African Imperialism: German East Africa

African Imperialism: German East Africa

Peter Derksen

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Imperialism

Bibliography:

-wikipedia.org

-wdl.org

-google.com

German Eat Africa was colonized by the German nation (Hence the name, German East Africa). On March the 3rd, 1885, the German government announced that it was going to form a protectorate in East Africa. When the German government sent people to explore East Africa, the Sultan of Zanzibar protested the invasion of the German people. In response, the German government sent warships to the Sultan's palace. The British and the Germans agreed to split the land between them, and the Sultan was given no choice but to agree. Like a lot of other imperial nations, the Germans used the abolition of the slave trade as an excuse for their expansion into East Africa, even though the German government had never officially abolished slavery. Rather than abolish the trade, the German government preferred to it as "recruiting".

Results Of Imperialism:

Economic: In order to bring goods to market, the German empire constructed a railroad to transport products. After the Germans departed, the railroad remained, enabling the transportation of goods quickly across vast distances., which increased profit for the country. (Note: After WW1, German East Africa was split between Belgium, Portugal, and Britain)

Social: The Germans had developed an education program for Africans which was far above the standards of any other education program in tropical Africa. This incredible education system impacted the indigenous people greatly, to the point where the German word for "school" ("Schule") has been adopted into the Swahili language. The Germans also brought with them the German language (Which was the official language during imperialism) and Christianity.

Political: After the Germans departed German East Africa, the country was split between other imperial nations, and the indigenous peoples were being governed entirely differently, by this point they were somewhat used to Germany's control.

Goods And Commodities In German East Africa:

One of the main goods housed within German East Africa, was Sisal, which is a plant that yields a stiff fiber which can be used in making a variety of products. Sisal was grown on over 100,000 acres of land in German East Africa, and it was considered the largest cash crop that the country had to offer. In addition to the Sisal, rubber trees were growing on 200,000 acres of land, along with extensive cotton plantations. Around 2 million coffee trees were also planted in German East Africa. Interestingly, despite all of this, and all of the economic efforts of the Germans, German East Africa never achieved a profit for the German empire.

German East Africa

Colonization: Why and How

German East Africa was a German colony in the southeast area of Africa, which included what are now known as Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanganyika. It was nearly three times the size of Germany today. It was first colonized in the late 1880's, and the German rule was not ended until they were defeated in the first World War.

Why?

-One of the reasons why Germany wanted to colonize East Africa, was the enormous success that Britain had experienced with colonization. The Germans were attempting to emulate this success and expand their empire.

-Another reason for the German colonization of German East Africa is economics. The Germans believed that by selling the resources from the land and taxing the residents that they could gain monetary wealth. But they actually ended up losing money through colonizing German East Africa.

How?

-German East Africa was colonized partly by military means, using Germany's military strength, which was far superior to that of the indigenous people, to impose German rule. (Example: German warships being sent to threaten the Sultan of Zanzibar)

-In order to be more successful, the Germans also created treaties with several of the indigenous chieftains, and thousands of the native people of East Africa were recruited into the German army.