The Kaiser and the Colonies: Monarchy in the Age of Empire, by Matthew P. Fitzpatrick

Recent legal proceedings involving the role of the Hohenzollerns in National Socialism have revived a debate on the place of the former monarchy in modern Germany and the ways in which its descendants engage with uncomfortable legacies of the past. Those whose interest has been piqued by this debate and who wonder about the Hohenzollerns’ role in another arena, German colonialism, will be drawn to Matthew Fitzpatrick’s book. They should be warned, however, that this book is neither entirely about the Kaiser, nor entirely about the German colonies. It also does not offer any quick and easy answers to the question of culpability, but is perhaps all the more valuable a piece of scholarship because of this.

The overarching question, as the subtitle suggests, is the role of monarchy in the heyday of empire, which, strictly speaking, was for Germany a relatively brief foray into overseas possessions between the 1880s and 1918. The work, however, avoids a myopic view by considering Wilhelm II’s connections to non-Western monarchs and leading figures in the German colonies and beyond. At its heart are royal relationships across the imperial divide. In this sense it is as much about Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco, Zaifeng, Prince Chun of China, King Njoya of the Bamum in Cameroon and King Chulalongkorn of Siam as it is about Kaiser Wilhelm II. Fitzpatrick explicitly attempts to move beyond a one-dimensional account towards a narrative that takes into consideration the agency of non-Western rulers and the complex decision-making processes involved in their relations with an expanding German empire and its highest representative.

The book is divided into two parts. The first, ‘Monarchy in the Metropole’, focuses on the Kaiser himself and a series of royal visits. Most of the chapters describe an imperial encounter between ‘royal cosmopolitans’, either dignitaries visiting the Kaiser or his own trips abroad. Other chapters, such as one on the Kaiser’s role in the seizure of the Chinese port of Kiatschou, are comparatively less focused on royal exchange but instead centre on the extent of the Kaiser’s involvement in colonial matters. The second part, ‘Monarchy beyond the Metropole’, shows us the reverse side of the coin. It analyses non-Western reactions to the imperial encounter, drawing in part on a number of documents held in German archives that were written by, or in the name of, non-Western rulers themselves.

Though each chapter is in and of itself detailed and thought-provoking, the most vivid are undoubtedly the ones staying true to the focus on royal encounters. Here, the narrative concentrates on the ritual, visual and material tools of imperial diplomacy. It reveals a monarchical bag of tricks with which Wilhelm II could impress foreign dignitaries without in fact making any hard and fast decisions or concessions: Prussian orders, after-dinner toasts or portraits of himself, for example. Overseas visitors also sought to impress; unfortunately, however, a Siamese pavilion of 15,000 pieces gifted to the Kaiser arrived with 9,000 pieces already broken (p. 50). Despite these extensive efforts at pomp and circumstance, it seems that no real political consequences emerged from these exchanges. In hard political terms, dining with the Kaiser did not offer any real added value.

The book does not cover all the German colonies, and at the same time goes beyond colonial possessions to cover imperialist ambitions in the Far East, Palestine and Morocco. This in itself is worthy of further explanation: how important were the actual colonies to the Kaiser? And has the surge in historiography on German colonialism perhaps been too narrow, losing sight of the broader worldviews that more accurately represent elite ambitions at the time?

Moreover, where does this leave the thorny issues of the Kaiser’s culpability in colonialism? In Chapter Five, Fitzpatrick largely exculpates the emperor from any direct responsibility for the genocide of the Herero in Germany’s largest settlement colony, Southwest Africa, in 1904–8, citing only three moments when he in some way influenced the course of events. The author further supports a substantial scholarly consensus that there was not a ‘secret’ imperial extermination order for the Herero, as claimed by some more polemical works. Indeed, reading Fitzpatrick’s account, one almost gets the impression that Wilhelm II was entirely uninterested in all things African, which, however, was not the case.

In spite of its admirable breadth, the analysis is of course limited by the selection of sources, as any work on this subject is bound to be, and as Fitzpatrick himself admits in the introduction. There is still much work to be done in our understanding of the role of monarchies in empire in general, and the Hohenzollerns and German colonialism in particular, but this book can be seen as a crucial milestone in that line of research. Particularly lamentable in that regard is the lack of a bibliography.

Overall, this volume offers two valuable contributions. The first is a thorough acknowledgement and detailed discussion of decision-making by colonial ‘subjects’ and their inclusion in analyses of international relations in the age of empire. The second is its contribution to the debate on the Kaiser’s culpability in colonial matters. Here, Fitzpatrick concludes that ‘While there is no question that Kaiser Wilhelm II (and indeed his father and grandfather) played a demonstrable role in supporting those creating and consolidating Germany’s global empire, it is also clear that Wilhelm II was neither the instigator nor the impetus behind Kolonialpolitik or Weltpolitik’ (p. 381). Furthermore, ‘To the extent that questions of direct culpability are of interest, Wilhelm II’s “guilt” lay with his dereliction of his duty of oversight, with his lack of interest in the fate of colonial subjects, and with his clear indifference to the suffering engendered by the empire he reigned over and inflicted by those who ruled in his name’ (p. 383).

While scholarly opinions may differ on this front and develop if and when new evidence emerges, Fitzpatrick’s study offers a crucial cornerstone to this debate that acknowledges the complexity of decision-making processes relating to colonial politics, as well as the wide-ranging nature of international relations among ‘royal cosmopolitans’.