Page images
PDF
EPUB

of this period-who dealt the Hegelian metaphysics its death- | indicated, characteristic of the realistic movement in Germany; blow as far as its wider influence was concerned-was Friedrich the idealistic trend of the German mind proved itself ill-adapted Nietzsche (1844-1900). Nietzsche had begun as a disciple of to the uncompromising realism of the French school, and the Schopenhauer and a friend of Wagner, and he ultimately became German realists, whether in fiction or in drama, ultimately the champion of an individualistic and optimistic philosophy sought to escape from the logical consequences of their theories. which formed the sharpest possible contrast to mid-century Even Sudermann, whose Frau Sorge (1887), Der Katzensleg pessimism. The individual, not the race, the Herrenmensch, (1889), and the brilliant, if somewhat sensational romance, not the slave, self-assertion, not self-denying renunciation- Es war (1894), are among the best novels of this period, has these are some of the ideas round which this new optimistic never been a consistent realist. It is consequently not surprising ethics turns. Nietzsche looked forward to the human race to find that, before long, German fiction returned to psychological emerging from an effete culture, burdened and clogged by tradi- and emotional problems, to the poetical or symbolical presentation, and re-establishing itself on a basis that is in harmony tion of life, which was more in harmony with the German temperawith man's primitive instincts. Like Schopenhauer before him, ment than was the robuster realism of Flaubert or Zola. This Nietzsche was a stylist of the first rank, and his literary master- trend is noticeable in the work of Gustav Frenssen (b. 1863), piece, Also sprach Zarathustra (1883-1891), is to be regarded as whose novel Jörn Uhl (1901) was extraordinarily popular; the most important imaginative work of its epoch. it is also to be seen in the studies of child life and educational problems which have proved so attractive to the younger writers of the present day, such as Hermann Hesse (b. 1877), Emil Strauss (b. 1866), Rudolf Huch (b. 1862) and Friedrich Huch (b. 1873). One might say, indeed, that at the beginning of the 20th century the traditional form of German fiction, the Bildungsroman, had come into its ancient rights again. Mention ought also to be made of J. J. David (1859-1907), E. von Keyserling (b. 1858), W. Hegeler (b. 1870), G. von Ompteda (b. 1863), J. Wassermann (b. 1873), Heinrich Mann (b. 1871) and Thomas Mann (b. 1875). Buddenbrooks (1902) by the last mentioned is one of the outstanding novels of the period. Some of the best fiction of the most recent period is the work of women, the most distinguished being Helene Böhlau (b. 1859), Gabriele Reuter (b. 1859), Clara Viebig (C. Cohn-Viebig, b. 1860) and Ricarda Huch (b. 1864). Whether the latest movement in German poetry and fiction, which, under the catchword Heimatkunst, has favoured the province rather than the city, the dialect in preference to the language of the educated classes, will prove a permanent gain, it is still too soon to say, but the movement is at least a protest against the decadent tendencies of naturalism.

Nietzschean individualism was only one of many factors which contributed to the new literary development. The realistic movement, as it had manifested itself in France under Flaubert, the Goncourts, Zola and Maupassant, in Russia under Dostoievsky and Tolstoi, and in Norway under Ibsen and Björnson, was, for a time, the dominant force in Germany, and the younger generation of critics hailed it with undisguised satisfaction; most characteristic and significant of all, the centre of this revival was Berlin, which, since it had become the imperial capital, was rapidly establishing its claim to be also the literary metropolis. It was the best testimony to the vitality of the movement that it rarely descended to slavish imitation of the realistic masterpieces of other literatures; realism in Germany was, in fact, only an episode of the 'eighties, a stimulating influence rather than an accepted principle or dogma. And its suggestive character is to be seen not merely in the writings of the young Stürmer und Dränger of this time, but also in those of the older generation who, in temperament, were naturally more inclined to the ideals of a past age.

Of the novelists of the latter class, A. Wilbrandt, who has already been mentioned as a dramatist, has shown, since about 1890, a remarkable power of adapting himself, if not to the style and artistic methods of the younger school, at least to the ideas by which it was agitated; F. Spielhagen's attitude towards the realistic movement has been invariably sympathetic, while a still older writer, Theodor Fontane (1819-1898), wrote between 1880 and 1898 a series of works in which the finer elements of French realism were grafted on the German novel. To the older school belong Wilhelm Jensen (b. 1837), and that fine humorist, Wilhelm Raabe (b. 1831), with whom may be associated as other humorists of this period, H Seidel (1842-1906) and W. Busch (1832-1908). Some of the most interesting examples of recent German fiction come, however, from Austria and Switzerland. The two most eminent Austrian authors, Marie von EbnerEschenbach (b. 1830), and Ferdinand von Saar (1833-1906), both excel as writers of Novellen or short stories-the latter especially being an exponent of that pessimism which is Austria's peculiar heritage from the previous generation of her poets. Austrians too, are Peter Rosegger (b. 1843), who has won popularity with his novels of peasant life, K. E. Franzos (18481904) and L. von Sacher-Masoch (1835-1895). German prose fiction is, in Switzerland, represented by two writers of the first rank: one of these, Gottfried Keller, has already been mentioned; the other, Konrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825-1898), turned to literature or, at least, made his reputation, comparatively late in life. Although, like Keller, a writer of virile, original verse, Meyer is best known as a novelist; he, too, was a master of the short story. His themes are drawn by preference from the epoch of the Renaissance, and his method is characterized by an objectivity of standpoint and a purity of style exceptional in German writers.

[ocr errors]

At no period of German letters were literature and the theatre in closer touch than at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries; more than at any previous time has the theatre become the arena in which the literary battles of the day are fought out. The general improvement in the artistic, technical and economic conditions of the German stage have already been indicated; but it was not until 1889 that the effects of these improvements became apparent in dramatic literature. Before that date, it is true, Ernst von Wildenbruch (1845-1909) had attempted to revive the historical tragedy, but the purely literary qualities of his work were handicapped by a too effusive patriotism and a Schillerian pathos; nor did the talent of Richard Voss (b. 1851) prove strong enough to effect any lasting reform. In October 1889, however, Gerhart Hauptmann's play, Vor Sonnenaufgang, was produced on the then recently founded Freie Bühne in Berlin; and a month later, Die Ehre by Hermann Sudermann met with a more enthusiastic reception in Berlin than had fallen to the lot of any German play for more than a generation.

Hauptmann (b. 1862), the most original of contemporary German writers, stands, more or less, alone. His early plays, the most powerful of which is Die Weber (1892), were written under the influence either of an uncompromising realism, or of that modified form of realism introduced from Scandinavia; but in Hanneles Himmelfahrt (1893) he combined realism with the poetic mysticism of a child's dream, in Florian Geyer (1895) he adapted the methods of realism to an historical subject, and in the year 1896 he, to all appearance, abandoned realism to write an allegorical dramatic poem, Die versunkene Glocke. Hauptmann's subsequent work has oscillated between the extremes marked out by these works-from the frank naturalism of Fuhrmann Henschel (1898) and Rose Berndt (1903), to the fantastic mysticism of Der arme Heinrich (1902) and Und Pippa

The realistic novels of the period were written by H. Conradi (1862-1890), Max Kretzer (b. 1854), M. G. Conrad (b. 1846), H. Heiberg (b. 1840), K. Bleibtreu (b. 1859), K. Alberti (pseudonym for Konrad Sittenfeld, b. 1862) and Hermann Sudermann | tanzt! (1906). (b. 1857). A want of stability was, however, as has been already

The dramatic talent of Hermann Sudermann has developed

on more even lines; the success of Die Ehre was due in the first | 1884); G. G. Gervinus, Geschichte der poetischen Nationalliteratur instance to the ability which Sudermann had shown in adapting the ideas of his time and the new methods of dramatic presentation to the traditional German bürgerliches Drama. This is the characteristic of the majority of the many plays which followed of which Heimat (1893), Das Glück im Winkel (1896) and Es lebe das Leben! (1902) may be mentioned as typical. With less success Sudermann attempted in Johannes (1898) a tragedy on lines suggested by Hebbel. A keen observer, a writer of brilliant and suggestive ideas, Sudermann is, above all, the practical playwright; but it is unfortunate that the theatrical element in his work too often overshadows its literary qualities.

der Deutschen (5 vols., 1835-1842; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 18711874); A. F. C. Vilmar, Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1848; 25th ed., 2 vols., 1900, with a continuation by A. Stern); W. Wackernagel, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1851-1855: 2nd ed. by E. Martin, 1879-1894); K. Goedeke, Grundriss sur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung (3 vols., 1857-1881; 2nd ed. by E. Goetze and others, in 9 vols., 1884 ff.); W. Menzel, Deutsche Dichtung von der allesten bis auf die neueste Zeit (1858-1859): H. Kurz, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur mit ausgewahlten Stücken (3 vols., 1857-1859; 7th ed., 4 vols., 1876-1882); O. Roquette, W. Scherer, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1883; 10th ed., 1905). Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung (2 vols., 1862; 3rd ed., 1878-1879); English translation by Mrs F. C. Conybeare (2 vols., 1885; new ed.,

1906); Kuno Francke, German Literature as determined by Social Forces (1896; 6th ed., 1903); F. Vogt and M. Koch, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1897; 2nd ed., 2 vols., 1903): J. G. Robertson, deutschen Literatur (2 vols., 1901-1902), with the accompanying History of German Literature (1902); A. Bartels, Geschichte der bibliographical summary, Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1906). There are also histories of the literature of separate countries and districts, such as J. Bächtold, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur in der Schweiz (1887); R. Krauss, Schwabische Literaturgeschichte (2 vols., 1897-1899); J. W. Nagl and J. Zeidler, Deutschösterreichische Literaturgeschichte (2 vols., 1899 ff.). The most comprehensive collection of German literature in selections is J. Kürschner, Deutsche Nationalliteratur (222 vols., 1882-1898). Deutsches Lesebuch (4 vols., 1835-1872; new ed., 1882 ff.), and Of general anthologies mention may be made of W. Wackernagel, F. Max Muller, The German Classics from the Fourth to the Nineteenth 1906). For illustrations to the history of German literature, see G. Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1887; 2nd ed., 1895).

Since 1889, the drama has occupied the foreground of interest in Germany. The permanent repertory of the German theatre has not, it is true, been much enriched, but it is at least to the credit of contemporary German playwrights that they are unwilling to rest content with their successes and are constantly experimenting with new forms. Besides Hauptmann and Sudermann, the most talented dramatists of the day are Max Halbe (b. 1865), O. E. Hartleben (1864-1905), G. Hirschfeld (b. 1873), E. Rosmer (pseudonym for Elsa Bernstein, b. 1866), Ludwig Fulda (b. 1862), Max Dreyer (b. 1862), Otto Ernst (pseudonym for O. E. Schmidt, b. 1862) and Frank Wedekind (b. 1864). In Austria, notwithstanding the preponderant influence of Berlin, the drama has retained its national character-Century (1858; ed. by F. Lichtenstein, 2 vols., 1886; new ed., istics, and writers like Arthur Schnitzler (b. 1862), Hermann Bahr (b. 1863), Hugo von Hofmannsthal (b. 1874) and R. Beer-Hofmann (b. 1866) have introduced symbolistic elements and peculiarly Austrian problems, which are foreign to the theatre of north Germany.

The German lyric of recent years shows a remarkable variety of new tones and pregnant poetic ideas; it has, as is natural, been more influenced by the optimism of Nietzsche-himself a lyric poet of considerable gifts-than has either novel or drama. Detlev von Liliencron (1844-1909) was one of the first to break with the traditions of the lyric as handed down from the Romantic epoch and cultivated with such facility by the Munich poets. An anthology of specifically modern lyrics, Moderne Dichtercharaktere (1885) by W. Arent (b. 1864), may be regarded as the manifesto of the movement in lyric poetry corresponding to the period of realism in fiction and the drama. Representative poets of this movement are Richard Dehnel (b. 1863), K. Henckell (b. 1864), J. H. Mackay (b. 1864 at Greenock), G. Falke (b. 1853), F. Avenarius (b. 1856), F. Evers (b. 1871), F. Dormann (b. 1870) and K. Busse (b. 1872). A later development of the lyric-a return to mysticism and symbolism-is to be seen in the poetry of Hofmannsthal, already mentioned as a dramatist, and especially in Stefan George (b. 1868). Epic poetry, although little in harmony with the spirit of a realistic age, has not been altogether neglected. Heinrich Hart (18551906), one of the leading critics of the most advanced school, is also the author of an ambitious Lied der Menschheit (vols. 1-3, 1888-1896); more conservative, on the other hand, is Robespierre (1894), an epic in the style of Hamerling by an Austrian, Marie delle Grazie (b. 1864). Attention may also be drawn to the popularity which, for a few years, the so-called Überbrettl or cabaret enjoyed, a popularity which has left its mark on the latest developments of the lyric. Associated with this movement are O. J. Bierbaum (1865-1910), whose lyrics, collected in Der Irrgarten der Liebe (1901), have been extraordinarily popular, E. von Wolzogen (b. 1855) and the dramatist F. Wedekind, who has been already mentioned.

Whether or not the work that has been produced in such rich measure since the year 1889-or however much of it-is to be regarded as a permanent addition to the storehouse of German national literature, there can be no question of the serious artistic earnestness of the writers; the conditions for the production of literature in the German empire in the early years of the 20th century were eminently healthy, and herein lies the best promise for the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. (a) General Histories, Anthologies, &c.: A. Koberstein, Grundriss der Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1827; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 5 vols., 1872-1874; 6th ed., vol. i.,

numerous

(b) Special Periods: i. Old High German and Middle High German Periods: R. Kögel and W. Bruckner, "Geschichte der althochdeutschen Literatur," and F. Vogt, "Geschichte der mittelPhilologie (2nd ed., vol. ii. pt. i., 1901); F. Khull, Geschichte der hochdeutschen Literatur," in H. Paul's Grundriss der germanischen altdeutschen Dichtung (1886); J. Kelle, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur, i-ii. (1892-1896); R. Kögel, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters, i. (1894-1897); W. Golther, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von den ersten Anfängen literatur, vol. 163, pt. i., 1892); W. Scherer, Geschichte der deutschen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters (in Kürschner's Deutsche NationalDichtung im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert, and by the same author, Geistliche Poeten der deutschen Kaiserzeit (both works in Quellen und Forschungen, 1874-1875); O. Lyon, Minne- und Meistersang (1882). There are texts: K. Müllenhoff and W. Scherer, Denkmaler deutscher Poesie series of editions of medieval und Prosa aus den 8.-12. Jahrhundert (2 vols., 3rd ed., 1892): M. Heyne, Bibliothek der altesten deutschen Literaturdenkmaler (14 vols., begun 1858); F. Pfeiffer, Deutsche Klassiker des Mittel alters (12 vols., begun 1865), with the supplementary Deutsche Dichtungen des Mittelalters, edited by K. Bartsch (7 vols., 1872 ff.); K. Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter (2nd ed., 1871); 1. Zacher, Germanistische Handbibliothek (9 vols., begun 1869); H. Paul, Altdeutsche Textbibliothek (16 vols., begun 1882); Deutsche Texte des editions of the Minnesang are K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, Des Mittelalters, ed. by the Berlin Academy (1904 ff.). Convenient Minnesangs Frühling (4th ed. by F. Vogt, 1888), and K. Bartsch, Deutsche Liederdichter des 12. bis 14. Jahrh. (4th ed. by W. Golther, 1903)..

ii. From 1350-1700.-L. Geiger, Renaissance und Humanismus in Italien und Deutschland (1882; 2nd ed. 1899); K. Borinski, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters (in Kürschner's Deutsche Nationalliteratur, vol. 163. ii., 1898): H. Palm, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (1877); C. H. Herford, Studies in the Literary Relations of England and Germany in the Sixteenth Century (1886); C. Lemcke, Von Opitz bis Klopstock, i. (1871; 2nd ed. 1882); M. von Waldberg, Deutsche Renaissance-Lyrik (1888), and Die galante Lyrik (1885); F. Bobertag, Geschichte des Romans in Renaissance und die Anfange der literarischen Kritik in Deutschland Deutschland, i. (to 1700) (1877-1884); K. Borinski, Die Poetik der (1886). A vast quantity of the literature of these centuries has been republished by the Stuttgarter literarischer Verein (founded in 1839), whose publications now number considerably over two hundred volumes; further, W. Braune, Neudrucke deutscher Literaturwerke des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (begun 1882); K. Goedeke and J. Tittmann, Deutsche Dichter des 16. Jahrhunderts (18 vols.. 1867 ff.), and Deutsche Dichter des 17. Jahrhunderts (15 vols., 1869 ff.). A valuable anthology is K. Goedeke's Elf Bücher deutscher Dichtung von Sebastian Brant bis auf die Gegenwart (2 vols., 1849). Since 1890 the Jahresberichte für neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte have provided an exhaustive survey of all publications dealing with modern German literature. A useful practical bibliography for English readers, covering this and the succeeding periods, is J. S. Nollen, A Chronology and Practical Bibliography of Modern German Literature (1903).

iii. The Eighteenth Century.-J. Schmidt, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von Leibniz bis auf unsere Zeit (4 vols., 1862-1867; 2nd ed. 1886-1890); J. Hillebrand, Die deutsche Nationalliteratur im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert (3 vols., 1845-1846; 3rd ed. 1875); H. Hettner, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur im 18. Jahrhundert (4 vols., 1862-1870; 4th ed. by O. Harnack, 1893-1895); J. W. Schäfer, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts (1855-1860; 2nd ed. by F. Muncker, 1881); J. K. Mörikofer, Die schweizerische Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts (1861); J. W. Löbell, Entwickelung der deutschen Poesie von Klopstock bis zu Goethes Tod (3 vols., 1856-1865). There are also innumerable more special treatises, such as A. Eloesser, Das bürgerliche Drama (1898); 8. Brahm, Das deutsche Rillerdrama des 18. Jahrhunderts (1880), &c. Of collections of the literature of this and the following century, reference need only be made to the Bibliothek der deutschen Nationalliteratur des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, published by Brockhaus (44 vols., 1868-1891), and Deutsche Literaturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, edited first by B. Seuffert (1882-1894), and subsequently by A. Sauer. iv. The Nineteenth Century. Th. Ziegler, Die geistigen und sozialen Strömungen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts (1899; 2nd ed. 1901); R. von Gottschall, Die deutsche Nationalliteratur des 19. Jahrhunderts (1854: 7th ed., 4 vols., 1900-1902); R. M. Meyer, Die deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts (1899; 4th ed. 1910); R. M. Meyer, Grundriss der neueren deutschen Literaturgeschichte (1902); C. Busse, Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung im neunzehnten Jahrhundert (1901); R. Haym, Die romantische Schule (1870; 2nd ed. 1906); G. Brandes," Den romantiske Skole i Tyskland" (1873), and "Det unge Tyskland" (1890), in Hovedströmninger i det 19de Aarhundredes Litteratur, vols. ii. and vi. (German translations, 1887 and 1891; several subsequent editions, Danish and German; English translations, ii. 1903, and vi. 1905); R. Huch, Die Blütezeit der Romantik (2nd ed. 1901), and Ausbreitung und Verfall der Romantik (1902); F. Wehl, Das junge Deutschland (1886); J. Proelss, Das junge Deutschland (1892); A. Bartels, Die deutsche Dichtung der Gegenwart (7th ed., 1907); A. von Hanstein, Das jüngste Deutschland (2nd ed., 1901); J. F. Coar, Studies in German Literature in the Nineteenth Century (1903); Ch. Petzet, Die Blütezeit der deutschen politischen Lyrik (1903); H. Mielke, Der deutsche Roman des 19. Jahrhunderts (4th ed., 1900); S. Friedmann, Das deutsche Drama des 19. Jahrhunderts (2 vols., 1900-1903); B. Litzmann, Das deutsche Drama in den literarischen Bewegungen der Gegenwart (4th ed., 1898). U. G. R.)

GERMAN REED ENTERTAINMENT. The dramatic and musical entertainment which for many years was known in London by the title of " German Reed" was a form of theatrical enterprise deserving of commemoration in connexion with those who made it successful. Mr THOMAS GERMAN REED (born in Bristol in 1817, died 1888) married in 1844 Miss PRISCILLA HORTON (1818-1895), and in 1855 they started their entertainment at the "Gallery of Illustration," in Waterloo Place, London. From 1860 to 1877 they were assisted by JOHN ORLANDO PARRY (1810-1879), an accomplished pianoforte player, mimic, parodist and humorous singer; and the latter created a new type of musical and dramatic monologue which became very popular. His tradition was carried on after 1870 by Mr CORNEY GRAIN (1844-1895), who, as a clever, refined, and yet highly humorous society entertainer (originally a barrister), was one of the bestknown figures of his day. After the retirement of the elder German Reeds, their son, ALFRED GERMAN REED (1846-1895), himself a capital actor, carried on the business in partnership with Corney Grain. The "German Reed Entertainment "which was always patronized by a large class of people, many of whom objected on principle to going or taking their children to a regular theatre or a music-hall--retained its vogue for forty years at Waterloo Place and at the St George's Hall, Regent Street. But the death of Mr Corney Grain almost simultaneously with Mr Alfred German Reed, in 1895, together with the changed public attitude towards the regular theatre, ended its career.

GERMAN SILVER or NICKEL SILVER, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, prepared either by melting the copper and nickel together in a crucible, and adding piece by piece the previously heated zinc, or by heating the finely divided metals under a layer of charcoal. To destroy its crystalline structure and so render it fit for working, it is heated to dull redness, and then allowed to cool. German silver is harder than silver; it resembles that metal in colour, but is of a greyer tinge. Exposed to the air it tarnishes slightly yellow, and with vinegar affords a crust of verdigris. At a bright red heat it melts, losing its zinc by oxida

tion unless protected from the atmosphere. At a heat above dull redness it becomes exceedingly brittle. German silver in various modifications of composition is much used in the arts. Alloys, of which about 50% is copper and the residue zinc and nickel in about equal proportions take a fine polish, and are used as imitation silver for knives and forks. With a somewhat higher proportion of copper an alloy is formed suitable for rolling and for wire. In Chinese white silver or packfong (paktong) the nickel, 25 of zinc, and 2 or 3 of iron. German silver for casting amount of copper is smaller, about 40%, with about 32% of contains 2 or 3% of lead, which like iron increases the whiteness of the alloy. German silver, having a high specific resistance and a low temperature coefficient, has been used for electrical resistance coils, and these qualities are possessed in a still greater degree in manganin, which contains manganese in place of zinc, its composition being 84% of copper, 12 of manganese and 4 of nickel. The addition of a trace of tungsten to German silver, as in platinoid, also largely increases the resistance.

GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. This German possession is bounded W. by the Atlantic, N. by Angola, S. by the Cape province, E. by Bechuanaland and Rhodesia, and is the only has an area of about 322,450 sq. m., and a population of Bantu German dependency in Africa suited to white colonization. It Negroes and Hottentots estimated in 1903 at 200,000. European inhabitants, in addition to the military, numbered 7110 in 1907, of whom the majority were German.

The

Area and Boundaries.-The boundary separating the German protectorate from the Portuguese possessions of Angola is the lower Kunene, from its mouth in 17° 18' S., 11° 40' E. to the limit of navigability from the sea, thence in a direct line, corresponding roughly to the lat. of 17° 20′ S., to the river Okavango, which it follows eastwards until the stream turns abruptly south (towards Lake Ngami) From this point a strip of German territory 300 m. long and about 50 m. broad, projects eastward until it reaches the Zambezi a little above the Victoria Falls. On the south this narrow strip of land (known as the Caprivi enclave) is separated from southern Rhodesia by the Kwando or Chobe river. frontier between British and German territory is in its northern half On the east the the 21st degree of E. longitude, in its southern half the 20th degree. This frontier is drawn through desert country. The southern frontier is the Orange river from its mouth to the 20° E. The coast-line between the Kunene and Orange rivers is not wholly German. Just north of the tropic of Capricorn is the British enclave of Walfish Bay (q.v.). The northern part of the protectorate is known as Ovampoland, the central portion as Damara (or Herero) land; the southern regions as Great Namaqualand. These names are derived from those of the dominant native races inhabiting the country.

Physical Features.-The coast-line is generally low and little broken by bays or promontories. In its entire length of about 800 m. it has no good natural harbour, and its bays-Angra Pequena, otherwise Lüderitz Bay, Sierra Bay, Sandwich Harbour-are in danger of being filled with sand by the strong, cold, northerly coast current. Swakopmund is an artificial harbour at the mouth of the river Swakop. The small islands which stud the coast north and south of Angra Pequena belong to Great Britain. The coast-line is bordered by a belt of sand-dunes and desert, which, about 35 m. flanked by a mountain range, which attains its highest elevation in wide in the south, narrows towards the north. This coast belt is Mount Omatako (8972 ft.), in about 21° 15' S., 16° 40′ E. N.E. of Omatako is the Omboroko range, otherwise known as the Waterberg. South of Omboroko, occupying the centre of the country, the range highest points may be distinguished: Gans (7664 ft.), Nu-uibeb attains its highest average altitude. The following massifs with their (7480 ft.), Onyati (7201 ft.), Awas (6988 ft.), Komas (5331 ft.) and Ganab (4002 ft.). In the S.E. are the Karas mountains, which attain an elevation of 6570 ft. The mountains for the main part form the from the interior towards the west, slopes again towards the south escarpment of the great Kalahari plateau, which, gently rising and north from the point of its highest elevation. plateau changes the undulating character it has in the west to a perfect plain in the far east, where the watered and habitable half of the country the central plateau contains much rich grass-land, country merges into the sterile Kalahari desert. In the northern while in the north-eastern region the Omaheke desert has all the characteristics of the Kalahari.

The Kalahari

There are no rivers of importance wholly within German Southsouthern bank in the colony, and similarly only part of the northern West Africa. The Kunene (q.v.) has but a small portion of the

decreased. The number of adult (native) males in the colony at the As the result of wars with the natives, the population greatly beginning of 1968 was officially estimated at 19.900, a figure indicating a total population of little more than 100,000,

The most

Bondelzwarts. The Bushmen are found scattered over the
eastern parts of the country (see HOTTENTOTS and BUSHMEN).
The second class consists of the mountain Damara (Hau-Khoin),
a race of doubtful affinities, probably of Bantu-Negro origin,
but speaking the Hottentot language. The third class belongs
to the Bantu-Negro stock, and came from the north-east, ex-
pelling and enslaving the mountain Damara, and settling in
various parts of the country under different names.
prominent are the Herero, thorough nomads and cattle-breeders;
while the Ovampo (Ovambo or Ambo), in the northern part of
the protectorate, are agriculturists. The Herero (q.v.) are also
known by the Hottentot name Damara, and by this name their
country is generally called. The Bastaards, who live in Namaqua-
land, are a small tribe originating from a mingling of Cape Boers
with Hottentots. They are Christians, and able to read and
write. The other natives are spirit-worshippers, save for the
comparatively few converts of the Protestant missions established
in the country. Of white races represented the chief are Germans
and Boers. In the S.E Boer settlers form the bulk of the white
population. There are also numbers of British colonists in this
region-emigrants from the Cape. The immigration of Germans
is encouraged by subsidies and in other ways.

bank of the Orange river (q.v.) is in German territory. Several | existing types of that race, are divided into numerous tribes, streains run south into the Orange; of those the chief is the Great independent of one another, such as the Witbois, Swartzbois, Fish river, which has a course of nearly 500 m. Both the Kunene and the Orange carry water all the year round, but are not navigable. Neither is the Great Fish river, which, however, is rarely dry. The Okavango, which comes from the north and runs towards Ngami (q.v.), is perennial, but like the Kunene and Orange, belongs only partly to the hydrographic system of the country. From the inner slopes of the coast chain many streams go N.E. to join the Okavango. They cross the Omaheke waste and are usually dry. Ovampoland has a hydrographic system connected with the Kunene, and, in seasons of great flood, with that of Ngami. Before the Kunene breaks through the outer edge of the plateau, it sends divergent channels south-east to a large marsh or lake called Etosha, which is cut by 17° E. and 19° S. Of these channels the Kwamatuo or Okipoko, which is perennial, enters Etosha at its N.W. corner. The lake when full extends about 80 m. W. to E. and 50 m. N. to S. From its S.E. corner issues the Omuramba, which divides into two branches, known respectively as the Omaheke and the Ovampo. These streams have an easterly direction, their beds, often dry, joining the Okavango. The other rivers of the protectorate have as a rule plenty of water in their upper courses in the rainy season, though some river beds are dry for years together. After a heavy thunderstorm such a river bed will be suddenly filled with a turbid current half a mile wide. The water is, however, before long absorbed by the thirsty land. Only in exceptionally rainy years do the streams which cross the sand belt carry water to the ocean. But in the sand which fills the river beds water may be obtained by digging. Of rivers running direct to the Atlantic the Little Fish river enters the sea at Angra Pequena and the Kuisip in Walfish Bay. The Swakop rises in the hills near the Waterberg, and north of it is the Omaruru, which carries water for the greater part of the year. Hot springs are numerous, and it is remarkable that those of Windhock flow more copiously during the dry than the rainy season. There are also many cold springs, and wells which contain water all the year. Geology. Gneiss and schist, with intrusive granites and porphyries, overlain to a great extent by sand and lateritic deposits, occupy the coast belt, coast mountains and the plateau of Damaraland. In the Huib and Han-ami plateaus of Great Namaqualand the crystalline rocks are overlain by sandstones, slates, quartzites and jasper rocks, and these in turn by dolomites. They are probably equivalent to the Transvaal and Pretoria series (see TRANSVAAL: Geology). The next oldest rocks are of recent geological date. The Kalahari Kalk, which extends over large areas to the south-east of Ovampoland, may be of Miocene age, but it has not yielded fossils. Extensive tracts of alluvium occur in the basin of the Ovampo, while the dunes and sand-tracts of the Kalahari occupy the eastern regions.

Climate. On the coast the mean temperature is low, and there is little rainfall. Moisture is supplied by dense fogs, which rise almost daily. South-west winds prevail. Inland the climate is temperate rather than tropical, with bracing, clear atmosphere. There are considerable differences of temperature between day and night, and two well-marked seasons, one cold and dry from May to September, the other hot and rainy from October to April. In winter ice frequently forms during the night on open water on the plateau, but it never remains all day. The yearly rainfall is about 20 in. south, and in the east than in the west. In the greater part of the colony the climate is favourable for European settlement. Flora and Fauna. The vegetation corresponds exactly with the climate. In the dry littoral region are plants able to exist with the minimum of moisture they derive from the daily fog-Amarantaceae; Sarcocaula, Aloe dichotoma, Aristida subacaulis and the wonderful Welwitschia. Farther inland are plants which spring up and disappear with the rain, and others whose roots reach permanent The former are chiefly grasses, the latter exist almost solely in or near river-beds. Amongst the fine trees often seen here, the ana tree (Acacia albida) is the most noteworthy, its seeds being favourite fodder for all domestic animals. Acacia giraffae, Ac. horrida, Adansonia sterculia, near the Kunene the Hyphaene ventricosa, deserve special notice. The vegetation in the mountain valleys is luxuriant, and towards the north is of a tropical character. palm zone extends a considerable distance south of the Kunene, and here vegetation spreads over the sand-dunes of the coast plain, which are covered with grasses.

in the Damara Hills; there is more rain in the north than in the

water.

The

[blocks in formation]

Towns. The chief port is Swakopmund, built on the northern bank of the Swakop river (the southern bank belonging to the British territory of Walfish Bay). The harbour is partially protected by a breakwater. There are also settlements at Luderitz Bay (white pop. 1909, over 1000) and at Sandwich Harbour. Swakopmund is connected by a narrow gauge railway with Windhoek, the administrative capital of the colony, situated in a hilly district 180 m. due east of the port, but 237 m. by the railway. Karibib is the only place of consequence on the line. Otyimbingue is a government station 70 m. W.N.W. of Windhoek, and Tsumeb a mining centre 240 m. N.N.E. of the same place. Olukonda is a government post Orange river, is the town of Warmbad. Keetmanshoop, 100 m. N. in Ovampoland. In the S.E. corner of the colony, 30 m. N. of the of Warmbad and 180 m. E. of Luderitz Bay, is the centre of a small mining industry. Gibeon is a government station and missionary settlement about midway between Keetmanshoop and Windhoek. Besides these places there are numbers of small native towns at which live a few white traders and missionaries. The missionaries and Beersheba in Namaqualand, and Rehoboth in Damaraland. have given Biblical names to several of their stations, such as Bethany In the Caprivi enclave are a German residency and the site of the Barotseland (see BAROTSE).. town of Linyante, once the capital of the Makololo dynasty of

Industries.-Agriculture is followed by the natives in the northern districts, but the chief industry is stock-raising. The scarcity of water in the southern parts is not favourable for agricultural pursuits, while the good grazing lands offer splendid pasturage for cattle, which the Herero raise in numbers amounting to many hundred thousands. Sheep and goats thrive well. Horses have been imported from the Cape. Unfortunately the climate does not suit Cattle and sheep also suffer from the diseases which are common them everywhere, and they are subject to a virulent distemper. in the Cape Colony. Camels have been imported, and are doing well. Wheat, maize and sorghum are the chief crops raised, though coast the natives collect the kernels of the nara, a wild-growing not enough is grown to meet even local requirements. Near the pumpkin which, in the words of an early traveller, C. J. Andersson, are eaten by oxen, mice, men, ostriches and lions." About half wheat, tobacco, fruit and vegetables. Cotton cultivation and vitithe European settlers are engaged in agriculture. They raise maize, culture are carried on in some districts.

chief copper deposits are at Tsumeb, which is 4230 ft. above the sea, Minerals, especially copper, are plentiful in the country. The in the Otavi district. Diamonds are found on and near the surface of the soil in the Lüderitz Bay district, and diamonds have also been and the Hottentot women are clever in making fur cloths. In the found in the neighbourhood of Gibeon. A little pottery is made, north the Ovampo do a little smith-work and grass-plaiting. The external trade of the country was of slow growth. The exports, previous to the opening up of the Otavi mines, consisted chiefly of live stock-sent mainly to Cape Colony-guano, ivory, horns, hides and ostrich feathers. The chief imports are food stuffs, textiles and metals, and hardware. In 1903 the value of the exports was £168,560, that of the imports £388,210. The war which followed (see below, History) led to a great shrinking of exports, rendering the figures for the period 1904-1907 useless for purposes of comparison. About 85 % of the imports are from Germany.

Communications.-The economic development of the country is largely dependent on transport facilities. The railway from

Swakopmund to Windhoek, mentioned above, was begun in 1897, and
was opened for traffic in July 1902. It cost nearly £700,000 to build.
Another narrow gauge railway, to serve the Otavi copper mines,
was begun in 1904 and completed in 1908. It starts from Swakop
mund and is 400 m. long, the terminus being at Grootfontein, 40 m.
S.E. of Tsumeb. The highest point on this line is 5213 ft. above the
sea. In 1906-1908 a railway, 180 m. long, was built from Lüderitz
Bay to Keetmanshoop. This line is of the standard South African
gauge (3 ft. 6 in.), that gauge being adopted in view of the eventual
linking up of the line with the British railway systems at Kimberley.
A branch from Seeheim on the Keetmanshoop line runs S.E. to
Kalkfontein.
Besides railways, roads have been made between the chief centres
of population. Along these, in the desert districts, wells have been
dug. Across the Awas Mountains, separating Windhoek from the
central plateau, a wide road has been cut. In 1903 the colony was
placed in telegraphic communication with Europe and Cape Colony
by the laying of submarine cables having their terminus at Swakop-
mund. There is a fairly complete inland telegraphic service.

There is regular steamship communication between Hamburg
and Swakopmund, Walfish Bay and Lüderitz Bay. Regular com-
munication is also maintained between Cape Town and the ports
of the colony.
Administration. At the head of the administration is an imperial
governor, responsible to the colonial office in Berlin, who is assisted
by a council consisting of chiefs of departments. The country is
divided into various administrative districts. In each of these there
is a Bezirksamtmann, with his staff of officials and police force. In
each district is a law court, to whose jurisdiction not alone the whites,
but also the Bastaards are subject. As in all German colonies,
there is a court of appeal at the residence of the governor. The
government maintains schools at the chief towns, but education is
principally in the hands of missionaries. The armed force consists
of regular troops from Germany and a militia formed of Bastaards.
The local revenue for some years before 1903 was about £130,000
per annum, the expenditure about £400,000, the difference between
local receipts and expenditure being made good by imperial subsidies.
In 1908 local revenue had risen to £250,000, but the imperial authori-
ties incurred an expenditure of over £2,000,000, largely for military
purposes. On articles of export, such as feathers and hides, 5% ad
valorem duty has to be paid; on cattle and horses an export tax per
head. There is a 10%, ad valorem duty on all imports, no difference
being made between German and foreign goods. The sale of
spirituous liquors is subject to a licence.

History. The coast of south-west Africa was discovered by Bartholomew Diaz in 1487, whilst endeavouring to find his way to the Indies. He anchored in a bay which by reason of its smallness he named Angra Pequena. Portugal, however, took no steps to acquire possession of this inhospitable region, which remained almost unvisited by Europeans until the early years of the 19th century. At this time the country was devastated by a Hottentot chief known as Afrikander, who had fled thither with a band of outlaws after murdering his master, a Boer farmer by whom he had been ill-treated, in 1796. In 1805 some missionaries (of German nationality) went into Namaqualand in the service of the London Missionary Society, which society subsequently transferred its missions in this region to the Rhenish mission, which had had agents in the country since about 1840. The chief station of the missionaries was at a Hottentot settlement renamed Bethany (1820), a place 125 m. E. by Angra Pequena. The missionaries had the satisfaction of stopping Afrikander's career of bloodshed. He became a convert, a great friend of the mission, and took the name of Christian. The proximity of Great Namaqualand to Cape Colony led to visits from British and Dutch farmers and hunters, a few of whom settled in the country, which thus became in some sense a dependency of the Cape.

was refused. In 1876, however, a special commissioner (W.

Coates Palgrave) was sent by the Cape government “to the tribes north of the Orange river." The commissioner concluded treaties with the Namaqua and Damara which fixed the limits of the territories of the two races and placed the whole country now forming German South-West Africa within the sphere of British influence. In the central part of Damaraland an area of some 35,000 sq. m. was marked out as a British reservation. The instrument by which this arrangement was made was known as the treaty of Okahandya. Neither it nor the treaty relating to Great Namaqualand was ratified by the British government, but at the request of Sir Bartle Frere, then high commissioner for South Africa, Walfish Bay (the best harbour along the coast) was in 1878 annexed to Great Britain.

German

rule

estab=

listed.

In 1880 fighting between the Namaqua, who were led by Jan Afrikander, son of Jonker and grandson of Christian Afrikander, and the Damara broke out afresh, and was not ended until the establishment of European rule. In 1883 F. A. E. Lüderitz (1834-1886), a Bremen merchant, with the approval of Prince Bismarck, established a trading station at Angra Pequena. This step led to the annexation of the whole country to Germany (see AFRICA, § 5) with the exception of Walfish Bay and the islands actually British territory. On the establishment of German rule Jonker Afrikander's old headquarters were made the seat of administration and renamed Windhoek. The Hottentots, under a chieftain named Hendrik Witboi, offered a determined opposition to the Germans, but after a protracted war peace was concluded in 1894 and Hendrik became the ally of the Germans. Thereafter, notwithstanding various local risings, the country enjoyed a measure of prosperity, although, largely owing to economic conditions, its development was very slow.

Herero

war.

In October 1903 the Bondelzwarts, who occupy the district immediately north of the Orange river, rose in revolt. This act was the beginning of a struggle between the Germans and the natives which lasted over four years, and cost Germany the lives of some 5000 soldiers and settlers, and entailed an expenditure of £15,000,000. Abuses committed by white traders, the brutal methods of certain officials and the occupation of tribal lands were among the causes of the war, but impatience of white rule was believed to be the chief reason for the revolt of the Herero, the most formidable of the opponents of the Germans. The Herero had accepted the German protectorate by treaty-without fully comprehending that to which they had agreed. To crush the Bondelzwarts, an object attained by January 1904, the governor, Colonel Theodor Leutwein, had denuded Damaraland of troops, and advantage was taken of this fact by the Herero to begin a long-planned and well-prepared revolt. On the 12th of January 1904 most of the German farmers in Damaraland were attacked, and settlers and their families murdered and the farms devastated. Reinforcements were sent from Germany, and in June General von Trotha arrived and took command of the troops. On the 11th of August von Trotha attacked the Herero in their stronghold, the Waterberg, about 200 m. N. of Windhoek, and inflicted upon them a severe defeat. The main body of the enemy escaped, however, from the encircling columns of the Germans, and thereafter the Herero, who were under the leadership of Samuel Maherero, maintained a guerrilla warfare, rendering the whole countryside In 1867 the islands along the coast north and south of Angra unsafe. The Germans found pursuit almost hopeless, being Pequena, on which were valuable guano deposits, were annexed crippled by the lack of water and the absence of means of transto Great Britain. At this time a small trade between the natives port. To add to their troubles a Herero bastard named Morenga, and the outside world was developed at Angra Pequena, the with a following of Hottentots, had, in July, recommenced merchants engaged in it being British and German. The political hostilities in the south. On the 2nd of October 1904 von Trotha, influence of the Cape spread meantime northward to the land of exasperated at his want of success in crushing the enemy, issued the Herero (Damara). The Herero had been subjugated by a proclamation in which he said: "Within the German frontier Jonker Afrikander, a son of Christian Afrikander, who followed every Herero with or without a rifle, with or without cattle, the early footsteps of his sire and had renounced Christianity, will be shot. I will not take over any more women and children. but in 1865 they had recovered their independence. The But I will either drive them back to your people or have them Rhenish missionaries appealed (1868) to the British government fired on." In a later order von Trotha instructed his soldiers for protection, and asked for the annexation of the country. not to fire into, but to fire over the heads of the women and This request, although supported by the Prussian government, | children, and Prince Bülow ordered the general to repeal the

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »