Colonization is the process whereby one powerful country invades and takes control of another foreign territory. The occupying country, then subjects the inhabitants of the captured territory and places them under its dominion. They can as well get treated as slaves working under very tough conditions with limited or no pay at all. The colonizers on the other hand freely utilize and extract resources with no restriction.
The German empire
In the late 19th century Germany was a growing industrial and economic power. By that time, they had made massive gains in their processing and manufacturing industries. As a result, the country’s economy started booming. The leaders of the country, then slowly but surely gained the urge to expand into an empire or create a geopolitical hegemony. Through its powerful military, the country started expanding acquiring overseas colonies, territories and dependencies. All these places got invaded either through conquest or in places where there was no resistance, they simply walked into an established a government.
Germany had 25 states in total. The German governmental structure comprised of two houses. They were the Reichstag and the Bundesrat. The Reichstag represented the people while the Bundesrat represented the 25 states. The composition of the Reichstag comprised of 397 members elected through universal manhood suffrage. In addition to this there was a universal ballot whereby the people would vote for the leaders whom they preferred. In 1867 and 1871, constituencies got established. However, these administrative units never changed the general administrative structure to reflect shift in population densities and dynamics. The rural areas as such retained a largely unbalanced share of power as the phenomenon of urbanization took root. Theoretically, the Reichstag’s ability to shoot down any bill seemingly made it a crucial reservoir of power. On the other hand, the power possessed by the lower house was limited by the government’s reliance on the parliament’s willingness to accept the military budget every seven years and indirect taxes.
With the increasing industrial and military prowess, the country became known as Imperial Germany. In the preceding centuries, small attempts occurred by individual German states to colonize other nations. However, these attempts largely failed due to the low military strength of the nations at the time. Substantial efforts to colonize began in the 1880s.They managed to successfully conquer large kingdoms and acquire large tracts of land covering vast areas.
Their colonies spanned across various continents from North America, to Africa, to Australia and the greater Oceania. Some countries became held as protectorates whereas some were full colonies. Under the leadership of the Chancellor back in Germany, they received administrative orders on how to carry out government duties. In all areas under the control of the German leader, the German flag flew high above all state buildings. The flag signified the authority of the Germans over the land. The most no. table phenomenon in German colonialism however, was the scramble and partition of Africa.
Germany’s weltpolitik
Germany was never a colonial ruler prior to the new imperialistic period. In fact, before this period Germany was largely a divided nation. The only time the country became united was under the rule of Prussia. This rule occurred after the 1866 battle of Sadowa. A later war got fought in 1870. It was the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. The French were fighting with Prussia over control of various territories. Napoleon, the French dictator wanted to expand the French empire and conquer other nations along the way. Prussia emerged victorious and this triumph led to the further unification of Germany.
The rising industrial power of Germany that closely rivalled that of Britain, enabled Germany to begin its world expansion program in the 1880s. They had the resources to send out and sustain the military in foreign battles. The then chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck set up a meeting in Berlin and invited all the European powers. This gathering later became known as the berlin conference. It took place between 1884 and 1885. In this conference, the European powers set up rules for the effective control of foreign territories. Bismarck clearly understood that if countries scrambled for the continent, major conflicts would erupt. Therefore, partitioning of the continent was the only way of avoiding conflict between the powers. Weltpolitik in English means (World Policy). This is a foreign policy that was adopted by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890.
The main aim was to transform Germany into a global power. With their rising success both in economy and military strength, they felt the need to establish their footprint among all the nations. The strategies they employed included aggressive diplomacy. They formed alliances with other powers to gain leverage over others and to foster good relations that avoid conflicts. Battles fought with major powers could portend high risks. First, they would spend massively which means that the economy would suffer. Second, the casualties and losses to the army and infrastructure would weaken them. This situation would make the country vulnerable to attack. Overseas colony acquisition also ensured that they got access to resources in foreign lands and spread their tentacles (Friedrichsmeyer, Lennox, & Zantop 33).
The scramble and partition of Africa
The scramble of Africa involved the invasion, division, occupation and colonization, including the annexation of African territory by European powers. At this time, most Europeans claimed to be at the apogee of their civilization. Most harbored a school of thought that they were the most advanced race of the human species and the further their civilization spread, the better it became for the entire humankind. The discovery of Africa began by earlier explorers who visited the continent. When these sea-farers returned to Europe, they gave news of Africa’s vast unexploited resources. Furthermore, they depicted Africa as a dark and backward continent with primitive communities and tribes (Chamberlain 20).
This information caused many European powers to scramble for a piece of the continent to control. They called Africa a sleeping giant. The reason was that it had vast resources and the people were not clever enough to exploit or even to notice the riches. In terms of economics, African societies carried out simple activities such as trading in agricultural products and livestock. Most got their livelihood through farming, hunting and gathering.
The years between 1881 and 1914 got referred to as the period of a new imperialism. In 1870, only ten percent of Africa was under the control of Europe. However as more countries heard of the vast resources in Africa, they quickly developed an interest of occupying the continent. Presidents of various countries set out plans on which portions of the continent to seize. More invasions occurred leading to loss of land by the natives and massacres. By 1914, nearly 90 percent of Africa saves for Ethiopia and Liberia got colonized. Liberia never experienced any invasion by a power because it was a country created for the freed slaves from the Americas. Moreover, this period witnessed the transition from informal imperialism by military influence and economic dominance, to the direct rule of the people (Mackenzie 17).
Germany as a country managed to acquire a number of colonies in Africa. Some of these colonies were in east Africa and some in West Africa. The eastern colonies got referred to as German East Africa. They consisted mainly of Tanganyika- the modern day Tanzania, Rwanda-Burundi which now forms Rwanda and Burundi. Wituland was also part of their land but later became part of Kenya. The kiunga triangle also formed part of the colony. However, in 1922, Tanganyika became a League of Nations mandate under the United Kingdom.
German South-West Africa included Namibia and parts of Botswana. In German West Africa, the colonies included Cameroon and Togo land.
Otto von Bismarck’s policies
Between the years 1883 and 1889, Otto von Bismarck implemented a set of social programs. These programs were meant to increase hip popularity and change the political philosophy of the country. At this time, Germany was mainly a socialist state. The government owned most of the country’s resources and aimed to redistribute the income equally among all citizens. Everybody was entitled to a fair share of resources regardless of their work input. Therefore, those who worked harder than the others ended up sharing their sweat with those who did not. This type of policy does not encourage innovation and development. Most people would often sit back since, no matter how hard they worked, they end up catering for the lazy.
For this reason, Bismarck implemented various antisocialist laws. These laws had the main aim of creating a fairer work policy. People could now reap where they sowed. One could earn as much as he or she worked. The new system Bismarck was envisioning was that similar to a capitalist system whereby privatization becomes the main driving force for innovation. People seem to get motivated by the promise that, whatever they earn after their hard work is entirely theirs. Furthermore, they have no obligation of sharing the fruits of their labor with others.
The motivating factor that drove the chancellor to implement the program was to appease the middle class. With rising industrialization, the middle class was growing and becoming more vocal about their demands. They also wanted to break free from the bonds of socialism. Another factor was that he wanted to detract support for the Social Democratic Party of Germany. His critics viewed this move as a way of weakening the social democrats. These were his main opposition in Germany. Therefore, by weakening their support, he would get assured of maintaining influence (Nettl 66).
The League of Nations
After the First World War, Germany lost some of its colonies in Africa. Most notably, Tanganyika got taken over by the British as a protectorate. To end this war, the League of Nations got founded on the tenth day of January 1920. It was the result of the Paris peace conference. This agreement effectively ended the First World War. As time progressed, the League of Nations proved unable to prevent aggression by axis powers in 1930. As a result, Germany withdrew from the League of Nations. As the situation deteriorated, more countries increasingly grew impatient with the organization. Japan, Spain and a number of nations also withdrew their membership from the league shortly after Germany. During the time, Germany was still a strong country with great influence over other European and Asian nations. Her withdrawal from the organization, opened the floodgates for other nations to follow suit.
Nazi Germany
Founded in 1919, the National Socialist German Workers Party grew to become a mass movement party in the 1930s. It was also known as the Nazi party. Its leader was none other than Adolf Hitler himself. He joined the party a year after its formation and subsequently became the leader. He used a lot of propaganda to gain popularity among the masses and eventually became the German chancellor in 1933. During his, tenure as the head of state, Hitler and his Nazi movement ruled the country through totalitarian methods.
Nobody could question his authority or speak ill of the government. Furthermore, the Nazi party promoted German pride and anti-Semitism. This party was also dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler’s aim was to create a pure breed of Germans who did not mix with any other race. During the Second World War, He declared a holocaust against the Jews killing over 6 million. Eventually he got defeated in World War II (Friedlander 1933).
The cold war era
The cold war divided Germany between allies in the west and Soviets in the east. To the west was the Federal Republic of Germany. This was a parliamentary democracy. They mainly adopted a capitalist economic system. Capitalism has encouraged free trade without massive governmental interference. It also allowed for privatization of both economic and non-economic resources. To the east was the German Democratic republic. This was majorly a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship. The leaders were soviet-aligned socialist unity party of Germany members. The citizens of West Germany got poor government services and lived under intense oppression. A wall got built in Berlin to separate the two states. It was the infamous “Berlin wall”. West Germany became increasingly prosperous. The prosperity resulted in strong relations with France, U.S and Israel (Campbell 28).
The unification
In 1989, the West German citizens increasingly grew discontented with the socio-political state of the nation. They were angered by the large scale vote rigging in the election of that year. Many East Germans immigrated to West Germany via Hungary. Mass riots and protests rocked the eastern nation. The increasing chaos led to an internationally mediated meeting between the two states. Discussions began on how to unite the two countries and lengthy talks took place. Finally, in 1990, the two states arrive at an agreement to unite. This event marked the end of East and West Germany.
Since then, Germany as a country has made massive strides in the rule of democracy. Chancellors get elected and serve for two terms. Constitutional checks and balances also control the powers of the leaders. In terms of economic development, Germany is now among the Great 20 nations in the world and also a member of the European Union.
Works cited
Friedrichsmeyer, Sara, Sara Lennox, and Susanne Zantop. The imperialist imagination: German colonialism and its legacy. University of Michigan Press, 1998.
Penny, H. Glenn, and Matti Bunzl. Worldly provincialism: German anthropology in the age of empire. University of Michigan Press, 2003.
Chamberlain, Muriel Evelyn. The scramble for Africa. Routledge, 2014.
Mackenzie, John. The Partition of Africa: And European Imperialism 1880-1900. Routledge, 2005.
Friedlander, Saul. "Nazi Germany and the Jews, Volume 1: The Years of Persecution, 1933-1939." (1997).
Nettl, Peter. "The German Social Democratic Party 1890-1914 as a Political Model." Past & Present 30 (1965): 65-95.
Campbell, William Ross. "The sources of institutional trust in East and West Germany: civic culture or economic performance?." German Politics 13.3 (2004): 401-418
