Rethinking Reform:

After beginning to read about the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa in the pursuit of an entirely different research topic, at pattern began to appear within the literature. This pattern was the story of Bernhard Dernburg, and his amazing transformation of what is now Tanzania. The more I read into this pattern, the more it became apparent that the pattern had much to do with an older, colonial interpretation of the history that stubbornly remained within the discussion. Though the image of Dernburg as Hercules cleaning out the Augean stables within the German administration seems on paper somewhat far-fetched, and was largely expunged from relevant literature by the 1970’s, the periodization and trajectory of the history of German East Africa remained beholden to the story of Dernburg as reformer. This paper represents an attempt to evaluate that periodization, and suggest a new structure through which the history of German East Africa might be better understood. In order to demonstrate the failings of the older histories, several paths of action are necessary. On the one hand, it is necessary to take into account the election speeches of Bernhard Dernburg in the context of the 1907 Reichstag elections in Germany. This is because the when Dernburg’s speeches are taken in the context of the complicated general election that year, it becomes apparent that Dernburg’s speeches have been taken by some historians at face value as a serious plan, rather than an attempt to support certain parties within the campaign. Once that link has been made clear, it is then necessary to ascertain to what extent German East Africa was reformed under Dernburg’s tenure in office, from 1907 to 1910. This is done in two ways. The first of the two is the economic reform that was promised by Dernburg. The growth of cash-crop production that Dernburg promised is largely taken as the yardstick by which the economic changes can be understood. By an large, the economic reform is seen not to have increased substantially under Dernburg, and furthermore, does not move onto a trajectory towards serious importance to the empire generally. On the other hand, social transformations are taken into account. This includes the continuation of slavery as well as education and disease control; in general the betterment of the lot of the native as promised by Dernburg. Again the promises do not match up to the expectations. It then remains to suggest an alternative structure through which the period, and indeed the history of German East Africa should be seen. To this end, the rise of the settler community, which began around 1900, and eventually came to dominate the politics of the colony has been proposed. The entire endeavor is backed by substantial research in the colonial archives in Berlin, as well as the pool of relevant secondary literature on the subject, both English and German. In short, the paper effectively analyzes the reasons for the idea of the reform period, then refutes the basic tenets of that periodization before expanding upon the rise of the settler population in the colony as the most effective prism through which to understand the history of German East Africa.