The conventional understanding of German expansion abroad, between
unification (1871) and the First World War (1914), is that Germany established colonies
in Africa, the Pacific Islands, and to a lesser degree in China. This colonialism began in
1884 with the recognition of German Southwest Africa. This dissertation challenges
these conventionally accepted notions about German expansion abroad. The challenge
presented by this dissertation is a claim that German expansionism included imperial
activity in the Ottoman Empire. Although the Germans did not develop colonies in the
Ottoman Empire, German activity in the Middle East conformed closely to the
established model for imperialism in the Ottoman Empire; the British established this
model in the 1840s. By considering the economic, political, military, educational, and
cultural activities of the Germans in the Ottoman Empire it is evident that the Ottoman
Empire must be considered in the historiography of German expansionism.
When expanding into the Ottoman Empire the Germans followed the model
established by the British. Although deeply involved in the Ottoman Empire, German
activity was not militaristic or even aggressive. Indeed, the Germans asserted themselves less successfully than the British or the French. Thus, this German expansion into the
Ottoman Empire simultaneously addresses the question of German exceptionalism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2078 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Illich, Niles Stefan |
| Contributors | Krammer, Arnold |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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