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The ''Rivadavia'' class consisted of two battleships designed by the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the Argentine Navy. Named and after important figures in Argentine history, they were Argentina's entry in the South American dreadnought race and a counter to Brazil's two s. In 1904, Brazil scrapped a previous naval building program in favor of an order that included three warships of the new "dreadnought" type, despite signs that such an action would spark a South American naval arms race. To counter this acquisition by a major rival, Argentina began seeking bids for at least two dreadnoughts in 1908. Over the next two years, shipbuilders from five countries vied for the contracts, complemented by efforts from their respective governments. Argentina was able to play this hyper-competitive environment to its own advantage by rejecting all of the initial proposals and calling for new ones that required the best aspects of each. They then repeated this process, despite complaints from shipbuilders that their trade secrets were being given away. The contracts were awarded to the lowest bidder, Fore River, in early 1910. This move shocked the European bidders, but could partly be explained by the American steel trust's ability to produce steel at a lower cost than any other country. With increasing tensions in Europe that would eventually lead to the First World War, newspapers speculated that the Argentine dreadnoughts would be sold to another country. Under diplomatic pressure, Argentina kept the ships. Throughout their careers, ''Rivadavia'' and ''Moreno'' were based in Puerto Belgrano and served principally as training ships and diplomatic envoys. They were modernized in the United States in 1924 and 1925 and were inactive for much of the Second World War due to Argentina's neutrality. Struck from the navy lists on 1 February 1957, ''Rivadavia'' was scrapped in Italy beginning in 1959. ''Moreno'' was struck on 1 October 1956 and was towed to Japan in 1957 for scrapping in what was then the world's longest tow (96 days). == Background == (詳細はPatagonia and control of the Beagle Channel going back to the 1840s. It nearly led to war in 1878 and kindled a naval arms race from 1887 to 1902 which was only settled via British mediation. As part of the three pacts which ended the dispute, restrictions were placed on the navies of both countries. The British Royal Navy bought two pre-dreadnought battleships that were being built for Chile, and Argentina sold its two ''Rivadavia''-class armored cruisers under construction in Italy to Japan.〔Scheina, ''Naval History'', 45–52; Garrett, "Beagle Channel Dispute," 86–88.〕 Meanwhile, beginning in the late 1880s, Brazil's navy fell into obsolescence after an 1889 revolution, which deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II, and a 1893 civil war.〔Topliss, "The Brazilian Dreadnoughts," 240; Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy," 32.〕 By the turn of the 20th century it was lagging behind the Chilean and Argentine navies in quality and total tonnage, despite Brazil having nearly three times the population of Argentina and almost five times the population of Chile.〔Scheina, "Brazil," 403; Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy," 32.〕 By 1904, however, Brazil began to seriously consider upgrading its navy to compete with Argentina and Chile.〔 Soaring demand for coffee and rubber brought the Brazilian economy an influx of revenue,〔Sondhaus, ''Naval Warfare'', 216; Scheina, "Brazil," 403.〕 which paid for a US$31.25 million naval repair scheme, a substantial amount for the time period. The bill authorized 28 ships, including three battleships and three armored cruisers.〔Sondhaus, ''Naval Warfare'', 216〕 It was not possible to lay down the battleships until 1906, the same year the trend-setting was constructed. This ship prompted the Brazilians to cancel their battleship plans in favor of two dreadnoughts.〔 The ordering of these powerful ships—designed to carry the heaviest armament in the world at the time—shocked Argentina and Chile. Historian Robert Scheina comments that the dreadnoughts alone "outclassed the entire () Argentinian fleet."〔Scheina, "Argentina," 400; "(Germany may buy English warships )," ''The New York Times'', 1 August 1908, C8.〕 Debates raged in Argentina over the wisdom of acquiring dreadnoughts to counter Brazil's. The National Autonomist Party cabinet was in favor, despite a probable cost of nearly $10 million, but a specific plan for two battleships and ten destroyers was not popular with the public. Alarmed, the American ambassador to Brazil sent a cablegram to his Department of State, warning them of the destabilizing effects that would occur if the situation devolved into a full naval arms race.〔Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy," 32–33.〕 Despite American entreaties to preclude the naval arms race, Brazil continued development on the ships. This, combined with renewed border disputes, particularly in the River Plate (''Río de la Plata'', literally "Silver River") area, spurred Argentina to move forward with plans for their own battleships. Inflamed by newspaper editors, the public was now fully supportive of a naval building program. While an early plan called for $35 million to be invested—$7 million from foreign loans—a $55 million plan was adopted in August 1908. Hoping to end the arms race, Argentina made an offer to purchase one of the two Brazilian ships, but the refusal prompted the dispatch of an Argentine naval commission to Europe to acquire dreadnoughts.〔Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy," 33.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rivadavia-class battleship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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