Seligmann focuses on the development of German policy towards the Transvaal and southern Africa in the 1890s. During this time Germany's flirtation with President Kruger and her confrontational approach to Britain threatened war. How did this come to pass? The author examines the roots of German policy and explores consequent rivalries and tensions. The conclusions show the importance of South Africa to German imperialism and the role it played in widening German imperial ambitions before the First World War.

Reflecting emerging scholarship on the entanglement of colonial histories, this book examines British and South African perspectives on, and involvement in, the genocide of the Herero and Nama in German South West Africa from 1904 to 1908. Seeking to present a transnational and trans-colonial perspective on the war imposed by Germany, the book sheds light on Anglo-German relations during ‘native' rebellions and exposes shared experiences of colonial violence. This approach aligns with a new surge of historiography which emphasises the co-operation between colonial powers to maintain order in Africa. The author focuses on British involvement in counter-insurgency efforts, its awareness of the extent of the genocide, and how the Herero-Nama War impacted colonial rule in British territory. The book sheds light on how the British government intentionally managed sensitive information on German colonialism according to the geopolitical needs: While reports were ignored and censored prior to 1914, these became instrumental to Britain’s foreign policy in confiscating Germany’s colonies in 1919. Not only exploring the war years, the book covers the entire period of German colonial rule in Africa (1884-1919), and highlights British and South African perspectives throughout this period. Offering fresh insights on the first genocide of the century, this book builds on a growing body of research into trans-colonialism and contributes to modern German history.

Although much has been written about the conduct of the war in South Africa, very little has been written about how it was regarded on the world stage by powers both great and small. This collection of specially commissioned essays seeks for the first time to put the Boer War (1899-1902) in its international context. Each of the core chapters focuses on the perspective of one country (France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, and the United States) and assesses the extent to which each national government tried to capitalize on Britain's embarrassment and distraction while often entangled in imperialist ventures of their own. The anglophobia of many of the nations' press, the activities of pro-Boer organizations, and the shaping of public and parliamentary opinion are examined alongside the real politics and diplomatic considerations that took precedence. In addition, there are summation chapters that examine both the origins of the war and its legacy for Britain's expansionist ambitions. Together these essays present the latest findings on a watershed in international relations that heralded substantive changes of attitude and policy on the part of national governments towards their dependencies and had far-reaching consequences for alliance systems and the international balance of power at the start of the twentieth century.

Seligmann focuses on the development of German policy towards the Transvaal and southern Africa in the 1890s. During this time Germany's flirtation with President Kruger and her confrontational approach to Britain threatened war. How did this come to pass? The author examines the roots of German policy and explores consequent rivalries and tensions. The conclusions show the importance of South Africa to German imperialism and the role it played in widening German imperial ambitions before the First World War.

Origins of the First World War summarizes the policies, issues and crises that brought Europe to war in 1914. Examining the strategic and political problems that confronted each of the great powers and the way in which social and economic factors influenced the decision-making process, Martel discusses the position of each power and their place in the system of alliances which dominated international politics. The fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout to incorporate the body of new scholarship that has appeared since the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of war. In a clear and accessible manner, it explains: how and why the alliance system was created how alliances led to a network of complicated strategic commitments how an escalating series of international crises from the turn of the century fuelled preparations for war why the peculiarities of the Balkan situation are essential in understanding the outbreak of war in 1914. This book also includes an updated Guide to Further Reading, Who’s Who of important figures and Glossary of key terms, and the selection of documents has been expanded to include the key treaties as well as evidence of popular militarism and nationalism. Concise, accessible and analytical, it is essential introductory reading for all students interested in the origins of the First World War.

In 1990 Namibia gained its independence after a decades-long struggle against South African rule--and, before that, against German colonialism. This book, the first new scholarly general history of Namibia in two decades, provides a fresh synthesis of these events, and of the much longer pre-colonial period. A History of Namibia opens with a chapter by John Kinahan covering the evidence of human activity in Namibia from the earliest times to the nineteenth century, and for the first time making a synthesis of current archaeological research widely available to non-specialists. In subsequent chapters, Marion Wallace weaves together the most up-to-date academic research (in English and German) on Namibian history, from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. She explores histories of migration, production and power in the pre-colonial period, the changes triggered by European expansion, and the dynamics of the period of formal colonialism. The coverage of German rule includes a full chapter on the genocide of 1904-8. Here, Wallace outlines the history and historiography of the wars fought in central and southern Namibia, and the subsequent mass imprisonment of defeated Africans in concentration camps. The final two chapters analyse the period of African nationalism, apartheid and war between 1946 and 1990. The book's conclusion looks briefly at the development of Namibia in the two decades since independence. A History of Namibia provides an invaluable introduction and reference source to the past of a country that is often neglected, despite its significance in the history of the region and, indeed, for that of European colonialism and international relations. It makes accessible the latest research on the country, illuminates current controversies, puts forward new insights, and suggests future directions for research. The book's extensive bibliography adds to its usefulness for scholar and general reader alike.

What was distinctive--and distinctively "modern"--about German society and politics in the age of Kaiser Wilhelm II? In addressing this question, these essays assemble cutting-edge research by fourteen international scholars. Based on evidence of an explicit and self-confidently "bourgeois" formation in German public culture, the contributors suggest new ways of interpreting its reformist potential and advance alternative readings of German political history before 1914. While proposing a more measured understanding of Wilhelmine Germany's extraordinarily dynamic society, they also grapple with the ambivalent, cross-cutting nature of German "modernities" and reassess their impact on long-term developments running through the Wilhelmine age.