A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

In addition to territorial disenfranchisement and virtual serfdom, indigenous
peoples were faced with other depredations. Colonial companies often came into conflict
with the German government, and the German and African populations, because of
trading in forbidden products. Examples of these were the horrific traffic in slaves, the
socially-disintegrating sale of alcohol and the unethical commerce in firearms. Few
voices were raised in support of German commercial interests in slave-trading for, in
addition to its moral depravities, it was also seen as financially unviable. However,
though officially forbidden and contradictory to Germany’s signature of the Brussels
Anti-Slavery Act of 1890, slave trading was allowed in East Africa as the local economy
depended upon its use. 38 The trade occupied an important part of the regional economy
and brought important tax and transit revenue into German territory. Sale of other
merchandise like liquor and firearms to the indigenous tribes was also forbidden. But
traders never worried about prohibitions upon selling such goods. 39 The continuation of
these trade networks represents an example parallel to that of the anti-slavery crusader
Langheld where European “civilization” was eroded by pragmatic considerations in the
colony. In these circumstances, the profit motive again trumped the illegality and
immorality of such practices. This presents evidence of the applicability of the concept
of deterritorialization in explaining German-African, state-capital and social-cultural
relationships. The inability of German social desires to cease illegal commerce also
illustrates how deterritorialization can render the vital component of capitalist economics
within such colonial interaction.
As is evident above, the imposition of the German capitalist economy in Africa
had a great impact upon the colonial population. Deleuze and Guattari’s
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