William II, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia: Indiscretions

The emperor was fond of travel, but his state visits frequently engendered ill feeling, as in the Moroccan crisis of 1905. His combined eloquence and impetuousness led him to speak or act unadvisedly on many occasions. Among the more famous incidents was his dispatch of a telegram of encouragement to President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal after the Boers had repulsed a British raid on the Transvaal (Dec., 1895; see Jameson, Sir Leander Starr). The message aroused British public opinion against Germany and the emperor.

Again in 1908, in the Daily Telegraph affair, William's indiscretion caused a public furor in Great Britain and in Germany. In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph, William revealed that German naval expansion was not directed at Great Britain but at Japan. He also stated that German public opinion was anti-British but that he did not share this sentiment. The affair produced a widespread demand for a check on the emperor's personal rule.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Decline and Abdication
• Indiscretions
• Foreign and Domestic Affairs
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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