A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

vital part of colonialism. 27 Labour law was enshrined as early as 1896 in East Africa and
colonial administrators continually strove to retain and control the indigenous labour
force. 28 This utilization of labour meant subversion of two of the “3 Cs” of colonization,
since Christianity and civilization were often forgotten in favour of integrating the
colonized into the resource extraction of the colonial economy. Similarly, labour
relations within Germany were altered by colonial expansion as well as the brutal
exploitation of colonial labour. 29 Gerda Weinberger considers German workers’
concerns to be intrinsically connected to colonial labour. 30 As employment in German
enterprises became moderately “globalized,” there were demands both in Germany by
workers and leftist political parties, and by colonial administrators for equal treatment of
colonial labour. 31 When capital and labour were deterritorialized in the colonies, forces
in both Germany and Africa reacted to bring about a reterritorialization of this labour.
Organized labour provides an example of one of the many social organizations
that are a key location of social identity. Such organizations, both large and small, were
significant in Germany’s colonial expansion, playing roles in support of and in opposition
to the expansion as well as providing voices for Germans and Africans. Discussions over
colonial issues served to highlight tensions both within and between social formations
such as the missionary societies and colonial organizations in Germany and therefore
provide excellent tools for an examination of German society.
German missionary organizations like the Rhenish Mission predated and prepared
the way for the colonial expansion by establishing a German presence in Africa. They
continued to play a central role in the consolidation of German control where
missionaries frequently educated indigenous peoples in German religion, culture,
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