![]() Wilhelm’s paranoid fear of a deliberate encirclement of Germany served only to increase her isolation. His obsession with the enlargement of the German Navy, pro-Boer stance during the Second Boer War and blustering claims for German colonial expansion just brought Britain and France closer together. He was Queen Victoria’s first grandson, but his ambivalent, love-hate attitude to Britain strained relations between the two countries. ![]() His dismissal of Chancellor Bismarck in 1890 and ambitious aim to make Germany a world power served to disrupt the established balance of the European order. Utterly convinced of his right to rule, Wilhelm always overestimated his capacity for wise political judgment. Wilhelm’s life, actions and complex character played a significant part in this destructive process. ![]() Son of the future Frederick III and grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria, William succeeded his father to the throne in 1888. ![]() 27, 1859, Potsdam, near Berlin, Prussiadied June 4, 1941, Doorn, Neth.), German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prussia (18881918). It also saw the fragmentation of Europe into opposing camps of mutually-mistrusting alliances, a world war ending in Germany’s humiliating defeat and the abolition of German monarchical rule. William II, German Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert known as Kaiser Wilhelm, (born Jan. The reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II as King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany from 1888 to 1918 saw the meteoric rise of Germany as an economic and military power. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |