Bismarck Europe And Africa

The first comprehensive account of the Berlin Africa Conference of 1884 and 1885, this book looks at the mixed motives behind the partition of Africa into colonial monopolies. Historians from both Africa and Europe interpret this unique moment in Euro-Africa relations, looking at the origins of the meeting, the priorities of negotiators, economic interests, missionary aspirations, and national rivalries.

This book by American historian William O. Aydelotte deals with the first chapter in the history of the German colonial empire, the dispute between Germany and England over South West Africa during the years 1883-85. “Since South West Africa was the first German colony, its history shows most clearly the reactions and readjustments both in British and German policy which were the consequence of the German colonial program. The incident also brings into relief several great political trends of the late nineteenth century: the growth of imperialism in Germany and in England, the conflict in the latter country between the different systems of colonial thought, the diplomatic problem of conducting negotiations between a democratic and an autocratic state, and the causes and results of these two different methods of diplomacy. Above all the story furnishes a superb illustration of Bismarck’s diplomatic technique. Because of its special importance, the South West African controversy is treated in some detail. The attempt has been made to present not a general survey of the period but a description of specific events. At the same time, the German colonial question is closely bound up with other circumstances, and it has been necessary to go well outside the bare details of the negotiations in order to explain all the influences at work on British and German policy. For this reason a good deal of space has been given in the first two chapters to the colonial and political background in both England and Germany, and especially to the way in which this background affected the men in office in 1883-85. On the other hand, less attention has been given to those subjects which have been adequately discussed elsewhere. Full consideration has, however, been given to the Egyptian problem and the general diplomatic situation both in the narrative and in the conclusions.”

This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture. Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually." In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.

Eclipsed by the scope of the Atlantic economy, obscured by Anglo-German rivalry, and nearly destroyed by the post-1945 division of Europe, the flow of goods across East Central Europe has been, nonetheless, an immensely significant pattern of European economic exchange. For Germany, the Osthandel (Eastern trade) was both a blessing and a curse; its bounty provided much of the raw material for the rise of German economic and political power in Europe, while its lure tantalized German ambitions to the point of madness. Despite the enduring importance of this commerce, no monograph has yet made this pattern of trade the centerpiece of its treatment of German-East European relations. This study puts this important pattern of German-East European trade into the center of discussion and views an extended period of German foreign policy toward Eastern Europe through this lens.

The man who bought a country -- The emergence of an idea -- King Leopold's Borneo -- Bismarck's Borneo -- Epilogue: "A great act of folly