Bismarck did not merely "tolerate" German imperial growth - he effectively orchestrated it, however much of an anti-imperialist he was before and after his little Imperial moment.
Confusingly or not, Bismarck, who derided the worth of colonies before and after the 1880s, apparently went through a little change of heart around the time German claims in Africa solidified. I wrote a paper about it once - AJP Taylor's theory was that Bismarck's colonial spurt was a move in his European policy, intended to convince France that Germany Anglophobia had a convincing basis and could thus cement a Franco-German colonial entente which might lead on to greater things.
This has been more or less exploded by more careful and recent historical research. It appears that in some instances Bismarck began supporting German claims because the English were being offensively silent to German requests for colonial clarification (In German South-West) and because Bismarck began to be concerned that if colonies ever did turn out to be important, Germany ought to have them just in case.
It wasn't a very coherent plan as far as I could tell - Germany's colonies have a lot to do with Otto's cranky son Herbert, a crazed German former tobbacconist-cum-adventurer named F.A.E. Lüderlitz, senile and unresponsive officials in the British government and vague notions of a future world where all markets and resources had been divided. I hate to offend people's sense of order, but German imperialism was actually kind of an accidental series of wierd little events... Actually, most European imperialism, really. Overeager merchants and military officers, idiotic adventurers signing fraudlent treaties with whomever, ambitious local bureaucrats... It'd be hilarious if it weren't for all the war and death and misery and all that.
Also, the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 (rather than 81) didn't divide up Africa however frequently that is said. Rather it dealt with a few specific issues, many relating to the Congo basin and navigation, and established the standard of effective occupation as a basis of colonialism. Important, but not the grandious map-drawing party some people imagine - unless you happen to be Belgium, which did get some fairly grandiose map drawing in, albiet under false pretenses.
I wonder - does the game model Leopold's bizarrely disingenuous Belgian "humanitarian" efforts?
