When Africa was divided into colonies and shared among European countries, Germany was not left out. In fact, between 1818 to 1919, Germany was among the leading European colonial powers in Africa, ranking third just behind the United Kingdom and France. At the time, the German empire extended from South West Africa (now Namibia) to German East Africa which is the territory of today’s Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The colonial rule of the German empire was just a little more than three decades long, yet throughout this brief period, the Germans made certain to violently oppress the African colonies under their control. One such colony is present-day Tanzania which was conquered in 1880. Like all the other African colonies, Tanzania was of vital importance to the Germans because of its resources. Among these were agricultural products such as sisal, cotton, and plantation-grown rubber. The Empire also received sustainable earnings from items such as coffee, copra, sesame, and peanuts. However, among the most valuable resources was gold. The German Empire reaped enormous benefits from all of these resources beginning with the finding of gold in the Lake Victoria region in 1894.
Although it was a colony of the Germans, Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, was a difficult region to rule for the German Empire. Since its first conquest, the German Empire in general and specifically the local German administrators implemented various experimental practices in Tanzania that they felt would make the people submissive. One of the experiments the local German administrators focused on was the method of taxation. Taxation not only provided revenue to the German colonial masters but was also a tool that they used to demonstrate their strength towards the local population. Initially, the Germans introduced a tax on salt and guns which triggered a great deal of displeasure among the people. Later in 1905, the house and hut tax” was substituted with a “head tax” for all local men which increased the displeasure of the local population.
In order to ensure the strong continuation of the taxation policy, the local Governor von Götzen told the Empire in 1906 that “the suggestion that taxing the blacks be stopped is the same as abandoning the colony”. It’s no surprise therefore that under von Götzen’s orders, the harassment of the local population, particularly the Chiefs continued. One belief that Germans had during this period was that they could play the local elite population against each other in order to further their interest. So, they created a complicated legal system where tribal chiefs were referred to whenever they had troubles with each other. The system was designed not to solve any troubles among the local chiefs but to ensure that the local population could not unite.
Another experimentation used by the Germans in Tanzania was the Akida system, a system that meant replacing local leaders with foreign agents, most of whom were literate men from different regions. Their purpose was the representation of the German Empire’s bureaucratic tradition of administration. These different experiments and several other factors turned the entire German East Africa, but especially the current Tanzania region, into a powder keg waiting to explode, which it eventually did. The move that exploded the keg was the initiation of a large-scale African cotton-growing program in 1902 by a new Governor.
The cotton growing program on the northern coast had failed but despite the recommendations of his advisers, the governor believed in the high number of production results. And so, he ordered the creation of cotton agricultural areas in each neighborhood. Although the Governor promised to pay 35 cents to each cotton worker, the local population considered the work as forced labor which was not a new practice for the Germans. Previously the Germans had used forced labour for projects such as infrastructure works, however this time, the people were angry due to the scale and severity of the project. The cotton project caused the local men to be separated from their homes and families for a long period of time. As a result, women in their society had to undertake both traditional male and female roles. This form of societal change was the final straw in the German Governors’ experimentation on the local population. And so, began what would go down in history as the most significant African challenge to German colonial rule, the Maji Maji Rebellion.
The Maji Maji Rebellion or uprising lasted for just two years but it involved people over 10,000 square miles. It began in 1905 after a severe drought hit the region. The drought coupled with the suffering under German rule stirred the hearts of the people to rebel. At the time, a local medicine man emerged who claimed to know the secret to a sacred liquid that could repel German bullets called “Maji Maji, meaning sacred water. The people believed and went en mass to be doused with the sacred water. Thus, armed with arrows, spears, and doused with Maji Maji water, the first warriors of the rebellion began to move against the Germans, attacking at first only small German outposts, such as at Samanga, and destroying cotton crops. The rebellion grew throughout the colony, eventually incorporating 20 different ethnic groups all of whom wanted the German colonists to leave. As such, it was the first notable instance of interethnic cooperation in the fight against colonial rule.
The uprising reached a climax in August 1905, when several thousand Maji Maji warriors attacked but failed to conquer a German stronghold at Mahenge. On October 21, 1905, the Germans retaliated by attacking the camp of the unwary Ngoni people, who had recently joined the resistance. The Germans killed hundreds of men, women, and children and this attack marked the beginning of a brutal counter-offensive by the Germans. Eventually, under the command of Governor von Götzen, the German army quelled the rebellion but with devastating results, almost 300,000 people died.
This large number of deaths cannot only be attributed solely to the Tanzanian people’s resistance to the German Empire but also to the methods used by the German Empire. In suppressing the rebellion, Governor von Götzen did not feel that victory could be attained solely by military means. He believed that Tanzanian society needed to be controlled as well. And so, after consulting with his military advisers, Von Gotzen decided to utilize a starvation tactic against the local population. “Only hunger and want can bring about a final submission. Military actions alone will remain more or less a drop in the ocean, wrote a captain to Von Gotzen. And so, the spirit of rebellion in the Tanzanian people was broken and the local population subdued. However, it also left scars that are felt till today.
Tanzania has since demanded compensation for Germany’s actions during the colonial era, but Germany has yet to deliver a sufficient response. The government of Tanzania began the procedures for the first step of reparations in 2017. However, the German government has managed to postpone negotiations by making little moves. Among these are the return of things stolen by the German Empire during its colonisation of Tanzania. Another move is that Germany has made itself the second largest environmental aid donor to Tanzania. The most recent move by Germany which is the third biggest consumer of Tanzania’s tourism industry. However, these efforts to conceal historical brutality have only been successful for a limited period, as Tanzania is now demanding compensation for Germany’s crimes during the colonial era.
Recent developments however indicate that Germany has started to face its past acts but is it enough?
On Wednesday, November 1st, the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for colonial-era atrocities committed by German forces in Tanzania during a visit to the East African country. “As German President, I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” Steinmeier, who began a three-day visit to Tanzania on Monday, told descendants of local war hero Songea Mbano. Mbano was hanged and beheaded alongside dozens of other fighters who staged the Maji Maji rebellion. “This cruel deed has left its mark on many generations,” Steinmeier told the Mbano family at the Maji Maji Museum in Songea, southern Tanzania, according to a transcript of his speech provided by the German presidency. “It shames me. I am ashamed about what German colonial soldiers did to your forefather and his fellow warriors,” he added, but made no mention of reparations.
Steinmeier also told the Mbano family in Tanzania that his country would work towards finding Mbano’s remains, which may have been transported to Europe by German troops for burial after his execution. “What we know is that many remains from East Africa were brought to Germany back then and were placed in museums and anthropological collections. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of skulls,” he said. “I promise that we will work together with you to find Chief Songea’s skull in Germany,” the German president added.
Following the apology by the President, Tanzanians went on to social media to react to Steinmeier’s apology, with one commentator saying: “Apologizing isn’t enough … Germany has to pay reparation.” And this is very correct. It’s not enough to just apologize, Germany has to pay reparation for the colonial crimes against Tanzania. But will they?
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