Routes of Violence: Transimperial Mobility and Colonial War in the British, German, and Dutch Empires, c. 1880–1914

Category: Essay 0

In autumn 1900, the German colonial officer Robert von Krieg was travelling in the deep interior of what was then the colony of German East Africa. At Rubugwa, in the district of Tabora, his expedition of askari soldiers and porters must have been rather astonished to come upon a group of camping uniformed colonial soldiers, so-called “Sudanese,” who declared they … Read More

Afro-Asian States, the Congo Crisis, and the United Nations: Solidly United in an Anti-imperial Agenda?

Category: Essay 0

On 21 November 1960, in the United Nations General Assembly debate the representative of Liberia expressed his regret about “the bitterness that has characterized the discussion” – a bitterness that had come “from the recently independent African States”.[1] The hostile discussions the Liberian delegate referred to were over current events in the Congo. Since its independence on 30 June, the … Read More

The “Exploration” of Central Africa in the Late 19th Century as a Transimperial Project – The Example of Paul Pogge

Category: Essay 0

“I raise my glass to the civilization of Africa by simultaneous efforts of all nations under all flags”,[1] declared Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza on 19 October 1882 at the Paris Hotel Continental. Brazza, the French navy officer who had just come back from an expedition to central Africa weeks before, had come to the hotel uninvited. Here he joined a … Read More