German Period (1899-1914)

Overview

In August, 1885 Germany attempted to annex the island of Yap in the Caroline Islands (now part of the Federated States of Micronesia) which had been claimed by Spain since its discovery. By agreement, the matter was referred to the Pope for arbitration, who eventually decided that the title lay with Spain. The dispute spurred the Spanish, based in Guam, to begin to extend their limited regional presence into the Carolines and Palau Islands.

October of the same year a German firm, the Jaluit-Gesellsch, hoisted a German flag over the Marshall Islands. Germans having occupied the Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the Empire was said to have claimed the territory, but administratively it was still primarily a commercial enterprise. Pope Leo XIII's ruling also secured undisputed control of the Marshalls for the Germans.

Spain, having lost the Philippines as well as Guam to the Americans in 1898, sold its remaining Pacific possessions to Germany for 24,000,000 pesetas. This consisted of the Palau and Caroline Islands, as well as the Marianas (save Guam). In order to cut costs to both the traders and the State, the Marshall Islands were formally annexed to the German New Guinea Protectorate in 1906, which included northeastern New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the northern Solomon Islands, the Caroline Islands, Palau, Nauru and the Northern Mariana Islands.

In October 1914 the Marianas, Palau, Caroline and Marshall Islands were occupied by Japan, ending the German Period. This marked the start of the Japanese Period (1914-1941). Following the end of hostilities in Europe, defacto Japanese control of the Islands was recognized by the League of Nations in the form of a Class C Mandate.

German Colonial Policy

German policy with respect to the islands was directed first of all to complete pacification and, when this was accomplisned, to econcmic exploitation, Every encouragement was given to the development of trade and to the expansion of production, especially of copra. To the Germans the strategic value of the islands in a military sense was always of definitely subsidiary importance, as evidenced by the insignificant development of naval and military installations.

The Germans worked conscientiously for the improvement of the area. They built roads, and worked out an ingenious way of making fines payable in native monies. They encouraged the expansion of the missionary activity carried on by the German Capuchin order. They sent officials and scientists to the various islands to report on local conditions, to prepare improved maps and charts, and to explore economic possibilities. The natives were protected from unscrupulous traders by forbidding the extension of ruinous credits, and their property and fishing rights were respected. The administration sought to correct existing evils by prohibiting the sale of firearms and liquor to natives, by putting an end to warfare, by attempting to control sorcery, by forbidding "prostitution" in the men's clubhouses, by discouraging infanticide, and by encouraging emigration from the poorer islands to larger district centers. After the disastrous typhoon of 1907, when Woleai in particular was devastated, the administration sent prompt relief and made every effort to rehabilitate, the area and its inhabitants.

Only in the promotion of trade, which was after all the primary concern of the administration, did the district officers on occasion resort to dictatorial steps. Native, chiefs were required to have their people increase the acreage planted to coconuts, to maintain the groves in good condition, and to give e regular accounting to the authorities. In order to discourage idleness, able-bodied men in Palau were forbidden to frequent their clubhouses during the daytime, and the police were made responsible for the enforcement, of this regulation. On the whole, however, the German administration was “moderate, enlightened, and efficient,” in the words of a 1944 analysis by the United States Navy.

Palau and Yap

The Germans at once took possession, establishing administrative headquarters for the Western Carolines on Yap. Here they erected a new administrative building, established a hospital with a resident physician, who soon began to train native assistants and make tours of the other islands, and set up a police force composed first of Malays but soon of trained natives. The administrative officials consisted of the district officer, a secretary, a police officer, and a government physician, and this staff was never much increased. The system of native administration was completely patriarchal, the Germans interfering as little as possible with local political and social traditions. Six paramount chiefs on Yap were confirmed in office and were made responsible, with the help of their assistant chiefs, for the administration of local affairs. The district officer met with the chiefs once a month, discussed problems, and explained policy; the paramount chiefs then met with their subordinates and gave them instructions.

Although they encountered difficulties in imposing their administration in the Eastern Carolines, the Germans met practically no opposition on Yap, and little more in the other islands of the Western Carolines. As soon as possible, the district officer at Yap began to visit the other islands, explaining to the native chiefs that Germany had now assumed sovereignty and confirming them in office with some police supervision. In 1901 he visited Palau, where he delegated supervisory authority to one James Gibbon, “an educated West Indian Negro of mixed blood who had lived in the islands for more than 40 years,” and placed him in charge of five native policemen. In 1905, Gibbon was replaced by a German official, who set up a branch office at Koror. Trips and visits of inspection were made to other islands, and systems of local government similar to that on Yap wore instituted. In general, native chiefs were left in authority, though made subject to German supervision and deprived of their power to inflict the death penalty.

The administrative control of the islands was centralized in 1907 by converting the district office for the Marianas at Saipan into a branch office subordinate to the headquarters on Yap. In 1910 another branch office was opened on Angaur in consequence of the growing economic importance of that island with the development of phosphate mining. The Germans succeeded in imposing their control throughout the Western Carolinas without unduly antagonizing the natives. They did, however, encounter some opposition from local political and religious leaders, who several times stirred up near rebellions. The most important of these occurred in the village of Arekong on Palau in 1906, but it was promptly quelled by the speedy appearance of the German director of the Palau branch station with his police force. Regular visits by German warships helped to prevent more serious outbreaks, such as occurred in Ponape. The main reasons for the peaceful imposition of German rule, however, were the mild disposition of the people and the sound administrative policy of not interfering with native customs.

Pohnpei and Kosrae

The Germans immediately took possession and established their headquarters for the administration of the Eastern Carolines on Ponape. Reforms were quickly instituted. Ponape Colony was rebuilt, its fortifications were razed, and natives were freely admitted to the settlement for the first time. The sale of alcohol to the natives was forbidden, and pacification was largely achieved. The natives of Truk were disarmed in 1903, but the people of Ponape could not be induced to surrender their firearms until 1905, when they were reduced to famine by a severe typhoon and gave up many but not all of their weapons in return for food.

Sokehs Rebellion, Pohnpei

Only on Pohnpei did the Germans encounter serious opposition, and here only after many years of relative peace. Trouble began when Governor Hahl visited Ponape from New Guinea in 1907 and announced to the assembled chiefs that the old feudal system was abolished, ignoring their protest that the loss of feudal tribute would deprive them of their sole source of income, and forcing them to state in writing that no vassal would thence forth be removed from his fief.

As recounted in "Illustrative Cases From Military Occupations,"

It has been shown many times that over hasty attempts to revolutionize native social systems bring unfortunate results. A German example on Ponape ("Pohnpei") in 1907 is pertinent. Social and economic feudalism prevailed and the chiefs, by ancient right, collected annual tribute from their vassals. Dr. Hahl, the German Imperial Governor, seeking to modernize the system by decree, summoned the chiefs, announced that feudalism was abolished and, although he proposed no substitute for the lost tribute, required all to sign an agreement that they would remove no vassal from a fief. The government lost prestige by its empty gesture, for the chiefs soon fomented costly revolts by starting rumors of tolls and taxes to come and by encouraging passive resistance against construction of new roads which threatened their isolation."

When a new administrator, Fritz, arrived in 1908, he found widespread mistrust and discontent, and proposed an equitable solution to the problem in the following terms: (1) tribute was to cease, and former tenants were to become free owners of the land; (2) in lieu of tribute, former tenants were to work 15 days a year without pay for the Government; (3) their labor was to be reckoned at the rate of one mark per day, and half of this credit was to be turned over in cash to the former feudal lords in recompense for their loss; (4) the labor was to be expended exclusively on roads, canals, and other projects directly beneficial to the people in an economic sense. The five tribes were individually consulted. Kiti, Metalanim. and U accepted at once, and Not after some hesitation, and all four performed acceptably their compulsory labor for 1909. Belatedly Jokaj also accepted the proposals, and Fritz agreed to waive their labor for 1909. He was shortly replaced, however, by anew administrator, Boeder, who refused to honor the agreement.

In October, 1910, when the Jokaj natives were called to perform their two years quota of labor in road building, they assembled in an angry spirit, exacerbated by Catholic-Protestant intrigues behind the scenes. When one recalcitrant laborer was seized and flogged, his fellow tribesmen quit work, attacked their masters, and killed Boeder and three other Germans. Retaliation was swift. The Germans came with warships and a force of Melanesian soldiers, drove the rebels out of their stronghold, and pursued them into the mountains. By the middle of February, 1911, the entire insurgent district was brought under control with only slight German losses. Seventeen rebels were executed, and the rest of the population, numbering 426 people, was exiled in a body to Palau, Unrest survived in the other districts', and Ponape was not completely subdued until 21 more young men were rounded up and deported.

See also Pohnpei Rebellion.

End of the German Period

In accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan entered and secured the German colonies of the Palau, Caroline, and Marshall Islands early in the First World War. A Japanese naval squadron took military possession of the Islands in the fall of 1914, interning the German officials and business men and eventually shipping them back to Germany. The squadron commander immediately established a military administration of the islands. This marked the end of the German Period (1899-1914) and the start of the Japanese Period (1914-1941).

Books about the German Period

Schnee, Heinrich. German Colonialization Past and Future. Second, Kennikat Press, 1926.

Argues that "Germany's reputation and success as a colonial power have been unjustly called into question" and presents "reasons why the return of her colonies is act both of duty and necessity." Slightly edited and translated from an earlier German edition and dealing primarily with former German possesions in Africa, there is some treatment of the Pacific Islands. Heinrich was a German lawyer, colonial civil servant, and later politician, who served as the last Governor of German East Africa. Published book, hardback.

Hezel, Francis X. The First Taint Of Civilization: A History of The Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-Colonial Days, 1521-1885. First, University of Hawaii Press, 1983, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932370315.

History of Caroline and Marshall from Magellan’s discovery of Guam through establishment of German Protectorate, written for both scholars and a wider audience. Hezel is a widely recognized Jesuit priest who has lived and worked in Micronesia for decades, established and led the Micronesian Seminar, and published prolifically. Published book, softcover.

Stephenson, Charles. Germany’s Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914. Boydell & Brewer, 2009, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/907188335.

Covers German pursuit and acquistion of colonies in East Asia and the Pacific, including the German Pacific Island Territories which encmpassed the Marshalls, Marianas, Palaus and Caroline Islands. Stephenson is an extensively published military historian. Published book, hardcover.

Knoll, Arthur J., and Hiery J. Herman, editors. The German Colonial Experience: Select Documents on German Rule in Africa, China, and the Pacific 1884-1914. Univ. Press of America, 2010, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/699802650.

Loosely organized snippets of source documents that aims to provide "understanding of how the Germans gained, explored, pacified, ruled, and exploited their colonies prior to their loss in World War I" including selections from island territories of the Carolines, Palau, Marianas and Marshall Islands. Knoll is an African, Middle Eastern, and military historian, Hiery a German-based historian of Germany's former Pacific Colonies. Published book, hardcover.

Conrad, Sebastian. German Colonialism: A Short History. Cambridge University Press, 2012, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/731372985.

Aims to "chart the expansion of the empire from its origins in the acquisition of substantial territories in present day Togo, Cameroon, Namibia and Tanzania to new settlements in East Asia and the Pacific and reveal the colonialist culture which permeated the German nation and its politics." Only fleeting reference to Marianas, Palau, Caroline and Marshall Islands. Conrad is a professor of history in Germany and the book was transated into English by Sorcha O'Hagan. Published book, softcover.

Hempenstall, Peter. Pacific Islanders under German Rule: A Study in the Meaning of Colonial Resistance. Second (Reprint), ANU Press, 2016, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1253314661.

Characterized by its publishers as "reprint of the first detailed study of how Pacific Islanders responded politically and economically to their rulers across the German empire of the Pacific." Offers some details on the polcies, operations and personalities of German Colonialism in the Pacific, but specific references to the Marshalls, Marianas, Palau and the Carolines are mostly limited to an account of the Sokehs Rebellion in Pohnpei. Hempenstall is a proffessor of Humanities and Social Sciences. Published book, softcover.

Berman, Nina, et al., editors. German Colonialism Revisited: African, Asian, And Oceanic Experiences. University of Michigan Press, 2018, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1129850898.

Collection of academic essays which "address a range of issues surrounding colonized African, Asian, and Oceanic people’s creative reactions" to German colonialism." Despite the title, virtualy no specific reference is made to the Pacific Islands of the Marshalls, Marianas, Palau and Carolines. Editors and authors are "military historians, art historians, literary scholars, cultural theorists, and linguists." Published book, hardcover.

Articles, Chapters and Texts and about the German Period

Heinemann, Dorothy Amanda, "Germany's Policy in the Far East, Especially since 1890, (Master's Thesis), University of Minnesota, 1917. https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/179348

"Chapter III – Capture of the German Colonies: German New Guinea," in First World War Official Histories, Volume IX, The Royal Australian Navy, 1914–1918 (9th edition, 1941). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1416821

Quinn, Pearle E. “The Diplomatic Struggle for the Carolines, 1898.” Pacific Historical Review, vol. 14, no. 3, 1945, pp. 290–302. https://doi.org/10.2307/3635892.

Churchill, William. “Germany’s Lost Pacific Empire.” Geographical Review, vol. 10, no. 2, 1920, pp. 84–90. https://doi.org/10.2307/207706.

Smith, Woodruff D. “The Ideology of German Colonialism, 1840-1906.” The Journal of Modern History, vol. 46, no. 4, 1974, pp. 641–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1877789.

Ehrlich, Paul Mark, "The Clothes of Men": Ponape Island and German Colonial Rule 1899-1914," (Dissertation) State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1978

Henning, Rodney, M. "German Colonial Policy in the Pacific: Origin, Determinants and Implementation," (Masters Thesis) University of Hawaii, 1982, https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d490848a-cdb1-4f8a-9016-49610d2fad0f/content

Hezel, Francis X. 1994. The First Taint of Civilization. First. University of Hawaii Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824847173.

Grimmer-Solem, Erik. 2008. “The German Colonial Empire.” In The Oxford Encylopedia of the Modern World, ed. Peter N. Stearns. Oxford University Press, 129–37.

Articles, Chapters and Texts from the German Period

“The Island of Stone Money.” The Economic Journal, vol. 25, no. 98, 1915, pp. 281–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/2222196.