A hint from history
Subject(s): Germany, Imperialism, Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1832-1867, South America, William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
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Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, sits in a throne, sword across his lap, and reads by candlelight papers labeled “Plans for German colonization in South America.” The ghost of Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, looms above him as “a hint from history.” On the floor are scattered papers labeled “South American mortgages” and “South American investments.”
Comments and Context
By the time that Germany became a unified country in 1871, and in subsequent decades, most of the world had been figuratively carved up by European colonial powers. Germany’s imperial dreams were confined to southeast Africa, meddling in China (so late as to offend other Colonial powers and adding to the opposition manifested in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion), and joining the French, Spanish, and English participation in Mexico. Those nations saw a weak and fractious land in the New World as ripe for plunder — a type of adventurism that Theodore Roosevelt later forestalled in his Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. France invited Maximilian, its Austrian ally (of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine; in turn an ally of the Bavarian court) to serve as Emperor of Mexico. The Europeans’ plans to establish a foothold in the Americas failed under the inept Maximilian, whose three-year reign ended with his execution in 1867. Keppler’s cartoon shows the shade of Maximilian and his failures warning the Kaiser against South American colonial ambitions.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1900-06-27
Creator(s)
Period
Governor of New York (October 1898-1900)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
A hint from history. [June 27, 1900]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275572. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. A hint from history. [27 Jun. 1900]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275572.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1900, June 27]. A hint from history.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275572.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
