Harvey United Steel Cartel (1902)
mechanism
During the arms race before WWI, British and German arms makers shared a boardroom and collected royalties on weapons that killed each other's soldiers.
Who they are
The Harvey United Steel Cartel of 1902, an international armaments cartel.
What they do
The engine uses it as evidence that the arms industry was never really at war with itself.
How it works
British, American, French and German executives sat on the same board; Krupp earned royalties on every ton of armor plate made worldwide and licensed artillery-fuze designs to Britain's Vickers (1902, 1908), so Vickers paid royalties to Krupp even as German-patented fuzes killed British soldiers, while Schneider-Creusot shared metallurgical advances.
Why it matters
It matters as a stark illustration that competing nations' weapons makers were quietly cooperating and profiting from all sides.
The engine's record — word for word
International armaments cartel with British, American, French, and German executives on the same board. Krupp earned royalties on every ton of armor plate worldwide. Licensed artillery fuze blueprints to Vickers (1902, 1908) — Vickers paid patent royalties to Krupp while German-patented fuzes killed British soldiers. Schneider-Creusot shared metallurgical advances. The arms industry was never at war with itself.
Follow the trail
validates
False Dialecticarms manufacturers shared patents across adversary lines — the industry was never at war with itself
cross-line-royalties-settled-at
Treaty of Versailles (1919)Krupp/Vickers fuze No.80/82, Mixed Arbitral Tribunal 1926
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