6 - Foreign Policies for Selling Armaments to Latin America

Summary

British armament firms operating in Latin America and elsewhere got very little help from their home government; they were on their own. They were also operating in very changeable political conditions, with many states in the region experiencing regular internal power shifts, including naval revolts and coups. There was also a lot of interstate rivalry, presenting many sales opportunities. The inhibitor to making arms sales was Latin American indebtedness. States needed loans to buy weapons but also often defaulted on them. Bribery was also a necessary lubricant of trade in the region. The Latin American market was therefore an exhilarating mix of risk and reward for Armstrongs and Vickers. Sales began in the 1880s with a controversy over the Chilean Esmeralda when war broke out with Peru. The British Government detained the ship, though Armstrongs had broken no rules. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru all became important Armstrongs’ and Vickers’ customers until the Great War saw the firms focus on British needs, ceding the market to America. There were few British armament sales in the interwar years. After the Second World War Vickers-Armstrongs and the British Government worked together on arms sales, ignoring the “Gentleman’s Agreement” with America.