| Primary
Source |
| Imperialism |
Colonial Policy | [P|S|M] |
Atlas German Colonies, with Yearbook, edited by the German Colonial Society, 1907, Retrospect on the Development in 1906 of the Protectorate Deutsch-Ostafrika
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Retrospect on the Development in 1906 of the
Protectorate Deutsch-Ostafrika
The indigenous rebellion, which began at the end of July in 1905 in the
Matumbi Mountains near Kilwa has not reached a larger and dangerous extension.
There have been risings at several locations in the vast protectorate, and on
our side energetic steps and the introduction of inforcements have been
necessary. But with skill the spread of the rebellion to the warlike Wahehe and
to Unyamwesi and Ussukuma could be prevented. The inhabitants of these regions
have been kept in check by the news of our speedy and decisive successes. The
prudent conduct of the respective station chiefs, who remained in regular
contact with the natives and who showed to them how useless a participation in
the rebellion would be, has not been without effect. After, at the end of the
year, three ringleaders were captured and punished, the rebellion can be
described as fully suppressed.
The rebellion of the natives has caused not inconsiderable changes, which
we can not yet fully overlook. Of the nonindigenous coloureds (Indians and
Arabs) many have moved out of the region affected by the rebellion.
Unfortunately the unrest caused by the rebellion will cause a famine, because of
lost harvests. It is to be hoped that this will lead to an increase of
plantation workers along the coast.
In the last year, European enterprises continued to suffer from a lack of
workers and carriers. The strong Wassukuma and Wanyamwesi found so profitable
employment in agriculture in their own land, in the sale of their products and
as carriers in the overland trade between Lake Victoria and the Congo Free
State, that they came less frequently to the coast than they used to do; they
had to be replaced by less useful elements. On the construction stretch of the
Mrogoro railroad on average 4000 workers, at undertakings in the district of
(p.19) Daressalam about 1500 workers and craftsmen were employed. It is easier
to hire workers for earth works than for plantation work. The relation between
employees and employers, on the railway construction site, was good, because of
good wages and sufficient food; yet still a lack of labour was to be observed.
The lack is worst in the European plantations of the northern districts. The
indigenous population density is too low, the people try to avoid labour, so
that the demand for labour is far from being met. Attempts have been undertaken
to hire workers from the interior and bring them to Usambara. Opinions over the
success of these attempts are divided.
Generally it has to be stated that the Bantu negro does not cultivate more than
he needs to satisfy his own demands. The Wassukuma and Wanyamwesi prove a
certain amount of mercantile spirit. When the Uganda railroad opened up their
area, it was feared that in consequence of too hasty transactions of the values
present there the land could be exploited and impoverished. Instead, without
interference from the authorities, production in agriculture as well as in
livestock has experienced a healthy increase.
The negro is accessible to instructions. The production of beeswax may
serve as an example. The value of exports in 1905 amounted to over 1.25 million
Marks. So far, in the process of gaining the wax, the blacks destroyed the bees.
Lately they lay out primitive hives for swarming bees and use a more rational
method of exploitation. Caoutchouc is characteristically produced by
unrestricted, destructive exploitation. Of the 2.25 million Mark gained in
exports, only a fraction was produced by plantations.
The extended plains of Deutsch-Ostafrika, as far as they are not settled by
whites or natives, consist mainly of treeless grass steppe or of steppe with
very few trees, in part of irregular bush forest, more or less open. Similar are
most highlands, which show the character of frorestless pastures or such with
little forest. Sometimes the open bushforest forms more or less extensive forest
complexes. The piedmonts characteristically are bare of forest, while the
mountain ridges and slopes are covered by high jungle-like forests. Such are
found in the vicinity of the Usambara railroad, in large areas. In the last
years the Schume Forest has repeatedly been mentioned, which has a large stock
of cedars. The government has declared these areas forest reserves and
has hired competent men to administrate their exploitation. Reasonable
administration can open a rich source of revenue for the protectorate.
A remarkable success has been achieved with fibrous plants, despite the
lack of labour. Today Mauritius hemp is planted only on a part of the area,
Sisal hemp is dominating. In 1903 the protectorate exported 400,000 M. worth in
hemp, 1904 : 700,000 M., 1905 : 1.1 million Mark. A continuous, well-funded
progress. Attempts are underway to produce further fibers from banana plants and
of the Sansivias, which grow wild in the protectorate's north; they are not yet
systematically exploited.
A number of settlers in the Kilwa district and near Muansa, so it seems, has
succeeded in the cultivation of cotton. It is to be regarded a fact that
there are plenty excellent cotton soils in the colony, and that excellent cotton
can be grown from Egyptian seed. The difficulty of the proportionate working of
the soil and of irrigation are obstacles in the speedy development of this
promising culture, which is energetically supported by the Colonial Economic
Committee, the economic committee of the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft.
Progress has been made in the field of mining. In the gold concessions of
the north (Irrangi, Usindja, Kissama etc.) large prospecting works have been
undertaken, and a small number of small machines extracting gold from the quartz
are operating. The production of mica in the Uluguru Mountains fortunately is
expanding. Three entrepreneurs, on 21 claims, produced 60,000 kg of raw mica, of
which about a third was produced as good merchandise. Rumours reporting the
finding of pitchblend containing uranium have been verified, and an
investigation has been started. The saltworks on the Mlagarassi resumed
operation. It has suffered damage through an extraordinary inundation; yet all
what was destroyed has been rebuild, in part larger than it was before.
Extraordinarily high precipitation has delayed the progress of the construction
of the railway line Daressalam-Mrogoro, in addition to the shortage of
labour already mentioned. But 32 km have already been opened to traffic, and
construction railways go as far as 60 km. In connection with the construction of
the railroad, in Daressalam on the northern (p.20) shore below the old customs
facilities, construction of a quay has been begin, in order to improve the
facilities to load and unload ships. So Daressalam will be better suited to
handle freight traffic. Construction works for the new shipyard have been begun
on Kurasini near Daressalam and should be completed within the next two years.
Because of the rebellion of the natives, no construction worthy to be
mentioned has been undertaken on the stations along the coast and in the
interior. In Daressalam a lack of housing is experienced. The government has
constructed three houses as living quarters for officials. As expressed by
official reports, this is far from sufficient. Private construction was vivid.
The new hotel in Daressalam, sufficinng European standards, is to be mentioned.
On the Ras-Kasone peninsula near Tanga a garden city has developed. The
communities of Tanga, Pangani and Mrogoro have been active in road construction.
The reports on the activity of the government schools in Tanga, Pangani,
Bagamoyo, Daressalam and Kilwa are all favourable. The first one, as the school
in Daressalam, is combined wirg a school for craftsmen. There, instruction is
given in carpentry, bookbinding, smithery, wood turning, and 59 natives are
distributed almost evenly over the occupations. The craftsmen's school in Tanga
is self-supporting. The carpenters' workshop produces mainly furniture, the raw
material of which mostly originates from the colony. The printing workshop
prints books and has printed school textbooks and an addendum to the colony's
law code. The book binder's workshop had many orders. The wood turner's workshop
still is in its beginnings. As more and more orders come in, the future of this
institution, civilizatoric in the best sense of the word, is secured.
If one looks at the figures of the population statistics, of export and import,
they confirm the healthy and by no means slow development the German East
African protectorate is going through.
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Source:
Deutscher Kolonial-Atlas mit Jahrbuch (Atlas German Colonies with
Yearbook), edited by the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft (German Colonial
Society). Berlin 1907, p.17f |
GM
(digitalisation) and AG
(translation)
posted on the web for psm-data;
many thanks to
Staatsbibliothek
zu Berlin / Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Kartenabteilung
Dokument in deutscher
Sprache
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