A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
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vital part of colonialism. 27 Labour law was enshrined as early as 1896 in East Africa and<br />
colonial administrators continually strove to retain and control the indigenous labour<br />
force. 28 This utilization of labour meant subversion of two of the “3 Cs” of colonization,<br />
since Christianity and civilization were often forgotten in favour of integrating the<br />
colonized into the resource extraction of the colonial economy. Similarly, labour<br />
relations within <strong>German</strong>y were altered by colonial expansion as well as the brutal<br />
exploitation of colonial labour. 29 Gerda Weinberger considers <strong>German</strong> workers’<br />
concerns to be intrinsically connected to colonial labour. 30 As employment in <strong>German</strong><br />
enterprises became moderately “globalized,” there were demands both in <strong>German</strong>y by<br />
workers and leftist political parties, and by colonial administrators for equal treatment of<br />
colonial labour. 31 When capital and labour were deterritorialized in the colonies, forces<br />
in both <strong>German</strong>y and Africa reacted to bring about a reterritorialization of this labour.<br />
Organized labour provides an example of one of the many social organizations<br />
that are a key location of social identity. Such organizations, both large and small, were<br />
significant in <strong>German</strong>y’s colonial expansion, playing roles in support of and in opposition<br />
to the expansion as well as providing voices for <strong>German</strong>s and Africans. Discussions over<br />
colonial issues served to highlight tensions both within and between social formations<br />
such as the missionary societies and colonial organizations in <strong>German</strong>y and therefore<br />
provide excellent tools for an examination of <strong>German</strong> society.<br />
<strong>German</strong> missionary organizations like the Rhenish Mission predated and prepared<br />
the way for the colonial expansion by establishing a <strong>German</strong> presence in Africa. They<br />
continued to play a central role in the consolidation of <strong>German</strong> control where<br />
missionaries frequently educated indigenous peoples in <strong>German</strong> religion, culture,<br />
46