Germany's quest for colonies came late, partly because Germany itself came late. Only after the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 did the country begin the search for colonies. Until then, the issue of unification, and the struggle between Prussia and Austria as to which would dominate a unified German Empire, absorbed German energies. Given that much effort was still required after 1871 to mould the new entity – no easy task given that German kingdoms such as Bavaria continued to exist and free cities such as Hamburg were not eager to see their privileged position disappear – historians have struggled to explain the German quest for colonies. Charles Stephenson states that Germany's colonial empire was not acquired in a fit of absentmindedness, as Britain's was supposed to have been, but he struggles to find an answer to the question why it was acquired. No doubt it was partly because that was what other European states were trying to do, and it may also have been to distract attention from issues at home. Stephenson seems to think that it was the latter motive which lay behind Bismarck's initial interest in the acquisition of overseas colonies, but he is not sure. Germany's first colonial interest was Africa; East Asia and the Pacific came later, and had more of a feel of absent-minded acquisition than Germany's first colonies. In the end, however, it was perceived naval needs that pushed Germany towards the acquisition of its Pacific and Chinese territories. Coal-powered ships needed readily available supplies, and the way that such supplies could be guaranteed was by the acquisition of coaling stations. Up to the 1890s, Germany had relied on Hong Kong to fuel its ships in East Asian waters but there was growing concern that Hong Kong would not be available if Britain and Germany were on bad terms. It was thus that, in 1897, the Germans acquired the enclave on China's Shandong peninsula known today as Jiaozhaou, but which Stephenson prefers to refer to by one of its many contemporary variations, Kiautschou. The main town in that enclave, now Qingdao, is referred to as Tsingtau throughout. While no doubt both forms will strike a responsive cord with those who have only used the German archives, their usage in a modern work is only likely to confuse the reader.