Chapter VI: German Literature Since Goethe (1832-1906) (2)

_Physical Features._--The coast-line is generally low and little
broken by bays or promontories. In its entire length of about 800 m.
it has no good natural harbour, and its bays--Angra Pequena, otherwise
Luderitz Bay, Sierra Bay, Sandwich Harbour--are in danger of being
filled with sand by the strong, cold, northerly coast current.
Swakopmund is an artificial harbour at the mouth of the river Swakop.
The small islands which stud the coast north and south of Angra
Pequena belong to Great Britain. The coast-line is bordered by a belt
of sand-dunes and desert, which, about 35 m. wide in the south,
narrows towards the north. This coast belt is flanked by a mountain
range, which attains its highest elevation in Mount Omatako (8972
ft.), in about 21 deg. 15' S., 16 deg. 40' E. N. E. of Omatako is the
Omboroko range, otherwise known as the Waterberg. South of Omboroko,
occupying the centre of the country, the range attains its highest
average altitude. The following massifs with their highest points may
be distinguished: Gans (7664 ft.), Nu-uibeb (7480 ft.), Onyati (7201
ft.), Awas (6988 ft.), Komas (5331 ft.) and Ganab (4002 ft.). In the
S.E. are the Karas mountains, which attain an elevation of 6570 ft.
The mountains for the main part form the escarpment of the great
Kalahari plateau, which, gently rising from the interior towards the
west, slopes again towards the south and north from the point of its
highest elevation. The Kalahari plateau changes the undulating
character it has in the west to a perfect plain in the far east, where
the watered and habitable country merges into the sterile Kalahari
desert. In the northern half of the country the central plateau
contains much rich grass-land, while in the north-eastern region the
Omaheke desert has all the characteristics of the Kalahari.

There are no rivers of importance wholly within German South-West
Africa. The Kunene (q.v.) has but a small portion of the southern bank
in the colony, and similarly only part of the northern bank of the
Orange river (q.v.) is in German territory. Several streams run south
into the Orange; of those the chief is the Great Fish river, which has
a course of nearly 500 m. Both the Kunene and the Orange carry water
all the year round, but are not navigable. Neither is the Great Fish
river, which, however, is rarely dry. The Okavango, which comes from
the north and runs towards Ngami (q.v.), is perennial, but like the
Kunene and Orange, belongs only partly to the hydrographic system of
the country. From the inner slopes of the coast chain many streams go
N.E. to join the Okavango. They cross the Omaheke waste and are
usually dry. Ovampoland has a hydrographic system connected with the
Kunene, and, in seasons of great flood, with that of Ngami. Before the
Kunene breaks through the outer edge of the plateau, it sends
divergent channels south-east to a large marsh or lake called Etosha,
which is cut by 17 deg. E. and 19 deg. S. Of these channels the
Kwamatuo or Okipoko, which is perennial, enters Etosha at its N.W.
corner. The lake when full extends about 80 m. W. to E. and 50 m. N.
to S. From its S.E. corner issues the Omuramba, which divides into two
branches, known respectively as the Omaheke and the Ovampo. These
streams have an easterly direction, their beds, often dry, joining the
Okavango. The other rivers of the protectorate have as a rule plenty
of water in their upper courses in the rainy season, though some river
beds are dry for years together. After a heavy thunderstorm such a
river bed will be suddenly filled with a turbid current half a mile
wide. The water is, however, before long absorbed by the thirsty land.
Only in exceptionally rainy years do the streams which cross the sand
belt carry water to the ocean. But in the sand which fills the river
beds water may be obtained by digging. Of rivers running direct to the
Atlantic the Little Fish river enters the sea at Angra Pequena and the
Kuisip in Walfish Bay. The Swakop rises in the hills near the
Waterberg, and north of it is the Omaruru, which carries water for the
greater part of the year. Hot springs are numerous, and it is
remarkable that those of Windhoek flow more copiously during the dry
than the rainy season. There are also many cold springs, and wells
which contain water all the year.

_Geology._--Gneiss and schist, with intrusive granites and porphyries,
overlain to a great extent by sand and lateritic deposits, occupy the
coast belt, coast mountains and the plateau of Damaraland. In the Huib
and Han-ami plateaus of Great Namaqualand the crystalline rocks are
overlain by sandstones, slates, quartzites and jasper rocks, and these
in turn by dolomites. They are probably equivalent to the Transvaal
and Pretoria series (see TRANSVAAL: _Geology_). The next oldest rocks
are of recent geological date. The Kalahari Kalk, which extends over
large areas to the south-east of Ovampoland, may be of Miocene age,
but it has not yielded fossils. Extensive tracts of alluvium occur in
the basin of the Ovampo, while the dunes and sand-tracts of the
Kalahari occupy the eastern regions.

_Climate._--On the coast the mean temperature is low, and there is
little rainfall. Moisture is supplied by dense fogs, which rise almost
daily. South-west winds prevail. Inland the climate is temperate
rather than tropical, with bracing, clear atmosphere. There are
considerable differences of temperature between day and night, and two
well-marked seasons, one cold and dry from May to September, the other
hot and rainy from October to April. In winter ice frequently forms
during the night on open water on the plateau, but it never remains
all day. The yearly rainfall is about 20 in. in the Damara Hills;
there is more rain in the north than in the south, and in the east
than in the west. In the greater part of the colony the climate is
favourable for European settlement.

_Flora and Fauna._--The vegetation corresponds exactly with the
climate. In the dry littoral region are plants able to exist with the
minimum of moisture they derive from the daily fog--_Amarantaceae_,
_Sarcocaula_, _Aloe dichotoma_, _Aristida subacaulis_ and the
wonderful _Welwitschia_. Farther inland are plants which spring up and
disappear with the rain, and others whose roots reach permanent water.
The former are chiefly grasses, the latter exist almost solely in or
near river-beds. Amongst the fine trees often seen here, the ana tree
(_Acacia albida_) is the most noteworthy, its seeds being favourite
fodder for all domestic animals. _Acacia giraffae_, _Ac. horrida_,
_Adansonia sterculia_, near the Kunene the _Hyphaene ventricosa_,
deserve special notice. The vegetation in the mountain valleys is
luxuriant, and towards the north is of a tropical character. The palm
zone extends a considerable distance south of the Kunene, and here
vegetation spreads over the sand-dunes of the coast plain, which are
covered with grasses.

Large game, formerly abundant, especially pachyderms, is scarce. Of
antelopes the following species are plentiful in parts: springbok,
steenbok, kudu, rietbok, pallah; of monkeys, the _Cynocephalus
porcarius_ is frequent. Various kinds of hyenas and jackals with fine
fur (_Canis mesomelas_), also _Felis caracal_, abound. The spring-hare
(_Pedestea caffer_) and rock-rabbit (_Hyrax capensis_) may often be
observed. Of birds there are 728 species. Crocodiles, turtles and
snakes are numerous.

_Inhabitants._--Among the natives of German South-West Africa three classes may be distinguished. In the first class are the Namaqua (Hottentots) and Bushmen. The Namaqua probably came from the south, while the Bushmen may be looked upon as an indigenous race. The Hottentots, the purest existing types of that race, are divided into numerous tribes, independent of one another, such as the Witbois, Swartzbois, Bondelzwarts. The Bushmen are found scattered over the eastern parts of the country (see HOTTENTOTS and BUSHMEN). The second class consists of the mountain Damara (Hau-Khoin), a race of doubtful affinities, probably of Bantu-Negro origin, but speaking the Hottentot language. The third class belongs to the Bantu-Negro stock, and came from the north-east, expelling and enslaving the mountain Damara, and settling in various parts of the country under different names. The most prominent are the Herero, thorough nomads and cattle-breeders; while the Ovampo (Ovambo or Ambo), in the northern part of the protectorate, are agriculturists. The Herero (q.v.) are also known by the Hottentot name Damara, and by this name their country is generally called. The Bastaards, who live in Namaqualand, are a small tribe originating from a mingling of Cape Boers with Hottentots. They are Christians, and able to read and write. The other natives are spirit-worshippers, save for the comparatively few converts of the Protestant missions established in the country. Of white races represented the chief are Germans and Boers. In the S.E. Boer settlers form the bulk of the white population. There are also numbers of British colonists in this region--emigrants from the Cape. The immigration of Germans is encouraged by subsidies and in other ways.

_Towns._--The chief port is Swakopmund, built on the northern bank of
the Swakop river (the southern bank belonging to the British territory
of Walfish Bay). The harbour is partially protected by a breakwater.
There are also settlements at Luderitz Bay (white pop. 1909, over
1000) and at Sandwich Harbour. Swakopmund is connected by a narrow
gauge railway with Windhoek, the administrative capital of the colony,
situated in a hilly district 180 m. due east of the port, but 237 m.
by the railway. Karibib is the only place of consequence on the line.
Otyimbingue is a government station 70 m. W.N.W. of Windhoek, and
Tsumeb a mining centre 240 m. N.N.E. of the same place. Olukonda is a
government post in Ovampoland. In the S.E. corner of the colony, 30 m.
N. of the Orange river, is the town of Warmbad. Keetmanshoop, 100 m.
N. of Warmbad and 180 m. E. of Luderitz Bay, is the centre of a small
mining industry. Gibeon is a government station and missionary
settlement about midway between Keetmanshoop and Windhoek. Besides
these places there are numbers of small native towns at which live a
few white traders and missionaries. The missionaries have given
Biblical names to several of their stations, such as Bethany and
Beersheba in Namaqualand, and Rehoboth in Damaraland. In the Caprivi
enclave are a German residency and the site of the town of Linyante,
once the capital of the Makololo dynasty of Barotseland (see BAROTSE).

_Industries._--Agriculture is followed by the natives in the northern
districts, but the chief industry is stock-raising. The scarcity of
water in the southern parts is not favourable for agricultural
pursuits, while the good grazing lands offer splendid pasturage for
cattle, which the Herero raise in numbers amounting to many hundred
thousands. Sheep and goats thrive well. Horses have been imported from
the Cape. Unfortunately the climate does not suit them everywhere, and
they are subject to a virulent distemper. Cattle and sheep also suffer
from the diseases which are common in the Cape Colony. Camels have
been imported, and are doing well. Wheat, maize and sorghum are the
chief crops raised, though not enough is grown to meet even local
requirements. Near the coast the natives collect the kernels of the
nara, a wild-growing pumpkin which, in the words of an early
traveller, C.J. Andersson, "are eaten by oxen, mice, men, ostriches
and lions." About half the European settlers are engaged in
agriculture. They raise maize, wheat, tobacco, fruit and vegetables.
Cotton cultivation and viticulture are carried on in some districts.

Minerals, especially copper, are plentiful in the country. The chief
copper deposits are at Tsumeb, which is 4230 ft. above the sea, in the
Otavi district. Diamonds are found on and near the surface of the soil
in the Luderitz Bay district, and diamonds have also been found in the
neighbourhood of Gibeon. A little pottery is made, and the Hottentot
women are clever in making fur cloths. In the north the Ovampo do a
little smith-work and grass-plaiting. The external trade of the
country was of slow growth. The exports, previous to the opening up of
the Otavi mines, consisted chiefly of live stock--sent mainly to Cape
Colony--guano, ivory, horns, hides and ostrich feathers. The chief
imports are food stuffs, textiles and metals, and hardware. In 1903
the value of the exports was L168,560, that of the imports L388,210.
The war which followed (see below, _History_) led to a great shrinking
of exports, rendering the figures for the period 1904-1907 useless for
purposes of comparison. About 85% of the imports are from Germany.

_Communications._--The economic development of the country is largely
dependent on transport facilities. The railway from Swakopmund to
Windhoek, mentioned above, was begun in 1897, and was opened for
traffic in July 1902. It cost nearly L700,000 to build. Another narrow
gauge railway, to serve the Otavi copper mines, was begun in 1904 and
completed in 1908. It starts from Swakopmund and is 400 m. long, the
terminus being at Grootfontein, 40 m. S.E. of Tsumeb. The highest
point on this line is 5213 ft. above the sea. In 1906-1908 a railway,
180 m. long, was built from Luderitz Bay to Keetmanshoop. This line is
of the standard South African gauge (3 ft. 6 in.), that gauge being
adopted in view of the eventual linking up of the line with the
British railway systems at Kimberley. A branch from Seeheim on the
Keetmanshoop line runs S.E. to Kalkfontein.

Besides railways, roads have been made between the chief centres of
population. Along these, in the desert districts, wells have been dug.
Across the Awas Mountains, separating Windhoek from the central
plateau, a wide road has been cut. In 1903 the colony was placed in
telegraphic communication with Europe and Cape Colony by the laying of
submarine cables having their terminus at Swakopmund. There is a
fairly complete inland telegraphic service.

There is regular steamship communication between Hamburg and
Swakopmund, Walfish Bay and Luderitz Bay. Regular communication is
also maintained between Cape Town and the ports of the colony.

_Administration._--At the head of the administration is an imperial
governor, responsible to the colonial office in Berlin, who is
assisted by a council consisting of chiefs of departments. The country
is divided into various administrative districts. In each of these
there is a _Bezirksamtmann_, with his staff of officials and police
force. In each district is a law court, to whose jurisdiction not
alone the whites, but also the Bastaards are subject. As in all German
colonies, there is a court of appeal at the residence of the governor.
The government maintains schools at the chief towns, but education is
principally in the hands of missionaries. The armed force consists of
regular troops from Germany and a militia formed of Bastaards. The
local revenue for some years before 1903 was about L130,000 per annum,
the expenditure about L400,000, the difference between local receipts
and expenditure being made good by imperial subsidies. In 1908 local
revenue had risen to L250,000, but the imperial authorities incurred
an expenditure of over L2,000,000, largely for military purposes. On
articles of export, such as feathers and hides, 5% _ad valorem_ duty
has to be paid; on cattle and horses an export tax per head. There is
a 10% _ad valorem_ duty on all imports, no difference being made
between German and foreign goods. The sale of spirituous liquors is
subject to a licence.

_History._--The coast of south-west Africa was discovered by Bartholomew Diaz in 1487, whilst endeavouring to find his way to the Indies. He anchored in a bay which by reason of its smallness he named Angra Pequena. Portugal, however, took no steps to acquire possession of this inhospitable region, which remained almost unvisited by Europeans until the early years of the 19th century. At this time the country was devastated by a Hottentot chief known as Afrikander, who had fled thither with a band of outlaws after murdering his master, a Boer farmer by whom he had been ill-treated, in 1796. In 1805 some missionaries (of German nationality) went into Namaqualand in the service of the London Missionary Society, which society subsequently transferred its missions in this region to the Rhenish mission, which had had agents in the country since about 1840. The chief station of the missionaries was at a Hottentot settlement renamed Bethany (1820), a place 125 m. E. by Angra Pequena. The missionaries had the satisfaction of stopping Afrikander's career of bloodshed. He became a convert, a great friend of the mission, and took the name of Christian. The proximity of Great Namaqualand to Cape Colony led to visits from British and Dutch farmers and hunters, a few of whom settled in the country, which thus became in some sense a dependency of the Cape.

In 1867 the islands along the coast north and south of Angra Pequena, on which were valuable guano deposits, were annexed to Great Britain. At this time a small trade between the natives and the outside world was developed at Angra Pequena, the merchants engaged in it being British and German. The political influence of the Cape spread meantime northward to the land of the Herero (Damara). The Herero had been subjugated by Jonker Afrikander, a son of Christian Afrikander, who followed the early footsteps of his sire and had renounced Christianity, but in 1865 they had recovered their independence. The Rhenish missionaries appealed (1868) to the British government for protection, and asked for the annexation of the country. This request, although supported by the Prussian government, was refused. In 1876, however, a special commissioner (W. Coates Palgrave) was sent by the Cape government "to the tribes north of the Orange river." The commissioner concluded treaties with the Namaqua and Damara which fixed the limits of the territories of the two races and placed the whole country now forming German South-West Africa within the sphere of British influence. In the central part of Damaraland an area of some 35,000 sq. m. was marked out as a British reservation. The instrument by which this arrangement was made was known as the treaty of Okahandya. Neither it nor the treaty relating to Great Namaqualand was ratified by the British government, but at the request of Sir Bartle Frere, then high commissioner for South Africa, Walfish Bay (the best harbour along the coast) was in 1878 annexed to Great Britain.

German rule established.

In 1880 fighting between the Namaqua, who were led by Jan Afrikander, son of Jonker and grandson of Christian Afrikander, and the Damara broke out afresh, and was not ended until the establishment of European rule. In 1883 F.A.E. Luderitz (1834-1886), a Bremen merchant, with the approval of Prince Bismarck, established a trading station at Angra Pequena. This step led to the annexation of the whole country to Germany (see AFRICA, S 5) with the exception of Walfish Bay and the islands actually British territory. On the establishment of German rule Jonker Afrikander's old headquarters were made the seat of administration and renamed Windhoek. The Hottentots, under a chieftain named Hendrik Witboi, offered a determined opposition to the Germans, but after a protracted war peace was concluded in 1894 and Hendrik became the ally of the Germans. Thereafter, notwithstanding various local risings, the country enjoyed a measure of prosperity, although, largely owing to economic conditions, its development was very slow.

Herero war.

In October 1903 the Bondelzwarts, who occupy the district immediately north of the Orange river, rose in revolt. This act was the beginning of a struggle between the Germans and the natives which lasted over four years, and cost Germany the lives of some 5000 soldiers and settlers, and entailed an expenditure of L15,000,000. Abuses committed by white traders, the brutal methods of certain officials and the occupation of tribal lands were among the causes of the war, but impatience of white rule was believed to be the chief reason for the revolt of the Herero, the most formidable of the opponents of the Germans. The Herero had accepted the German protectorate by treaty--without fully comprehending that to which they had agreed. To crush the Bondelzwarts, an object attained by January 1904, the governor, Colonel Theodor Leutwein, had denuded Damaraland of troops, and advantage was taken of this fact by the Herero to begin a long-planned and well-prepared revolt. On the 12th of January 1904 most of the German farmers in Damaraland were attacked, and settlers and their families murdered and the farms devastated. Reinforcements were sent from Germany, and in June General von Trotha arrived and took command of the troops. On the 11th of August von Trotha attacked the Herero in their stronghold, the Waterberg, about 200 m. N. of Windhoek, and inflicted upon them a severe defeat. The main body of the enemy escaped, however, from the encircling columns of the Germans, and thereafter the Herero, who were under the leadership of Samuel Maherero, maintained a guerrilla warfare, rendering the whole countryside unsafe. The Germans found pursuit almost hopeless, being crippled by the lack of water and the absence of means of transport. To add to their troubles a Herero bastard named Morenga, with a following of Hottentots, had, in July, recommenced hostilities in the south. On the 2nd of October 1904 von Trotha, exasperated at his want of success in crushing the enemy, issued a proclamation in which he said: "Within the German frontier every Herero with or without a rifle, with or without cattle, will be shot. I will not take over any more women and children. But I will either drive them back to your people or have them fired on." In a later order von Trotha instructed his soldiers not to fire into, but to fire over the heads of the women and children, and Prince Bulow ordered the general to repeal the whole proclamation. Whenever they had the chance, however, the Germans hunted down the Herero, and thousands perished in the Omaheke desert, across which numbers succeeded in passing to British territory near Ngami.

On the day following the issue of von Trotha's proclamation to the Herero, i.e. on the 3rd of October 1904, Hendrik Witboi sent a formal declaration of war to the Germans. Hendrik had helped to suppress the Bondelzwarts rising, and had received a German decoration for his services, and his hostility is said to have been kindled by the supersession of Colonel Leutwein, for whom he entertained a great admiration. The Witbois were joined by other Hottentot tribes, and their first act was to murder some sixty German settlers in the Gibeon district. Both British and Boer farmers were spared--the Hottentots in this matter following the example of the Herero. In November, considerable reinforcements having come from Germany, the Witbois were attacked, and Hendrik's headquarters, Reitmont, captured. Another defeat was inflicted on Hendrik in January 1905, but, lacking ammunition and water, the Germans could not follow up their victory. As in Damaraland, the warfare in Namaqualand now assumed a guerrilla character, and the Germans found it almost impossible to meet their elusive enemy, while small detachments were often surprised and sometimes annihilated. In May 1905 von Trotha tried the effect on the Hottentots of another of his proclamations. He invited them to surrender, adding that in the contrary event all rebels would be exterminated. A price was at the same time put on the heads of Hendrik Witboi and other chiefs. This proclamation was unheeded by the Hottentots, who were in fact continuing the war with rifles and ammunition seized from the Germans, and replenishing their stock with cattle taken from the same source. In the north, however, Samuel Maherero had fled to British territory, and the resistance of the Herero was beginning to collapse. Concentration camps were established in which some thousands of Herero women and children were cared for. Meanwhile, the administration of von Trotha, who had assumed the governorship as well as the command of the troops, was severely criticized by the civilian population, and the non-success of the operations against the Hottentots provoked strong military criticism. In August 1905 Colonel (afterwards General) Leutwein, who had returned to Germany, formally resigned the governorship of the protectorate, and Herr von Lindequist, late German consul-general at Cape Town, was nominated as his successor. Von Trotha, who had publicly criticized Prince Bulow's order to repeal the Herero proclamation, was superseded. He had in the summer of 1905 instituted a series of "drives" against the Witbois, with no particular results. Hendrik always evaded the columns and frequently attacked them in the rear.

In November 1905 von Lindequist arrived at Windhoek. The new governor issued a general amnesty to the Herero, and set aside two large reserves for those who surrendered. His conciliatory policy was in the end successful, and the Ovampo, who threatened to give trouble, were kept in hand. The task of pacifying Damaraland was continued throughout 1906, and by the close of that year about 16,000 Herero had been established in the reserves. Some 3000 had sought refuge in British territory, while the number who had perished may be estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000.

The Hottentots subdued.

In Namaqualand von Lindequist found an enemy still unbroken. On the 3rd of November, however, Hendrik Witboi died, aged seventy-five, and his son and successor Samuel Isaac Witboi shortly afterwards surrendered, and the hostility of the tribe ceased. Morenga now became the chief of the rebel Hottentots, and "drives" against him were organized. Early in May 1906 an encounter between Morenga and a German column was fought close to the British frontier of the Bechuanaland protectorate. Morenga fled, was pursued across the frontier, and wounded, but escaped. On the 16th of May he was found hiding by British patrols and interned. Other Hottentot chiefs continued the conflict, greatly aided by the immense difficulty the Germans had in transporting supplies; to remedy which defect the building of a railway from Luderitz Bay to Kubub was begun early in 1906. A camel transport corps was also organized, and Boer auxiliaries engaged. Throughout the later half of 1906 the Hottentots maintained the struggle, the Karas mountains forming a stronghold from which their dislodgment was extremely difficult. Many of their leaders and numbers of the tribesmen had a considerable strain of white (chiefly Dutch) blood and were fairly educated men, with a knowledge not only of native, but European ways; facts which helped to make them formidable opponents. Gradually the resistance of the Hottentots was overcome, and in December 1906 the Bondelzwarts again surrendered. Other tribes continued the fight for months longer, but by March 1907 it was found possible to reduce the troops in the protectorate to about 5000 men. At the height of the campaign the Germans had 19,000 men in the field.

In August 1907 renewed alarm was created by the escape of Morenga from British territory. The Cape government, regarding the chief as a political refugee, had refused to extradite him and he had been assigned a residence near Upington. This place he left early in August and, eluding the frontier guards, re-entered German territory. In September, however, he was again on the British side of the border. Meantime a force of the Cape Mounted Police under Major F.A.H. Eliott had been organized to effect his arrest. Summoned to surrender, Morenga fled into the Kalahari Desert. Eliott's force of sixty men pursued him through a waterless country, covering 80 m. in 24 hours. When overtaken (September 21st), Morenga, with ten followers, was holding a kopje and fired on the advancing troops. After a sharp engagement the chief and five of his men were killed, the British casualties being one killed and one wounded. The death of Morenga removed a serious obstacle to the complete pacification of the protectorate. Military operations continued, however, during 1908. Herr von Lindequist, being recalled to Berlin to become under-secretary in the colonial office, was succeeded as governor (May 1907) by Herr von Schuckmann. In 1908 steps were taken to establish German authority in the Caprivi enclave, which up to that time had been neglected by the colonial authorities.

Discovery of diamonds.

The discovery of diamonds in the Luderitz Bay district in July 1908 caused a rush of treasure-seekers. The diamonds were found mostly on the surface in a sandy soil and were of small size. The stones resemble Brazilian diamonds. By the end of the year the total yield was over 39,000 carats. One of the difficulties encountered in developing the field was the great scarcity of fresh water. During 1909 various companies were formed to exploit the diamondiferous area. The first considerable packet of diamonds from the colony reached Germany in April 1909. The output for the year was valued at over L1,000,000.

AUTHORITIES.--Karl Dove, _Deutsch-Sudwestafrika_ (Berlin, 1903); W.
Kulz, _Deutsch-Sudafrika_ ... (Berlin, 1909); T. Leutwein, _Elf Jahre
Gouverneur in Deutsch-Sudwestafrika_ (Berlin, 1908), an authoritative
work, largely historical; P. Rohrbach, _Deutsche Kolonialwirtschaft_,
Band 1: _Sudwestafrika_ (Berlin, 1907), a comprehensive economic
study; I. Irle, _Die Herero, ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und
Missionskunde_ (Gutersloh, 1906), a valuable summary of information
concerning Damaraland; Major K. Schwabe, _Im deutschen Diamantenlande_
(Berlin, 1909); T. Rehbock, _Deutsch-Sudwestafrika, seine
wirtschaftliche Erschliessung unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der
Nutzbarmachung des Wassers_ (Berlin, 1898); C. von Francois,
_Deutsch-Sudwestafrika: Geschichte der Kolonisation bis zum Ausbruch
des Krieges mit Witbooi_, April 1893 (Berlin, 1899), a history of the
protectorate up to 1893; H. Schintz, _Deutsch-Sudwestafrika,
Forschungsreisen durch die deutschen Schutzgebiete Gross-Nama und
Hereroland, nach dem Kunene, &c., 1884-1887_ (Oldenburg, N.D. [1891]);
H. von Francois, _Nama und Damara_ (Magdeburg, N.D. [1896]). See also
for Ethnology, "Die Eingeborenen Deutsch-Sudwestafrikas nach
Geschichte, Charakter, Sitten, Gebrauchen und Sprachen," in
_Mitteilungen des Seminars fur orientalische Sprachen_ (Berlin and
Stuttgart) for 1899 and 1900; and G.W. Stow, _The Native Races of
South Africa_ (London, 1905); ch. xvii. contains an account of the
Afrikander family. For geology consult A. Schenk, "Die geologische
Entwicklung Sudafrikas (mit Karte)," _Peterm. Mitt._ (1888); Stromer
von Reichenbach, _Die Geologie der deutschen Schutzgebiete in Afrika_
(Munich and Leipzig, 1896). Of early books of travel the most valuable
are: F. Galton, _Tropical South Africa_ (1853; new ed. 1889); Charles
J. Andersson, _Lake Ngami_ (1856), _The Okavango River_ (1861) and
_Notes of Travel_ (1875). See also Sir J.E. Alexander, _An Expedition
of Discovery into the Interior of Africa_ (London, 1838). Reports on
the German colonies are published by the British foreign office. The
_Kriegskarte von Deutsch-Sudwestafrika_ (Berlin, 1904), in nine sheets
on a scale of 1 : 800,000, will be found useful. (F. R. C.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] As the result of wars with the natives, the population greatly
decreased. The number of adult (native) males in the colony at the
beginning of 1908 was officially estimated at 19,900, a figure
indicating a total population of little more than 100,000.

GERMANTOWN, a residential district and former suburb, now the Twenty-second Ward, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on Wissahickon Creek, in the N. part of the city. It is served by the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia & Reading railways. There are many old colonial houses and handsome modern residences along Main Street (the old Germantown Road or Avenue). Prominent among the historic houses is Cliveden, or the "Chew House," built about 1761 by Benjamin Chew (1722-1810), who was chief-justice of Pennsylvania in 1774-1777 and was imprisoned as a Loyalist in 1777, and whose home during the battle of Germantown (see below) was occupied by British troops. The well-preserved Morris House (1772) was the headquarters of General Howe at the close of the battle, and in 1793, when Germantown, owing to the yellow fever in Philadelphia, was the temporary capital of the United States, it was occupied by President Washington. Three doors above stood until 1904 the Ashmead House, used for a time by Count Nicholas Lewis Zinzendorf and his daughters for their Moravian school, which was removed to Bethlehem. In the same street, opposite Indian Queen Lane, is the old Wister Mansion, built as a country-seat in 1744 and occupied by British officers during the War of Independence. In another old house (now Nos. 5275-5277), John Fanning Watson (1779-1860), the annalist of Philadelphia, did most of his literary work. Just outside the ward limits, in what has since become a part of Fairmont Park, is the house in which David Rittenhouse, the astronomer, was born; it stands on Monoshore Creek or Paper Mill Run, in what was long called Roxborough (now the 21st ward of Philadelphia). In this vicinity the first paper mill in America was erected in 1690 by a company of which William Rittenhouse, David's great-grandfather, was the leading member. The King of Prussia Inn, built about 1740, and the Mermaid Hotel, as old or older, are interesting survivals of the inns and taverns of old Germantown. The Germantown Academy was built in 1760, and after the battle of Germantown was used by the British as a hospital. In Germantown are also a Friends' (orthodox) school, a Friends' free library, and the Germantown branch of the Philadelphia public library. The first school in Germantown was established about 1701, and for the first eighteen years was under the mastership of Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651-1719), the leader in founding the town, who lived in a house that stood on the site of the present First Methodist Episcopal church, High Street and Main Street. He compiled a primer which was the first school book produced in the state; with three others he drafted and signed in 1688 what seems to have been the first public protest made in America against slavery; and he is celebrated in Whittier's _Pennsylvania Pilgrim_. Later the same school passed to Christopher Dock (d. 1771), who in 1770 published an essay on teaching (written in 1750), which is said to have been the first book on pedagogy published in America. The first Bible printed in America in any European language was published in Germantown in 1743 by Christopher Sauer (d. 1758), a preacher of the German Baptist Brethren, who in 1739 established Germantown's first newspaper, _The High German Pennsylvania Historian, or Collection of Important News from the Kingdom of Nature and of the Church_. His grandsons are said to have cast about 1772 the first American printing type. The Friends were the first sect to erect a meeting-house of their own (about 1693). The Mennonites built a log meeting-house in 1709, and their present stone church was built in 1770. The town hall of Germantown was used as a hospital during the last three years of the Civil War. In Market Square a soldiers' monument was erected in 1883. The Site and Relic Society of Germantown maintains a museum of relics. Many of the early settlers were linen weavers, and Germantown still manufactures textiles, knit goods and yarns.

Germantown was founded in October 1683 by thirteen families from Crefeld, Germany, under the leadership of Francis Daniel Pastorius. The township, as originally laid out, contained four distinct villages known as Germantown, Cresheim, Sommerhousen and Crefield. Cresheim was later known as Mount Airy, and Sommerhousen and Crefield became known as Chestnut Hill. The borough of Germantown was incorporated in 1689. For many years it was a straggling village extending about 2 m. along Main Street. Its growth was more rapid from the middle of the 18th century. In 1789 a motion for the permanent location of the national capital at Germantown was carried in the Senate, and the same measure passed the House, amended only with respect to the temporary government of the ceded district; but the Senate killed the bill by voting to postpone further consideration of it until the next session. Germantown was annexed to Philadelphia in 1854.

_Battle of Germantown._--This famous encounter in the American War of Independence was fought on the 4th of October 1777. After the battle of Brandywine (q.v.) and the occupation of Philadelphia, the British force commanded by Sir W. Howe encamped at Germantown, where Washington determined to attack them. The Americans advanced by two roads, General Sullivan leading the column on the right and General Greene that on the left. Washington himself accompanied Sullivan, with whom were Stirling (an officer who claimed to be earl of that name) and Anthony Wayne. The right at first met with success, driving the British advanced troops back on the main body near the Chew House. Colonel Musgrave, of the 40th Foot, threw a portion of his regiment into this house, and General Agnew came up with his command. The Americans under Stirling attempted to dislodge Musgrave, thus losing time and alarming part of Sullivan's advance who had pushed farther forward in the fog. General Greene on the left was even less fortunate. Meeting with unexpected opposition at the first point of attack his troops were thrown into confusion and compelled to retreat. One of his brigades extended itself to the right wing, and by opening fire on the Chew House caused Wayne to retreat, and presently both of the American columns retired rapidly in the direction of their camp. The surprise had failed, with the loss to Washington's army of 673 men as against 500 on the side of the British. The British General Agnew and the American General Nash were both mortally wounded. In December Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, 40 m. west of Philadelphia. The British wintered in and around the city.

See N.H. Keyser, "Old Historic Germantown," in the _Proceedings and
Addresses of the Pennsylvania-German Society_ (Lancaster, 1906); S.W.
Pennypacker, _The Settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania, and the
Beginning of German Emigration to North America_ (Philadelphia, 1899),
and S.F. Hotchkin, _Ancient and Modern Germantown, Mount Airy and
Chestnut Hill_ (Philadelphia, 1889).

GERMANY (Ger. _Deutschland_), or, more properly, THE GERMAN EMPIRE (_Deutsches Reich_), a country of central Europe. The territories occupied by peoples of distinctively Teutonic race and language are commonly designated as German, and in this sense may be taken to include, besides Germany proper (the subject of the present article), the German-speaking sections of Austria, Switzerland and Holland. But Germany, or the German empire, as it is now understood, was formed in 1871 by virtue of treaties between the North German Confederation and the South German states, and by the acquisition, in the peace of Frankfort (May 10, 1871), of Alsace-Lorraine, and embraces all the countries of the former German Confederation, with the exception of Austria, Luxemburg, Limburg and Liechtenstein. The sole addition to the empire proper since that date is the island of Heligoland, ceded by Great Britain in 1890, but Germany has acquired extensive colonies in Africa and the Pacific (see below, _Colonies_).

The German empire extends from 47 deg. 16' to 55 deg. 53' N., and from 5 deg. 52' to 22 deg. 52' E. The eastern provinces project so far that the extent of German territory is much greater from south-west to north-east than in any other direction. Tilsit is 815 m. from Metz, whereas Hadersleben, in Schleswig, is only 540 m. from the Lake of Constance. The actual difference in time between the eastern and western points is 1 hour and 8 minutes, but the empire observes but one time--1 hour E. of Greenwich. The empire is bounded on the S.E. and S. by Austria and Switzerland (for 1659 m.), on the S.W. by France (242 m.), on the W. by Luxemburg, Belgium and Holland (together 558 m.). The length of German coast on the North Sea or German Ocean is 293 m., and on the Baltic 927 m., the intervening land boundary on the north of Schleswig being only 47 m. The eastern boundary is with Russia 843 m. The total length of the frontiers is thus 4569 m. The area, including rivers and lakes but not the _haffs_ or lagoons on the Baltic coast, is 208,830 sq. m., and the population (1905) 60,641,278. In respect of its area, the German empire occupied in 1909 the third place among European countries, and in point of population the second, coming in point of area immediately after Russia and Austria-Hungary, and in population next to Russia.

_Political Divisions._--The empire is composed of the following twenty-six states and divisions: the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Wurttemberg; the grand-duchies of Baden, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Saxe-Weimar; the duchies of Anhalt, Brunswick, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen; the principalities of Lippe-Detmold, Reuss-Greiz, Reuss-Schleiz, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Waldeck-Pyrmont; the free towns of Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck, and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine.

Besides these political divisions there are certain parts of Germany which, not conterminous with political boundaries, retain appellations derived either from former tribal settlements or from divisions of the old Holy Roman Empire. These are Franconia (Franken), which embraces the districts of Bamberg, Schweinfurt and Wurzburg on the upper Main; Swabia (Schwaben), in which is included Wurttemberg, parts of Bavaria and Baden and Hohenzollern; the Palatinate (Pfalz), embracing Bavaria west of the Rhine and the contiguous portion of Baden; Rhineland, applied to Rhenish Prussia, Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt and parts of Bavaria and Baden; Vogtland,[1] the mountainous country lying in the south-west corner of the kingdom of Saxony; Lusatia (Lausitz), the eastern portion of the kingdom of Saxony and the adjacent portion of Prussia watered by the upper Spree; Thuringia (Thuringen), the country lying south of the Harz Mountains and including the Saxon duchies; East Friesland (Ost Friesland), the country lying between the lower course of the Weser and the Ems, and Westphalia (Westfalen), the fertile plain lying north and west of the Harz Mountains and extending to the North Sea and the Dutch frontier.

_Coast and Islands._--The length of the coast-line is considerably less than the third part of the whole frontier. The coasts are shallow, and deficient in natural ports, except on the east of Schleswig-Holstein, where wide bays encroach upon the land, giving access to the largest vessels, so that the great naval harbour could be constructed at Kiel. With the exception of those on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein, all the important trading ports of Germany are river ports, such as Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeck, Stettin, Danzig, Konigsberg, Memel. A great difference, however, is to be remarked between the coasts of the North Sea and those of the Baltic. On the former, where the sea has broken up the ranges of dunes formed in bygone times, and divided them into separate islands, the mainland has to be protected by massive dikes, while the Frisian Islands are being gradually washed away by the waters. On the coast of East Friesland there are now only seven of these islands, of which Norderney is best known, while of the North Frisian Islands, on the western coast of Schleswig, Sylt is the most considerable. Besides the ordinary waste of the shores, there have been extensive inundations by the sea within the historic period, the gulf of the Dollart having been so caused in the year 1276. Sands surround the whole coast of the North Sea to such an extent that the entrance to the ports is not practicable without the aid of pilots. Heligoland is a rocky island, but it also has been considerably reduced by the sea. The tides rise to the height of 12 or 13 ft. in the Jade Bay and at Bremerhaven, and 6 or 7 ft. at Hamburg. The coast of the Baltic, on the other hand, possesses few islands, the chief being Alsen and Fehmarn off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, and Rugen off Pomerania. It has no extensive sands, though on the whole very flat. The Baltic has no perceptible tides; and a great part of its coast-line is in winter covered with ice, which also so blocks up the harbours that navigation is interrupted for several months every year. Its _haffs_ fronting the mouths of the large rivers must be regarded as lagoons or extensions of the river beds, not as bays. The Pommersche or Oder Haff is separated from the sea by two islands, so that the river flows out by three mouths, the middle one (Swine) being the most considerable. The Frische Haff is formed by the Nogat, a branch of the Vistula, and by the Pregel, and communicates with the sea by means of the Pillauer Tief. The Kurische Haff receives the Memel, called Niemen in Russia, and has its outlet in the extreme north at Memel. Long narrow alluvial strips called _Nehrungen_, lie between the last two haffs and the Baltic. The Baltic coast is further marked by large indentations, the Gulf of Lubeck, that of Pomerania, east of Rugen, and the semicircular Bay of Danzig between the promontories of Rixhoft and Brusterort. The German coasts are well provided with lighthouses.

_Surface._--In respect of physical structure Germany is divided into
two entirely distinct portions, which bear to one another a ratio of
about 3 to 4. The northern and larger part may be described as a
uniform plain. South and central Germany, on the other hand, is very
much diversified in scenery. It possesses large plateaus, such as that
of Bavaria, which stretches away from the foot of the Alps, fertile
low plains like that intersected by the Rhine, mountain chains and
isolated groups of mountains, comparatively low in height, and so
situated as not seriously to interfere with communication either by
road or by railway.

Mountains and plateaus.

Bavaria is the only division of the country that includes within it
any part of the Alps, the Austro-Bavarian frontier running along the
ridge of the Northern Tirolese or Bavarian Alps. The loftiest peak of
this group, the Zugspitze (57 m. S. of Munich), is 9738 ft. in height,
being the highest summit in the empire. The upper German plain sloping
northwards from the Bavarian Alps is watered by the Lech, the Isar and
the Inn, tributaries of the Danube, all three rising beyond the limits
of German territory. This plain is separated on the west from the
Swiss plain by the Lake of Constance (Bodensee, 1306 ft. above
sea-level), and on the east from the undulating grounds of Austria by
the Inn. The average height of the plain may be estimated at about
1800 ft., the valley of the Danube on its north border being from 1540
ft. (at Ulm) to 920 ft. (at Passau). The plain is not very fertile. In
the upper part of the plain, towards the Alps, there are several
lakes, the largest being the Ammersee, the Wurmsee or Starnberger See
and the Chiemsee. Many portions of the plain are covered by moors and
swamps of large extent, called _Moose_. The left or northern bank of
the Danube from Regensburg downwards presents a series of granitic
rocks called the Bavarian Forest (Bayrischer Wald), which must be
regarded as a branch of the Bohemian Forest (Bohmer Wald). The latter
is a range of wooded heights on the frontier of Bavaria and Bohemia,
occupying the least known and least frequented regions of Germany. The
summits of the Bayrischer Wald rise to the height of about 4000 ft.,
and those of the Bohmer Wald to 4800 ft., Arber being 4872 ft. The
valley of the Danube above Regensburg is flanked by plateaus sloping
gently to the Danube, but precipitous towards the valley of the
Neckar. The centre of this elevated tract is the Rauhe Alb, so named
on account of the harshness of the climate. The plateau continuing to
the north-east and then to the north, under the name of the Franconian
Jura, is crossed by the valley of the winding Altmuhl, and extends to
the Main. To the west extensive undulating grounds or low plateaus
occupy the area between the Main and the Neckar.

The south-western corner of the empire contains a series of better
defined hill-ranges. Beginning with the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), we
find its southern heights decline to the valley of the Rhine, above
Basel, and to the Jura. The summits are rounded and covered with wood,
the highest being the Feldberg (10 m. S.E. of Freiburg, 4898 ft.).
Northwards the Black Forest passes into the plateau of the
Neckarbergland (average height, 1000 ft.). The heights between the
lower Neckar and the Main form the Odenwald (about 1700 ft.); and the
Spessart, which is watered by the Main on three sides, is nothing but
a continuation of the Odenwald. West of this range of hills lies the
valley of the upper Rhine, extending about 180 m. from south to north,
and with a width of only 20 to 25 m. In the upper parts the Rhine is
rapid, and therefore navigable with difficulty; this explains why the
towns there are not along the banks of the river, but some 5 to 10 m.
off. But from Spires (Speyer) town succeeds town as far down as
Dusseldorf. The western boundary of this valley is formed in the first
instance by the Vosges, where granite summits rise from under the
surrounding red Triassic rocks (Sulzer Belchen, 4669 ft.). To the
south the range is not continuous with the Swiss Jura, the valley of
the Rhine being connected here with the Rhone system by low ground
known as the Gate of Mulhausen. The crest of the Vosges is pretty high
and unbroken, the first convenient pass being near Zabern, which is
followed by the railway from Strassburg to Paris. On the northern side
the Vosges are connected with the Hardt sandstone plateau (Kalmit,
2241 ft.), which rises abruptly from the plain of the Rhine. The
mountains south of Mainz, which are mostly covered by vineyards, are
lower, the Donnersberg, however, raising its head to 2254 ft. These
hills are bordered on the west by the high plain of Lorraine and the
coal-fields of Saarbrucken, the former being traversed by the river
Mosel. The larger part of Lorraine belongs to France, but the German
part possesses great mineral wealth in its rich layers of ironstone
(siderite) and in the coal-fields of the Saar. The tract of the
Hunsruck, Taunus and Eifel is an extended plateau, divided into
separate sections by the river valleys. Among these the Rhine valley
from Bingen to Bonn, and that of the Mosel from Trier to Coblenz, are
winding gorges excavated by the rivers. The Eifel presents a sterile,
thinly-peopled plateau, covered by extensive moors in several places.
It passes westwards imperceptibly into the Ardennes. The hills on the
right bank of the Rhine also are in part of a like barren character,
without wood; the Westerwald (about 2000 ft.), which separates the
valleys of the Sieg and Lahn, is particularly so. The northern and
southern limits of the Niederrheinische Gebirge present a striking
contrast to the central region. In the south the declivities of the
Taunus (2890 ft.) are marked by the occurrence of mineral springs, as
at Ems on the Lahn, Nauheim, Homburg, Soden, Wiesbaden, &c., and by
the vineyards which produce the best Rhine wines. To the north of this
system, on the other hand, lies the great coal basin of Westphalia,
the largest in Germany. In the south of the hilly duchy of Hesse rise
the isolated mountain groups of the Vogelsberg (2530 ft.) and the Rhon
(3117 ft.), separated by the valley of the Fulda, which uniting
farther north with the Werra forms the Weser. To the east of Hesse
lies Thuringia, a province consisting of the far-stretching wooded
ridge of the Thuringian Forest (Thuringerwald; with three peaks
upwards of 3000 ft. high), and an extensive elevated plain to the
north. Its rivers are the Saale and Unstrut. The plateau is bounded on
the north by the Harz, an isolated group of mountains, rich in
minerals, with its highest elevation in the bare summit of the Brocken
(3747 ft.). To the west of the Harz a series of hilly tracts is
comprised under the name of the Weser Mountains, out of which above
Minden the river Weser bursts by the Porta Westphalica. A narrow
ridge, the Teutoburger Wald (1300 ft.), extends between the Weser and
the Ems as far as the neighbourhood of Osnabruck.