Naval Defence Act 1889

A British statute that set the two-power standard, the policy that the Royal Navy should be at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies, then France and Russia. The Act authorized about 21.5 million pounds over roughly five years to build ten battleships, 38 cruisers, and smaller craft, the largest peacetime naval expansion to that date. It established the Royal Sovereign-class battleships and confirmed Britain’s pre-dreadnought naval supremacy until the building races of the early 20th century.