Page:The Great War.djvu/259

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Extinguishing Germany's Place in the Sun 227 lose nationality when they emigrated, and German industrial prosperity was threatened by the ever-in- creasing number of lands in which hostile tariffs handicapped German exports. The Moroccan incident, aside from the merely political aspects, appealed to the whole German pub- lic because it represented to them an effort to pre- vent the annexation by France of the last consider- able African territory in which German manufac- turers might find a market, German colonists and merchants a foothold. Year by year Germany was consciously growing stronger, yet year by year she was being outdistanced by feebler rivals in that par- tition of the surface of the earth which carried with it the commercial prosperity of the future. In developing the German attitude toward Eng- land, toward France, toward Russia, an attitude which made for war and is wholly demonstrable by reference to Bernhardi, the resentment at the un- fairness of the colonial division played no inconsid- erable part. It was, too, mainly directed against England, because it was recognized that but for British support French colonies would have followed the fate of Alsace-Lorraine. The British conquest of the Boer Republics, too, closed to Germany the last attractive home for her surplus population de- siring to remain German in tongue and sympathy. Such was the colonial emotion of Germany prior to war. Now what has been the Immediate effect of the great struggle upon her insignificant " place

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