XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Namibia / German South-West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The German colonial state in Namibia was constructed through military conquest, administrative districts, legal institutions, land concessions, settler support and coercive regulation. Although its day-to-day authority remained fragile before 1904, German rule expanded rapidly between 1894 and 1897 and increasingly dispossessed African pastoralists. The state’s growth was tied to concession companies, settler colonization and the political fragmentation of African polities.
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Le récit
The conquest of Namibia between 1894 and 1897 enabled the construction of a fledgling German state. German domination was expressed through bureaucratic boundaries, regulations, offices and judicial institutions, alongside the parceling out of land to white settlers. The new regime remained materially weak, however, because it had few men and limited equipment for policing a vast, dry and hot territory.
German rule expanded through a combination of force, diplomacy and alliances with African leaders. Leutwein relied on local knowledge and military skills, exploited pre-existing divisions among African polities, and sometimes secured compromise settlements from leaders who feared losing everything through armed resistance. The pages emphasize that African resistance and collaboration were shaped by local struggles over land, water and power rather than by a single unified response to colonization.
The colonial state also reorganized land and administration. In 1894 Leutwein divided the colony into three districts, excluding the northern areas of Ovambo, Kaoko and northern Hereroland; these districts were later subdivided, and a Nordbezirk based on Outjo was established in 1896. German attempts to formalize the northern boundary and contain rinderpest helped define the limits of effective control, even though the border could not yet be fully enforced.
By 1902, concession companies held 29.2 million hectares, the state held 10.2 million, and white settlers held 3.7 million out of a stated total of 83.5 million hectares. The pages also record a sharp decline in Otjiherero-speakers’ cattle, from about 100,000 in the early 1890s to 46,000 in 1902, while German-owned cattle numbered roughly 44,500. These figures reveal the material consequences of colonial expansion before the major war of 1904.
XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Namibia / German South-West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The German colonial state in Namibia was constructed through military conquest, administrative districts, legal institutions, land concessions, settler support and coercive regulation. Although its day-to-day authority remained fragile before 1904, German rule expanded rapidly between 1894 and 1897 and increasingly dispossessed African pastoralists. The state’s growth was tied to concession companies, settler colonization and the political fragmentation of African polities.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The conquest of Namibia between 1894 and 1897 enabled the construction of a fledgling German state. German domination was expressed through bureaucratic boundaries, regulations, offices and judicial institutions, alongside the parceling out of land to white settlers. The new regime remained materially weak, however, because it had few men and limited equipment for policing a vast, dry and hot territory.
German rule expanded through a combination of force, diplomacy and alliances with African leaders. Leutwein relied on local knowledge and military skills, exploited pre-existing divisions among African polities, and sometimes secured compromise settlements from leaders who feared losing everything through armed resistance. The pages emphasize that African resistance and collaboration were shaped by local struggles over land, water and power rather than by a single unified response to colonization.
The colonial state also reorganized land and administration. In 1894 Leutwein divided the colony into three districts, excluding the northern areas of Ovambo, Kaoko and northern Hereroland; these districts were later subdivided, and a Nordbezirk based on Outjo was established in 1896. German attempts to formalize the northern boundary and contain rinderpest helped define the limits of effective control, even though the border could not yet be fully enforced.
By 1902, concession companies held 29.2 million hectares, the state held 10.2 million, and white settlers held 3.7 million out of a stated total of 83.5 million hectares. The pages also record a sharp decline in Otjiherero-speakers’ cattle, from about 100,000 in the early 1890s to 46,000 in 1902, while German-owned cattle numbered roughly 44,500. These figures reveal the material consequences of colonial expansion before the major war of 1904.
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