This Comparative History was compiled by His Majesty the Emperor William II. In 1919 and completed from original documents subsequently available to him. Originally intended for the Emperor's personal use, it was printed in 1920 in manuscript and communicated to a few intimate friends. The Dutch paper Het Volk, which obtained possession of a copy in some unknown way, published these historical tables in the spring of 1921. Thus, against the author's wishes, they got into the}; press. Yielding to suggestions from many quarters, the Emperor has decided to make the tables public. The idea which inspired the Emperor in com piling these tables was to furnish a comprehensive summary of absolutely historic facts, which would enable the reader to form his own judgment on the political development of the world Situation Since the Berlin Congress of 1878 and on the history of the period preceding the Great War.