ABSTRACT
The question of why Germany and Great Britain, two nations with strong traditions of political, cultural, religious, and economic cooperation, went to war with each other in 1914 has preoccupied historians of the twentieth century arguably as much as any other single issue. 2 Perhaps it is because of the horrific nature of the Great War that many historians writing after the conflict took it for granted that the two countries were fated to be the most bitter of enemies. This assertion is untenable for many reasons, not the least of which is that it ignores any shift in British opinion towards Germany in the pre-war period. As late as 1884, it can be argued that Germany occupied a position of esteem in Britain exceeded only by the United States and rivaled by no other Great Power in Europe. This fact makes the Anglo-German falling out seem even more confusing, for virtually every historian who broaches the subject finds that the decade of the 1880s is central to the formation of mutual antagonism. Added to this is the belief of some scholars that Germany was the least of the threats facing the British during the very same decade that it became Britain's greatest enemy. This apparent conundrum is too often left unexplained.
