It took be a while to get through this book about the German wars in Southwest Africa. Although not long, the book is difficult to read it short spurts, but I enjoyed it whenever I had a few hours to dedicate to it. It is a very good book, if somewhat unorthodox in its structure

The novel deals with Germany’s wars with the native Africans of South-West Africa (contemporary Namibia). However, it is not a linear narrative of the events, but attempts to look at the war and its consequences at several levels. The most obvious narrative mode is that concerned with the battles and maneuvers of units; it appears that these have been based on German documents as well as detailed war narratives that were written at the turn of the century (one of these sources is somewhat familiar to me.) The second is a long durée, looking at a century of German involvement in southern Africa, especially among merchants and missionaries; these are long stories, perhaps anecdotal (it is unclear whether they are based in facts). Finally, the story focuses on a single man, veterinarian Gottschalk, who is part of the German military effort but who is misplaced in the culture of the military and not taken by the colonial logic. He attends to his duties over animals, troubles over the problems of the cattle held by the natives, care for horses, attempt to introduce more efficient camels to the desert, and will learn the native language. He is never consumed by the desire to exterminate or subject the Hottentots. But he never takes steps to criticize the conflict. In spite of his distaste for the inherent racism of German imperialism, Gottschalk remains committed to his bourgeois comforts.

One of the most entertaining things about this novel is the stories from the past: Germans who have come to the “Südwest” in order to gain fortunes or convert souls. While it would appear on the surface that merchants and missionaries want to turn Africans into the same kinds of people–hard working men, Christians, consumers–they clash with each other. This is best illustrated by a chapter on the largest brandy cask to ever travel the desert. One blacksmith/engineer develops a large cask to transport alcohol to natives in exchange for prized exotic items, especially ostrich feathers. He finds that the missionaries who look over the natives refuse to allow him to sell to the natives–the missionaries feel that they work hard to keep natives in line and don’t wish alcohol to be introduced. When he finally sells his brandy while one missionary is away the order that the missionary created unravels quickly in a huge expression of resentment from the native population. This is a constant theme: it is easier to get exotic goods from Africa and to profit from the sale of modern producer goods than it is to introduce civilization.

Colonial logic is revealed throughout. Underneath all the talk of “getting natives to do things for themselves” is a desire to make natives more useful for Europeans. Gottschalk teaches the finery of animal hygiene to several Africans. The military takes these Africans and rents them out “for pennies a day” to the German farmers, providing them cheap professional services without having to contribute to the material well-being of the Africans. The expertise given to Africans makes them more effective slaves, even if Gottschalk never intends to have this effect.

Gottschalk is the odd-ball of the German colonial enterprise. He comes to Southwest Africa with the hope of improving the quality of life; he is not concerned about improving the control of the whites over the territory. Because of these qualities, his fellow officers are suspicious of Gottschalk. The high point of the book is Gottschalk’s meeting with Morenga, the rebel general who has been confounding the army. After surviving an assault on his unit, Gottschalk interacts cordially with Morenga. He secures the release of the German prisoners, and he participates in the feast following Morenga’s victory. Gottschalk’s treatment of Morenga is a picture of bourgeois courtesy, and Morenga is shown to be an intelligent and sensitive man. The report that Gottschalk files is greeted with confusion from the German officers, but they take the information from the report to set up an assault against Morenga. In truth, Morenga had planned an ambush of the Germans.