The Servants of Empire: Sponsored German Women's Colonization in Southwest Africa, 1896-1945

The Servants of Empire explores a radical nationalist history of German efforts to prevent interracial unions and establish permanent white settlement in Southwest Africa, revealing how poor white female settlers disrupted bourgeois race and gender relations and contributed to sexual and racial violence.

Format: Hardback
Length: 422 pages
Publication date: 09 December 2022
Publisher: Berghahn Books

Between the 1890s and 1940s, a significant number of German women were recruited to colonize Southwest Africa. The Servants of Empire delves into a radical nationalist history of German efforts to prevent interracial unions and establish permanent white settlements in the region. These colonists, often sponsored by the German government, played a role in perpetuating extreme patterns of racist violence and vigilantism in Namibia. Their involvement in atrocities such as the Herero and Nama Genocides has left a lasting impact on the history of the region.

This revealing study navigates the complex intersections of German attitudes toward race, class, ethnicity, gender, and nation. It uncovers how the many poor white female settlers in Southwest Africa disrupted bourgeois race and gender relations and contributed to the trenchant sexual and racial violence in the territory. Through the analysis of gossip and rumors within the German settler community, the study sheds light on the ways in which these women were both marginalized and empowered by the colonial system.

The Servants of Empire is a groundbreaking work that challenges the traditional narratives of German colonialism and sheds light on the often overlooked experiences of women in the colonial era. It provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complex and multifaceted history of Southwest Africa and the broader African continent.

Weight: 678g
Dimension: 159 x 236 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800737990