East and West Africa, and the Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall
Islands, and part of New Guinea in the Pacific. With the accession
of William II in 1888 and the dropping of the pilot, Bismarck,
two years later, she embarked definitely upon her quest for world
power. The young Kaiser read eagerly Mahan's _Influence of Sea
Power Upon History_ (1890), distributed it among the ships of his
still embryonic navy, and fed his ambition on the doctrines of
this epoch-making work.

Naval development found further stimulus and justification in the
rapid economic growth of Germany. In 1912 her industrial production
attained a value of three billion dollars, as compared with slightly
over four billion for England and seven billion for the United
States. Since 1893 her merchant marine had tripled in size and
taken second place to that of England with a total of over five
million tons. During the same period she surpassed France and the
United States in volume of foreign commerce, and in this respect
also reached a position second to Great Britain, with a more rapid
rate of increase. An emigration of 220,000 a year in the early
eighties was cut down to 22,000 in 1900.[1] To assure markets for
her manufactures, and continued growth in population and industry,
Germany felt that she must strive to extend her political power.

[Footnote 1: Figures from Priest, GERMANY SINCE 1840, p. 150 ff.]

Though Germany's commercial expansion met slight opposition even
in areas under British control, it undoubtedly justified measures
of political and naval protection; and it was this motive that was
advanced in the preface to the German Naval Bill of 1900, which
declared that, "To protect her sea trade and colonies ... Germany
must have a fleet so strong that a war, even with the greatest naval
power, would involve such risks as to jeopardize the position of that
power."[2] Furthermore, Germany's quest for colonies and points of
vantage such as Kiao-chau, her scheme for a Berlin-Bagdad railroad
with domination of the territories on the route, had parallel in
the activities of other nations. Unfortunately, however, Germany's
ambitions grew even more rapidly than her commerce, until her true
aim appeared to be destruction of rivals and domination of the
world.

[Footnote 2: Hurd and Castle, GERMAN SEA POWER, Appendix II.]

The seizure of Kiao-chau in 1897-98 coincided with the appointment
of Admiral von Tirpitz as Imperial Minister of Marine. Under h