Page "Imperial German Navy" Paragraph 24

Following the Boxer rebellion in China and the Boer War, a second navy bill was passed on 14 June 1900.

This approximately doubled the allocated number of ships to 38 battleships, 20 armoured cruisers, 38 light cruisers.

Significantly, the bill set no overall cost limit for the building program.

Expenditure for the navy was too great to be met from taxation: the Reichstag had limited powers to extend taxation without entering into negotiations with the constituent German states, and this was considered politically unviable.

Instead, the bill was financed by massive loans.

Tirpitz, in 1899 was already exploring the possibilities for extending the battleship total to 45, a target which rose to 48 by 1909.