- Location
- Germany
Germany didn´t just *Not need* overseas colonies back then, they were *actively detrimental* to its diplomatic, political and economical powerbase in hindsight.
Back in the late 19th century, when Germany as one nation came into being, the world already was pretty much carved up between the other big colonial empires like the UK, France, Portugal and others, with any remaining "slices of the cake" being A) on the subpar end in terms of ressources and B) pretty far spread out. Additionally, even if the Scramble hadn´t been already over for the most part, Germany with its only ocean access being the port cities on the North and Baltic Seas, which left any routes between it and prospective colonies reliant on the French and British *not* just closing up the *Ärmelkanal* and thus locking the German "upstarts" out of the Scramble - which even without Willy souring relations to those two by being his old belligerent hardass self woulda been a bit of a long-odds gamble (going simply *around the UK* via the Arctic Sea past the Scottish coast woulda been dicey as well because of all that ice tingling about, for one).
Honestly, the only way I can see colonies having a realistic chance at working out would have been to let a version of the Greater German solution play out - meaning unite all German-speaking nations including the Austrian-held parts of the Twin Monarchies -, then use the Croatian coast to *circumvent the British Channel entirely* and start things from the Mediterrenean Sea instead and finally help the Egyptians build the Suez canal. That way, Greater Germany would have easy-enough access to *most* of the world´s oceans, with only the fragmented Italians and dying Ottomans having any chance of impeding Germany in jumping into the scramble.
So, even discounting the moral implications of colonialism (which, while horrific, weren´t really outta the ordinary for Colonial powers - *looking at you, Belgisch-Kongo*), joining into the Scramble for Africa was another one of Willys monumentally stupid ideas. Instead, should have just let the other, more established Colonizers duke it out between themselves and instead expand German influence on the European continent itself by acting as an economic powerhouse and mediator between WEst and East.
...Kinda the same role Germany is playing *right now*, actually - especially in the context of the EU.
..*huh*...
Well, if it works, there is no shame in admitting that fate dealt you a shitty hand in terms of the dominant meta and instead carving out your own little niche on the sidelines...
