire depended on an island whose population was small compared with the territory it had to defend. Oceanic trade routes served as the empire's internal lines of communication, although those routes crossed waters that were difficult to secure. Conflict management depended on convincing potential opponents that Britain could bring effective naval force against them. Graham's Admiral-class ships were intended to support this form of conflict management in the 1880s and 1890s.
Notable Point · 57:13-58:19
Why Britain's empire depended on naval deterrence
A relatively small island population had to protect an empire whose connecting routes crossed exposed oceans.