Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany: Speech to the North German Regatta Association, 1901
In spite of the fact that we have no such fleet
as we should have, we have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun.
It will now
be my task to see to it that this place in
the sun shall remain our undisputed possession, in order that the sun's
rays may fall
fruitfully upon our activity and trade in
foreign parts, that our industry and agriculture may develop within the
state and our
sailing sports upon the water, for our future
lies upon the water. The more Germans go out upon the waters, whether it
be in races
or regattas, whether it be in journeys across
the ocean, or in the service of the battle flag, so much the better it
will be for us.
For when the German has once learned to direct
his glance upon what is distant and great, the pettiness which surrounds
him in
daily life on all sides will disappear. Whoever
wishes to have this larger and freer outlook can find no better place than
one of the
Hanseatic cities....we are now making efforts
to do what, in the old time, the Hanseatic cities could not accomplish,
because they
lacked the vivifying and protecting power
of the empire. May it be the function of my Hansa during many years of
peace to
protect and advance commerce and trade!
As head of the Empire I therefore rejoice over
every citizen, whether from Hamburg, Bremen, or Lübeck, who goes forth
with this
large outlook and seeks new points where we
can drive in the nail on which to hang our armor. Therefore, I believe
that I express
the feeling of all your hearts when I recognize
gratefully that the director of this company who has placed at our disposal
the
wonderful ship which bears my daughter's name
has gone forth as a courageous servant of the Hansa, in order to make for
us
friendly conquests whose fruits will be gathered
by our descendants!
Source:
C. Gauss, The German Kaiser as Shown in His Public Utterances (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915), pp. 181-183.