A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

appeals to the Reichstag usually followed the “3 Cs” of colonialism as capital was best
secured through pleas to commerce, civilization and Christianity. 135 However, the
political parties continually complained about the consistent financial loss to the taxpayer
where no profits had accrued from large investment. Economics once again offered an
excellent example of deterritorialization since financing mixed with social and cultural
issues to assume centre stage in political debates. Indeed, economics also functioned as
reterritorializations in the reluctance of the German population to contribute more money
to government policies of colonial expansion, especially after the colonial outrages.
103
The colonial scandals of 1906 transformed politics with regard to colonial policy.
There was substantial public opposition to Trotha’s policy from the missionaries, the
bureaucracy and some political parties. 136 Newspapers such as the Berliner Tageblatt
joined the fray by grumbling about the 500 million mark cost of retaining Southwest
Africa with a cumulative profit of only 16 million marks. 137 The issue came to a head
when Chancellor Bülow dissolved the Reichstag over the refusal of Zentrum and SPD
delegates to grant a further 29 million marks for the final conclusion of the Herero war. 138
Splits amongst the critics won Bülow the election, in turn vindicating the government’s
colonial policy. In electoral terms, the unrest in Africa provoked a return to the
Reichstag’s conservative forces. But the public debate generated by the scandals
mandated reforms; therefore Dernburg was made colonial director. With a new focus
upon commercial colonialism and the mitigation of abuses, Dernburg echoed the
concerns of the majority of the German population. In this manner, the colonial abuses
represent a deterritorialization, while the reforms illustrate the concomitant
reterritorialization and the attempt to achieve stability both in the colonies and in