A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
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financial manipulation and the creation of a private African fiefdom. 99 Many in <strong>German</strong>y<br />
identified the fall of Peters as indicative of Africa’s negative influence upon the<br />
European. Like that of Langheld, this barbarization of a purportedly “cultured” European<br />
by the “savagery” of Africa illustrates cultural and social deterritorialization and<br />
reterritorialization and shows how the colonies influenced the colonizer. Here, a<br />
deterritorialized conception contrasts with much historical literature which<br />
unidirectionally finds only the colonizer’s culture having an effect upon the colony. 100<br />
Many of the expeditions undertaken by Frobenius, Schnitzler and Peters had the<br />
development of knowledge about Africa as their purpose. <strong>German</strong> administrators became<br />
cognizant of their inadequate knowledge of their colonial subjects and sought to gain<br />
such information in order to make their colonies more successful and efficient. As such,<br />
this desire for information exemplified a growing trend in <strong>German</strong>y toward a developing<br />
awareness of the cultures over which it governed. Increasing expeditions aimed at the<br />
comprehension of Africa’s unique circumstances suggests the growing relevance of<br />
colonial science. 101 Research on these expeditions included everything from sexual<br />
relations amongst the tribes to migratory bird patterns to epidemiological, meteorological<br />
and astronomical studies. 102<br />
The <strong>German</strong> administration also considered the acquisition of information about<br />
its colonial subjects increasingly germane, especially the development of a new<br />
“scientific colonialism” designed to invigorate colonial economies. The government and<br />
the DKG worked together on the creation of a statistical database of colonial trade and<br />
the compilation of intelligence on foreign colonial business competitors. 103 With regard<br />
to colonial subjects, the 1913 muster of all people in Southwest Africa typifies a<br />
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