PUBLISHING HOUSE

GENOCIDIOS AND COLONIAL POLITICS

When the European potency met in Berlin in 1885 to stage formally the share-out of fact of the African continent, this continent was already taking several centuries of struggle against the foreign occupation of his soil and, much especially, of his resources.

In spite of the awakening of the African identity in the 60s of the XXth century, in full decolonization, the true thing is that the different peoples of the continent have never had a feeling of unit that it has made them face commonly against the foreign, principally European potency, which occupied his soil up to good brought in the XXth century.

The history of the colonization of Africa is a history of internal struggles and of wars against the foreign potency. In this number of FAM-Historia Militar we bring to them one of the most tragic episodes, and simultaneously less well-known, from this colonial struggle. The Germany of the beginning of the XXth century was supporting a few important colonies in Africa, the most extensive of which was that of the Africa of the Southwest (current Namibia). With scarce inhabitants, so much local like colonists, the above mentioned colony had scarce commercial and economic weight. A riot of the ethnic group Herero, which at first could look alike to many others had in Africa, degenerated into an authentic genocide recognized later by the proper Germans. After defeating in a military way the rebellion (although with big efforts and means) the German authorities decided to continue the harassment to the people Herero, expelling his members of his grounds and taking a politics of extermination, good prohibiting them the access to the water and the food, when without shooting them straight. The military campaign against the Hereros was not much harder than that of the Englishmen against Zulu or against mahdistas, but once finished these, it was a question of supporting a coexistence politics, although it was forced, and not of entire elimination.

The German, brief colonial history compared to that of other European countries, it has his black spot with this campaign that, regrettably, would not be but the antechamber of those who the XXth century, newborn baby of that time, would provide the humanity. HM

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