|
The new nations of Germany and Italy were late to the colonial game, but built small empires. Germany was not unified until 1871. It is only after that time that Germans could think about building an overseas empire. An even then Germany did not immediaitely set upon empire building, in part because Bismarck did not see it as advisable. Other Germans, however, craved a colonial empire. The young Kaiser Wilhelm II in particular wanted both a modern highseas fleet and colonial empire. The Kaiser began building a modern navy, but the the potential for empire was limited because much of the world had alreadby been carved up by the older, established colonial powers. Germany in the late-19th century acquired a number of scattered colonies in both Africa and the Pacific. The German colonies were mostly largely unsettled lands of little interest to the other European powers. Germany did not retain its new colonies very long. After World War I broke out, Britain's command of the sea allowed it to seize the various German colonies. Japan participated in this effort in the Pacific. The Versailles Treaty stripped Germany of its colonies assigning trusteeships to Australia, Britain, Belgium, France, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Japan proceeeded to fortify the Pacific islands it obtained. Truk became the Gibraltar of the Pacific. While virttually unknown to the general public, these islands became important in the World War II Pacific campaign (1941-45). The revanchist spirit of the NAZIs included a desire to regain the lost colonies, but NAZI foreign policy restrained this initiative. Hitler's desire was for colonies in the East. Before launching on that enterrprise, however, there was one little-remembered NAZI colonial adventure--Neuschwabenland (New Swabia). Antarctica was in the 1930s the only part of the world that had not been colonized. The NAZIs conducted an Antarctic expedition (1939). SS Commander Himmler launched exotic expeditions to the Himilayas. It was Reich Füherer Hermann Göring who backed the Antarctic expedition. It was commanded by Captain Alfred Ritscher. The German airline Lufthansa at Himler's behest provided one of its ships, the Schwabenland for the expedition. The vessel was a 'catapult ship' used as a cargo and mail ship in the South Atlantic and was capable of launching small aircraft.
The German states before unifification did not have navies capanle of founding nd supporting overseas colonies. Thee were some limited efforts to establish overseas empires, but none of any conequence. A major problem was gthe lck of a highsea fleet. Germany as a modern, unified nation was created after the Prussian victory in the Franco Prussian War (1871). It is only after unification that Germans could think about building an overseas empire and the required navy to support it. The new nations of Germany and Italy were late to the colonial game, but built small empires. There were few remining plves left to be colonized. And an overseas empire had another onsrcle--Chncellor Bismarck. He did not see it as advisble.
Otto von Bismarck was the central chracter in German history for much of the 19th century. After the Napoleonic Wars (1815), Germany moved toward unification. It was a struggle between Austria and Prussia. Bismarck emerged as the cenhtrl figure in the unification process. After unification which he helped orcestate (1871), Germany did not immediaitely set upon empire building, in part because Bismarck did not see it as advisable. Having an overseas empire would require a navy meaning considerable expense. He saw Germany as a continel power, not a naval power. Colonies would mean competition with other colonial powers, especially the British. He believed Germany set in the middle of Europe alresy hd enough adversaries without adding more. it would be better to concentrated on resolving the 'German question' in Europe and on achieving German interests on the continent. This would dominate German policy unil a new Kaiser rose to the throne (1888).
Many Germans craved a colonial empire. The young Kaiser Wilhelm II in particular wanted both a modern highseas fleet and colonial empire. The Kaiser began building a modern navy, but the the potential for empire was limited because much of the world had alreadby been carved up by the older, established colonial powers. The young Kaiser thought Bismrck pld, well-passed his prime. Kaiser Wilhelm wanted a more dynamic, chancellor to advocate his foreign policy. Wilhelm hinself developed a belicose persona. His first step in building both a navy and colonial empire was easing Bismarck out of office which he quickly accomplished (1890). At which time Germany energetically entered in the Scarmble for Africa and nacal contruction which as Bismarck preducted would create new rivalries, most prominately with Britain. .
The Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) has a very limited history. Prussia was a countrywith a large army, but virtually no naval tradition. The German Navy was created at the time of the formation of the German Empire around the Kingsom of Prussia and the Hohezolern monarchy (1871). The Imperial Navy was formed from the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine which primarily was a kind of coast guard. Kaiser Wilhelm I was uniterested in the Navy. This changed with the accension of his son, Kaiser Wilhem II (1888). The new Kaiser was the son of British Princess Royal Victoria. Wilhelm was often taken to visit his Grandmother, Queen Victoria and on several occassions the dutifully imporessed little boy witnessed Royal Navy vessels and fleet reviews. As Kaiser he wanted a fleet if his own. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930) provided the rationel for building one. Tirpitz was inflluenced by the naval theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. Tirpitz's own naval stateggy for Germany was based on risk theoiry. He argued that while Germany could not build a fleet as large as the Royal Navy, it could bulld a fleet that could create a suficient element of risk that Britain would hesitate to go to war with Germany rather than risk damage to the Fleet. Because of the imortance of the Royal Navy in maintaiing the Empire, Tirpitz argued that Britain would avoid confronting Germany on the Continent. The Kaiser bought Tripitz's argument, especially after dismissing the cautious Chancellor Bismarck. As a result, he devoted substantial resources in building a German High Seas Fleet. It was a mistake of mounumental proportions. The Kaiser's boorish behavior might have been excepted, but building a Highseas Fleet to challenge the Royal Navy shook the British establishment to the core. And Germany quickly shocked in the public mind from a histotric ally to Britain's principal foreign threat, laying the ground work for a raprochment with France. The result was a naval arms race of historic proportions. The battleship was the super weapon of the early-20th century. And they were enormously expensive. The Japanese victory at Tsushima demonstrated the importance of bigun battleships (1905). And the British launching of HMS Dreadnought rendered all existing battleships obsolete (1906). Rather then disuade Tripitz, he saw Dreadnought as Germany's great naval opportunity. It provided Germany the opportunity by rendering all existing battle ships obsolete, to build a fleet that could challenge the Royal Navy. The resulting Imperial Navy would be by the time of World War I one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy. The ships of the Imperial Navy were designated SMS, for 'Seiner Majestät Schiff' (His Majesty's Ship). The German built the second most important highseas fleet with ships every bit as good if not marginally better than the British ships. The German Navy included mostly modern ships because their construction prgram was reltively recent. The German crews despite the lack of a naval tradition were well trained and highly motivated. Their very existence, however, meant that Britain could not allow Germany to occupy the Low Countries. Thus when the Germans invaded neutral Belgium (August 1914), Britain immediately declared war and dispatched the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to assist the Belgian Army. The German surface navy proved ineffective during World War I. The geography of Germany with coasts located on the Baltic and North Sea meant that invariably the British and Germans would confront each other in the North Sea. The only major naval engagement, the Battle of Jutland (1916), was indecisive tatically although the Germans did more damage to the British than the British did to the Germans. But as the Royal Navy blockade was left in tact, Jutland was a strategic victory for the Royal Navy. The German High Seas Fleet woukd never again sally out in force. The Germans after Jutland would greatly expand their small submarine (U-boat) fleet. It posed a major threat to the British supply system, but because of Tirpitz's focus on big-gun surface ships, the U-boat fleet was very small. And while the U-boats threatened British commerce, their major accomplishment was to bring the United states into the War. And the American infantry would ptoive to be the principal factor in the Allied victory (1918). The Imperial Navy was largely destroyed at Scapa Flow in 1919 by its own officers, after Germany's defeat.
It was not until the 1870s did the Europeans began to carve out coloniesin sub-Saharan Africa. It was then that the "Scramble for Africa" began. [Scramble] Africa in the 1860s was still in many ways the Dark Continent. Basic geographic information such as the source of the Nile was still unknown. The work of explorers was headline news. The source of the Nile was found by Burton and Speke finally discovered the source of the Nile (1865). A U.S. newspaper sent Henry Stanley (a former work house boy) to find Dr. David Stanley. The search and eventual encounter made headlines throughout America and Europe (1869). Stanley died in Africa and his body was brought back to Britain to be burried in Westminster Abbey, an indication of the importance of these explorers to the Victorians. Colonial rule soon followed. The European edplorers brought back accounts of backward peoples, continuing slave trade, primitive religious rites, and sexual abandon. The most horrifgy accounts to the Victorians was cannibalism. Even today the continuingbimage of primitive Africa is Europan explorers in a large iron cooking pot. Thus the European people were prepared for seizing colonies and this was further inspired by rising nationalism. The colonial era was launched by one of Europe's smallest countries--Belgium. King Leopold II, who proved to be the most brutal colonizers launched the colonial race in Africa. Belgium was a new country and had not participated in the colonial competition of the 16th and 17th century. Now Leopold declared, "Belgium must have a colony". The colony Leopold founded, the Belgian Congo, was a far cry from the humanitarian inpulse with which th Victorians justified colonialism. The French followed with a huge colonial empire in West Africa which connect with their older North African colonies. The British effort was more chaotic. Colonies were created in both West and East Africa. In South Africa, the British not only faced the Bohrs, but also the Zulus. Cecil Rhodes dreamed of railroad connecting British colonies from Captown to Cairo. There were also Portuguese and Spanish colonies. The new European states also paricipated. The Germans were late to the table, but claimed their own colonies in southern and western Africa. Italy obtained colonies in East Africa. This was all accomplished in a relitively short period and with surprising little conflict between the power involved, probably because the Royal Navy was still so dominant. Economic interests from these countries rapidly moved into the new colonies to exploit the resources.
At the time there were two matters seems as prerequisites for great powers and national prestige -- battleships and overseas colonies. Germany had the wealth and technology to build battleships. Colonies were a little more complicated. There was not much of the world left to colonize. The two were related. There was no way of creating and maintaining overseas colonies without a highseas fleet. Prestige was important to the Germans, especially the new Kaiser Wilhem II. So Wilhelm with Bismarck our of the way began set about acquiring a number of scattered colonies. It was Bismarck that had aplayed a role in estranging Prince Wilhem from his more liberal parents. Now his young protoge was dispensing with his services. Germany acquired colonies in both Africa and the Pacific. The German colonies were mostly largely unsettled lands of little interest to the other European powers. As a result unlike the other major European countries, Germany did not have the opportunity to carve out a large colonian empire. The Germans did join the grab for Africa, seizing Camaroons, German East Africa (modern Tanzania), Southwest Africa (modern Namibia) (1884) and Togo. The Germans also seized a large also seized a large area of the South Pacicic, including northeastern New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and island groups to the northeast(the Carolines, Marianas, Marshalls, and Samoa as well as Nauru ) (1885-99). The Germans in addition acquured a Chinese concession and built a port city and naval base -- Tsingtao (1898). This was one of the so clled treaty ports.
Germany did not retain its new colonies very long. After World War I broke out, Britain's command of the sea allowed it to seize the various German colonies. Japan participated in this effort in the Pacific. The Versailles Treaty stripped Germany of its colonies assigning trusteeships to Australia, Britain, Belgium, France, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Japan proceeeded to fortify the Pacific islands it obtained. Truk became the Gibraltar of the Pacific. While virttually unknown to the general public, these islands became important in the World War II Pacific campaign (1941-45). as far as I know there is no significant German population or influence remaining in any of these colonies. Namimbia may be a minor exception.
The revanchist spirit of the NAZIs included a desire to regain the lost colonies, but NAZI foreign policy restrained this initiative. Hitler's desire was for colonies in the East. Before launching on that enterrprise, however, there was one little-remembered NAZI colonial adventure--Neuschwabenland (New Swabia). Antarctica was in the 1930s the only part of the world that had not been colonized. The NAZIs conducted an Antarctic expedition (1939). SS Commander Himmler launched exotic expeditions to the Himilayas. It was Reich Füherer Hermann Göring who backed the Antarctic expedition. It was commanded by Captain Alfred Ritscher. The German airline Lufthansa at Himler's behest provided one of its ships, the Schwabenland for the expedition. The vessel was a 'catapult ship' used as a cargo and mail ship in the South Atlantic and was capable of launching small aircraft. The NAZIs were unable to launch a second expedition because of the outbreak of World War II (1939-45). After the War, Norway assumed a protectorate over the area the NAZIs had surveyed and claimed, annexing it to Queen Maud Land (1945). The Antarctic Treaty froze all existing territorial claims (1957). Norway named its new acquisition after princesses Martha, Raghnild and Astrid. The Federal Republic of Germany exercised its right, based on the 1939 NAZI explorations, to name geographical features in the area (1952). The current German polar research station 'Georg von Neumayer' is located in what was once Neuschwabenland.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing German pages:
[German choirs]
[German movies]
[German school uniforms]
[German royalty]
[German youth groups]
[German sailor suits]
[Lederhosen]
[Ethnic]
[Tights]
[Long stockings]
Navigate the Children in History Website:
[Return to the Main European colonial regime page]
[Return to the Main German regional page]
[Return to the Main German terminology page]
[Return to the Other World War I Campaigns]
[Introduction]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Climatology]
[Clothing]
[Disease and Health]
[Economics]
[Geography]
[History]
[Human Nature]
[Law]
[Nationalism]
[Presidents]
[Religion]
[Royalty]
[Science]
[Social Class]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Children in History Home]
