Background
Charles Henry Cramp, the owner and son of the founder of William Cramp and Sons, had a relationship with the Imperial Russian Navy dating back to the late 1870s when his firm built the auxiliary cruisers Afrika, Azia, Evropa and Zabiiaka. Cramp also repaired several Russian warships visiting America in 1893 and he cultivated his contacts in the Russian Navy throughout the 1890s. Before the end of the decade the Russians had become wary of the Japanese after their victory during the First Sino-Japanese War as it was apparent that their ambitions were on a collision course. Russian forces in the Far East needed strengthening to cope with the emergence of Japan as a naval power. At that time the Russian Navy was undergoing rapid expansion and domestic Russian shipyards were not able to meet the demand.
Read more about this topic: Russian Battleship Retvizan
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