Mikono ya damu: «Hands of Blood»: African Mercenaries and the Politics of Conflict in German East Africa, 1888-1904

by Erick Mann

Overview

This is the first comprehensive study of the German colonial conquest of Tanzania between 1888 and 1904. Moving beyond the focus on German policy at the national level, the author highlights the local perspective on German colonialism as it was experienced by rural Tanzanians. In each region, the pre-colonial politics are analyzed to explain how the nature of German conquest and subsequent administration often reflected local political patterns and conflicts as much as it did German aims and objectives. The work examines the history and sociology of the German military in East Africa, largely composed of Africans, and how its organization reflected both German and African needs. The German military, Schutztruppe, is viewed as a rapidly evolving African institution that created new ethnic identities and social classes in its wake.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783631376140
Publisher:	Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	11/13/2001
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

The Author: Erick J. Mann completed his Ph.D. in History and African Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. His primary field of research interest is on comparative 19^th century colonialism in Africa, most recently, Latin America. He is a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of academic and research grants from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, and the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst. He is currently Associate Professor of History at Oakton Community College in DesPlaines, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Contents: Tanzania – German East Africa / Deutsch Ostafrika – Colonial military – Schutztruppe – African military – Imperialism.