A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

carried further by another. Similarly, it is likely that the extension of control over the
colonies was established by the means considered most applicable to the time and
context, as Gallagher and Robinson assert. 26 It is also eminently possible that
colonialism is a matter of scale where a steady escalation of degree results in further
increases in territory, brutality and control.
Alongside these issues, a considerable lacuna exists in the discussion of the actual
inhabitants of the regions that Germany annexed. These African peoples were very
important in determining the actual course of the colonial expansion in Africa. For
example, parallel to the expansion of German rule was the growth in native resistance to
this expansion in various manifestations, from passive opposition to taxes and laws, to
covert resistance and outright revolt against German authority. It is the extension of
colonialism and the opposition to it that constitutes the essential form of colonialism.
However, this inquiry acknowledges the considerable difficulty which exists in capturing
the suppressed native voice since few histories have been written from the perspective of
the original inhabitants in the German colonies.
Comprehending these diverse issues requires more than empirical data; a theory is
needed to link the dominant themes. Histories of colonialism come from very disparate
perspectives, and can therefore be very difficult to understand holistically. Winfried
Baumgart and Wehler once called upon historians to forge new paths in German colonial
history to further understand the historical past through the application of new theoretical
models of interpretation. 27 Since Baumgart and Wehler, new research into gender, race
and power relations has broadened the field, but wider use of theoretical models has not
been manifest. In addition, newer approaches have moved away from necessary
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