If the French response could only be called proper and conventional, then the British were deeply provoked.
On May 12, 1861, the British Parliament passed the Naval Act, and the highly controversial two-power standard was officially unveiled.
The Royal Navy began launching ships like dumplings into a pot, planning to build eighteen new ironclads over the next three years—just enough to exceed the combined total of French and Austrian ironclads.
Faced with the British display of force, Franz acted as though he had seen nothing. Though the fiscal revenues of the United Kingdom, France, and Austria appeared roughly comparable, in reality, the funds Austria could mobilize were nowhere near what the British could command.
The Royal Navy's military budget was not borne by the London Government alone; overseas colonial governments could also shoulder part of it. Austria simply could not compare in that regard.
Since they could not compete financially, they might as well pretend not to see it. After all, no one had torn off the mask yet, and the Vienna Government had never claimed it intended to surpass the British at sea.
Silence was the best weapon. For the London Government, it was also the best outcome. If an arms race truly began, the two-power standard would be deadly.
Compared with the reactions of the United Kingdom and France, the Spaniards' performance was disappointing. Isabella II was not a ruler of great talent and ambition, nor did she possess the ability to restore Spain's former glory.
Faced with the dawn of the ironclad era, Isabella II decisively chose to admit defeat. The Spanish Government's shipbuilding plan left the onlookers chewing wax—utterly tasteless.
As a traditional naval power, their shipbuilding plan consisted of merely six vessels. Not only did they lag far behind the United Kingdom and France, they