A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
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of economic, social and political interests in colonial expansion. When expansionists<br />
sought to create interest throughout <strong>German</strong> society through propaganda, they hinted at<br />
some of the propelling forces of colonialism by stressing certain aspects of colonial<br />
expansion.<br />
At the beginning, <strong>German</strong> colonists sought to displace African values in favour of<br />
<strong>German</strong> social structures. As Mannoni observes, the social dimension of colonialism is<br />
vital to understanding colonial relations, for colonist populations brought their own<br />
prejudices to the colony and tried to impose them on indigenous peoples. 9 <strong>German</strong>s<br />
sought to establish what Zimmerer identifies as a Herrschaftsutopie (utopia of<br />
domination) in their colonies where <strong>German</strong> social, political, cultural and economic<br />
codes would be paramount. 10 This was an attempt by the colonizers to remake African<br />
society in a <strong>German</strong> image. 11 <strong>German</strong> attempts to destroy the social existence of the<br />
Herero tribe after their 1904 revolt, by taking their land and their cattle, is clearly<br />
indicative of this desire. Government endeavours to confine nomadic groups to sedentary<br />
reservations and to establish European economic relationships over traditional barter<br />
trade networks also display this desire to <strong>German</strong>ize African society. Native social<br />
orders were also stratified in European terms to reflect <strong>German</strong> administrative desires.<br />
Noyes’ argument that the nomad represents the contrary of empire is illustrated in the<br />
<strong>German</strong> efforts to force African nomad society to conform to <strong>German</strong> social, political,<br />
economic and cultural norms that would position them within colonial power. 12 As well,<br />
the efforts of government agents and missionaries to establish Deutschtum (<strong>German</strong>-ness)<br />
in African society clearly testify to the <strong>German</strong> colonial practice of reterritorializing<br />
difference and deterritorialization in African society.<br />
41