A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...
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etween <strong>German</strong>y and Africa. The fact that colonial administrators were instructed by<br />
the K-A to acquire cultural artifacts for <strong>German</strong>y because many <strong>German</strong>s thought African<br />
cultures would wither and die in the face of the European onslaught underscores the<br />
exploitative character of the acquisition of a colonial cultural episteme by <strong>German</strong>s. 109<br />
The final manifestation of the cultural dimension of <strong>German</strong> expansion, and more<br />
specifically, the evolution of knowledge about the colonies, is the creation of organized<br />
space in Africa. From the early days of the Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884-1885,<br />
where the delegates divided up a continent before a five meter tall map, cartography was<br />
vital to the construction of territory in the colonies. The administration of the colonies<br />
necessitated a clear conception of territory and spheres of occupation. Similarly, colonial<br />
business and commercial transport routes such as roads and railways depended upon<br />
cartographic knowledge. Cartography also assisted the expansion of control when<br />
<strong>German</strong> survey expeditions led to <strong>German</strong> claims over territory and claims resulted in<br />
assimilation into <strong>German</strong> territory. 110 A poignant example of the <strong>German</strong> attitude toward<br />
territory is an early map of Southwest Africa with the stamp of Lüderitz’s company<br />
impressed upon Agra Pequeña Bay. 111 Here in the shape of the watermarked “F.A.E.<br />
Lüderitz, Bremen” was an excellent representation of the coercive power of <strong>German</strong><br />
expansion, and the imposition of European colonial space identified by Thomas and<br />
Henri Lefebvre. 112 Cartography was also closely tied to propaganda, for organizations<br />
like the DKG and Geographisches Institut published maps of <strong>German</strong>y’s colonies for<br />
popular consumption in hopes of stirring public awareness and support.<br />
The cartographic power exercised by <strong>German</strong>y illustrates deterritorialization and<br />
reterritorialization in several ways. The cartographic deterritorializations of the<br />
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