A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

There was great potential for societal change in the African context as a
consequence of German colonialism. But in examining African social groupings, one
must always be aware of the danger of hypostatizing an essentialist African that elides the
autochthonous foundations of the groups in rhizomatic and heterogeneous familial, tribal
and trading connections. Therefore, the search for the deterritorializations and
reterritorializations in the African social grouping echoes what Jean-François Bayart has
called the “indissoluble” connections between external and internal dynamics. 15 It is
consequently important to realize that many of the African tribes experiencing
Germanization were already deeply penetrated by European values, like the Khoikhoi
people of Southwest Africa who spoke Dutch, practiced Christianity and followed
European social codes. It was mostly incidents of native resistance to German efforts
that caused substantial transformations in native societies. The 1904 revolt can be seen
as the result of the traditional African social structure’s conflict with the imposed German
social order. 16 After the revolt, the Herero were completely destroyed as a social group
when survivors were either incarcerated or put to work laying railroads. Yet, African
groups often exploited German influence to further their own interests. One example of
this was the army agent Paul Samba who faithfully assisted German colonialism until
leading the 1898 Bulu revolt against his former masters. 17 Traditional tribal enemies
would often collaborate against the Germans, or ally with the Germans to defeat political
competitors. In addition, certain sectors of tribal society exploited German weakness and
established new power for themselves in society thanks to the power dynamics of
colonial expansion. Hendrik Witbooi solidified his political and social position as chief
of the Nama because of his early assistance to German colonialism, and later used his
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