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 England single-handed, so that it should be possible for her to acquire colonies independently of Great Britain. In the interests of her economic and imperialistic development, Germany intended to exploit every possibility, and she believed that this purpose was best served by seeking allies who were weaker than herself. The allies that Germany was looking for were allies whose friendship did not have to be bought by serious sacrifices, and allies which subsequently passed under German control. Germany was afraid that an ally who was equal to herself in strength, or even superior, might exploit Germany's strength and then desert her. Nobody believed in Berlin that the powers of the world would unite against Germany, even in the event of Germany failing to acquire their friendship. Germany did not intend to destroy any other great power or to damage their interests. In the knowledge of her anxiety for peace and the consciousness of her strength, Germany counted on the fact that the great powers of the world, which had many opposing interests, would not sacrifice much that was of value to them in order to ally themselves against Germany.

The traditional opposition between England and France, and England and Russia were estimated in Berlin to be so strong that the anti-German coalition of these powers was not regarded as an immediate danger. Even at a time when Berlin recognized that France approached England and that England approached Russia, one did not believe in such a solidarity of interests as would induce these nations