Colonial Background: The Museum of Ethnology Hamburg

Glossary A-E

Anthropology: Like ethnology, (physical) anthropology was established as a scientific discipline in the second half of the 19th century. The measurement of the human body and its individual parts, such as the skull, was intended to enable the identification of “racial types” and conclusions about human behaviours and character traits. In the colonial period, the knowledge thus obtained was used primarily to serve the devaluation of “non-European” societies, providing an ostensibly scientific justification for the colonial expansion of Europe.

Benin: The kingdom of Benin, not to be confused with the modern nation of the same name, was founded by the Edo and lay within the territory of today’s Nigeria. Governed by an “Oba”, this kingdom maintained trade relations with a number of European countries until 1897, when, under a pretext, it was attacked and annexed by Great Britain.

Colonial Institute: The Hamburg Colonial Institute was founded in 1908 with the chief purpose of training civil servants for their service in the colonies. It was also the main venue for lectures. Edmund Siemers financed the construction of the building, which was completed in 1911. The institute was converted into the University of Hamburg in 1919.

Colonialism: Colonialism is a part of European expansion. In the belief that they belonged to a superior culture, the European powers brought most of the world under their control, especially during the 19th century. This took a variety of forms. For example, a colony could be exploited economically or settled by Europeans. The colonial powers usually established their own administrative structures and judiciaries. In the course of these colonisation processes, the local populations were often displaced.

Colonial knowledge: Colonial knowledge is the term given to bodies of knowledge acquired by colonial actors in the various regions of the world. These were integrated into the existing European knowledge systems, complementing and expanding them. Examples include knowledge about the local plant and animal world or about the resident population. At the same time, this knowledge served the consolidation and exercise of colonial control. Through its use, the colonial powers also formed the ways in which colonising and colonised societies perceived and conceived themselves and the world.

Concentration camps: While the most-infamous concentration camps are those of the “Third Reich” (1933–1945), the term has a longer history. In the early twentieth century, for example, it was used in the Boer War (1899–1902) and the German war against the Herero and Nama (1904–1908). Here concentration camps functioned as collection, internment, and labour camps. Some were also sites of “extermination by neglect”.

Culture: The notion of culture is used in almost all social sciences today as a central category of analysis. In academic usage, it is generally understood as a collective system of meaning that is created and maintained through human action. The production and social dissemination of cultural meaning and practices are tied to the prevailing power structures of the respective society. In common parlance, the term often serves to group people who are seen to share a number of cultural practices and characteristics.

Egypt: Despite its relative independence in the mid-19th century, Egypt formally belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The construction of the Suez Canal (1859–1869) markedly increased the political and economic interests of France and Great Britain in the region. Egypt came under British control in 1882, during an extended period of European enthusiasm for ancient Egyptian culture. This “Egyptomania” led to the country becoming a popular early destination for European travellers.

Ethnological exposition: From the second half of the 19th century until the 1930s, “ethnological expositions” put on public display human beings whose cultures were regarded by the organisers and visitors as “exotic”. Audiences paid to watch the exhibited people carry out activities that were considered typical of them. These events were a staple of the entertainment business in Europe and North America. The expositions of one of the best-known operators, Carl Hagenbeck of Hamburg, often drew hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Ethnology: Ethnology emerged as a scientific discipline in the second half of the nineteenth century. At that time, ethnologists saw themselves as natural scientists and dealt primarily with “indigenous peoples” of non-European societies. These groups, considered to be “primitive” and without historical development, were contrasted with and subordinated to European “civilised peoples”. Observation of these “indigenous peoples” and their material products was intended to enable ethnologists to draw general conclusions about human evolution. Today the discipline of ethnology deals with the ways of life of all human beings, as well as their cultural practices in comprehensive societal contexts.

European expansion: European expansion denotes the spread of European dominance over virtually the whole world from the end of the 15th century onwards. Whereas above all Spain and Portugal brought extensive territories and populations under their control during the early phase, the British, Dutch, Danes, and French, as well as the Italians, Germans, and Belgians, later also expanded their spheres of influence. They gradually built the structures necessary for lasting control of their territories. This process is referred to as colonialism.

“Extermination order”: In his “Proclamation to the Herero People” of 1904, Lothar von Trotha announced that he would have all male Herero shot and the women and children expelled. He declared the Herero to be enemies and no longer German subjects. He placed bounties on the heads of Herero leaders. This order is seen as a symbol of the genocide against the Herero in the colonial war from 1904 to 1908.

Glossary F-K

Genocide: Genocide is the attempt to exterminate a group of people defined by national, ethnic, racial, or religious attributes. International criminal law has recognised genocide as a criminal offence since 1948. The crimes committed against Jews during Germany’s National Socialist regime are an example of genocide.

Georg Thilenius: Georg Thilenius (1868–1937) was the first director of the Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg. He continually expanded the museum and enlarged its collection through expeditions and the purchase of objects. Thilenius was additionally involved in the founding of the Hamburg Colonial Institute. When the institute was later transformed into a university, he served as its vice-chancellor and held the chair in ethnology.

German East Africa: German East Africa was a German colony from 1885 to 1918. It encompassed today’s mainland Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and part of Mozambique. Carl Peters is seen as its founder. Through his colonial society, initially without the backing of the German Empire, he concluded “protection treaties” with the local elites. Only later did the German Empire officially annex the territory. A number of popular uprisings against the foreign rulers were brutally put down by German forces. During the First World War, hundreds of thousands of people in the colony died at the hands of the German military.

German South Seas colonies: The German “protectorates” in the South Seas extended primarily over the area of today’s Melanesia and Micronesia in the South Pacific. In 1900, the German Empire made its last colonial acquisition with the Samoan islands Upolu and Savai’i. Like Germany’s other colonies, these Pacific territories were established chiefly due to pressure from influential merchant houses. The term “South Seas” still evokes a romanticised, paradise-like image of the Pacific islands.

German South West Africa: From 1884 to 1918, German South West Africa was a German colony in the territory of present-day Namibia. The Bremen merchant Adolf Lüderitz purchased lands from the Nama in 1883. A year later, this territory was officially declared a “protectorate”. As a settler colony, it was meant to become a home for emigrant Germans, which led to the displacement of the people living there. From 1904 to 1908, the German “protection forces” waged war against the Herero and Nama, in the course of which they committed genocide against both groups.

Hamburg Geographical Society: Numerous geographical societies were founded in the German-speaking world in the 19th century, with memberships that included private citizens, commercial enterprises, and politicians. The geographical expeditions they sent out were intended to gather knowledge about non-European countries in the service of, not least, influential members’ business interests in the destination regions. The Hamburg Geographical Society, which is still in existence, was founded in 1873 and counted such prominent Hamburg merchants as W. H. O’Swald and A. Woermann among its members.

Herero: The Herero lived as pastoralists in the region of today’s Namibia. During the German colonial war of 1904 to 1908, almost 80% of their population were killed in what is now seen as a genocide. Germany’s Federal Government refuses to pay reparations, however, focusing instead on development assistance. Every year in August, “Herero Day” is held to commemorate the battle at Waterberg on 11 August 1904.

Huipil: The huipil is a traditional piece of clothing of the indigenous women of Central America. It is similar to a dress, with embroidery and decoration specific to the family and the occasion. Today it is worn primarily on ceremonial occasions.

Hunka ceremony: The hunka ceremony is an important ritual among all Lakota groups. Through it, a binding social relationship is created between the participants. The ritual is also often referred to as an adoption ceremony.

Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck: Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) was a German politician. From 1862 to 1890, he served as prime minister of Prussia and, from 1871, as the first chancellor of the newly founded German Empire. In 1890, Emperor Wilhelm II removed him from office. Although Bismarck had always rejected an active colonial policy, he yielded to pressure from the colonial movement and

Glossary L-O

Lothar von Trotha: Lothar von Trotha (1848–1920) was a Prussian officer. In 1904, he was made supreme commander and governor in German South West Africa to quell the Herero rebellion. He issued the “extermination order” calling for all Herero to be killed or driven out, and is considered to bear prime responsibility for the genocide against the Herero and Nama (1904–1908).

Māori: Māori is the name of the Polynesian people that originally settled New Zealand, reaching the islands around the 13th century. New Zealand was incorporated into the British Empire in 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which, among other things, recognised the land rights of the Māori. Although the treaty declared them equal partners, the Māori were subjected to colonial repression and displacement over the following decades.

Maasai: The seminomadic Maasai societies live primarily in today’s Kenya and Tanzania. Because of their emphatically traditional clothing in red and blue, they are well-known especially to tourists and are often falsely romanticised as an emblem of a supposedly traditional African way of life.

Maya: The term Maya designates a group of Central American peoples. Many Maya fell victim to the Spanish conquerors. They are known especially for their architecture and religion. Today, about 6.1 million Maya live in various countries including Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.

Museum Godeffroy: The Hamburg merchant Johan Cesar VI. Godeffroy opened his private museum in 1861. The Museum Godeffroy housed zoological and ethnographic objects from the Pacific region, many of which Godeffroy’s captains had brought back from their mercantile expeditions. Godeffroy also employed various explorers, who travelled the “South Seas” collecting objects for his museum. When his trading house was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1879, the museum was dissolved. The bulk of its collection was sold to Leipzig’s ethnological museum, while the Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg acquired a smaller part of its holdings.

Nama: The Nama live in Namibia and South Africa. The Germans referred to them pejoratively as “Hottentots”. After the German “protection force” had crushed the Herero, the Nama also resolved to go to war, initially employing successful guerrilla tactics. Following their defeat by the Germans, the surviving Nama were interned in concentration camps. Around half of the Nama population died in the course of the conflicts.

Oglala: The Oglala are the largest and best-known of the seven subgroups of the Lakota linguistic family in North America. Until their forced settlement on the Pine Ridge Reservation at the end of the nineteenth century, they lived primarily in what is now the western part of the US state of Nebraska. The Oglala didn’t form a set political entity and mostly did without fixed hierarchies. They pursued a nomadic way of life. Today the Oglala number approximately 47,000.

Others: In establishing self-identity, the construction of an “other” is of great importance. The conception of an “other” external group and demarcation from it serves to consolidate both individual and collective identity. In the European colonialist view, the “non-European” world and its inhabitants were considered the “other”. By portraying these peoples as “uncivilised”, “irrational”, and “undeveloped”, Europe defined itself as culturally superior and of higher value.

Overseas possessions: Overseas possessions were the swathes of land that German merchants or private individuals purchased from resident population groups before the official founding of the colonies in 1884. The territories were initially administrated by companies and societies. However, these entities didn’t have the financial or military means to enforce their claims. The imperial government ultimately had to come to their aid and officially recognise the foreign possessions as a colony.

Glossary P-Z

Pine Ridge Reservation: The Pine Ridge Reservation, in the southwest of today’s state of South Dakota, USA, was established in 1889. Among the groups forced to resettle in the territory, the Oglala were the largest in number. Like the other populations of North America, the Oglala were increasingly driven from their native lands over the course of the nineteenth century by advancing European settlers. The compulsory relocation of these groups to reservations by the US government spelled the end of their traditional ways of life and cultural practices.

“Primitive art”: From the beginning of the twentieth century, so-called “primitive art” or “tribal art” was a category within the Western art market for certain material products of non-European cultures. Ceremonial masks, for example, were attributed an aesthetic value based largely on their supposed “native” character. This usually also implied an appraisal of these objects as “primitive” and “undeveloped”, and therefore as inferior to European art. At the same time, they strongly influenced modern artists such as Pablo Picasso.

“Protection force”: The “protection forces” were military units in the German “protectorates” which were deployed to enforce the imposed order and the suppression of the local populations. Their primary objective was to crush local resistance. Except in German South West Africa, they consisted of German officers and African troops and porters.

“Protectorate”: During the colonial period, the German colonies were called “protectorates”. Through international agreements as well as treaties with representatives of local populations, the German Empire became the protecting power in these territories, whereby the aim was the protection of German or European interests. The local people were subordinated to the Germans and forced to work and pay taxes. For the state, the “protectorates” were a loss-making business; only individual German merchant houses made profits.

Punitive expedition: So-called punitive expeditions were carried out mostly under a pretext, with the actual purpose of taking possession of territories or subjugating certain population groups. An ostensible wrongdoing by the native inhabitants was usually named as the reason for these military measures. Especially in the colonial context, the term was used euphemistically to refer to expeditions of conquest and military reprisal.

“Race”: The notion that humankind could be divided into different “races” took on great scientific as well as political importance, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. People were assigned to various “racial types” based on their physical appearance. Membership in a certain “racial” group was thought to be connected with particular character traits and abilities. Human beings were thus viewed as the product of their biological origins, not of their social environment. Today, these ideas are considered outdated and the use of the term “race” for the classification of people is rejected.

Tolai: The Tolai are a population group in the island nation of Papua New Guinea. They live on the Gazelle Peninsula, the north-eastern section of the island of New Britain. From 1884 to 1912, New Britain, under the name Neu-Pommern (New Pomerania), belonged to Germany’s colonial possessions in the Pacific region.

Versailles Treaty: The Treaty of Versailles took effect in 1919, formally ending the First World War. It attributed sole responsibility for the war to the German Empire, which was forced to accept territorial losses and pay reparations. Its “protectorates” were placed under the control of the League of Nations and the administration of other colonial powers. Germany’s inability to administrate colonies was cited as the justification for these measures.