Clad in Iron: Philippines 1898 · published
The attention of enthusiasts of naval history is usually riveted to the largest and most powerful ships — during the times of the steam fleet they were battleships. Without a doubt, these war machines used the latest technologies of that era, but even the richest industrial powers could not build and contain a number of battleships sufficient to send them to every corner of their empires. In addition, in peacetime, such ships could not fight pirates and insurgents, support land operations from the coast, or ensure control of long-range possessions. Here a completely different type of ship was needed - inexpensive to build and maintain, which could go without naval bases and coal stations for months. To control the overseas colonial empires, the Western powers needed ships with sails and steam engines.
In the 1880s, there were only two ports in all of Asia and Oceania, where a modern ship could be repaired - the British Hong Kong and the Japanese Yokohama. The situation with coal stations was no better, where it was possible to replenish the fuel supply, so the demand for sailing-steam gunboats and cruisers in the European and American fleets remained stable and high. In the event of any conflict with the inhabitants of Asia or Oceania, European traders and officials demanded that their governments urgently send a gunboat or a cruiser. Such a course of action got its name - “gunboat diplomacy”. When the situation became very serious, wooden, iron or steel steam frigates and cruisers of the colonial powers were rushing to the scene.
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