German nationalist and protectionist policy threatened more than Britain's position in the North Sea. Incorporating the Low Countries into a German economic system would damage Dutch and Belgian independence while restricting British and American trade. Inward-looking national debates can assume that foreign audiences understand or accept their reasoning. Other states instead judge the external effects and accumulate reasons to resist. German policy was therefore creating maritime and commercial opponents before the naval arms race reached its most visible stage.
Notable Point · 44:23-45:22
How German policy accumulated maritime enemies
German naval expansion and pressure on the Low Countries threatened both maritime trade and Britain's European position, encouraging resistance rather than British neutrality.