Communicating Colonial Order: The Police of German South-West-Africa (c. 1894-1915)

Abstract

Being only formally founded in 1905, the police force of GSWA (consist- ing of roughly 500 former German NCOs and 370 African policemen) had duties similar to those of the police within Germany: to secure public order and the public’s welfare, as well as to penalise perpetrators. In addition to these duties, colonial police officers also had to execute the so-called «native regulations» of 1907 (Eingeborenen-Verordnungen), which regulated the carrying of official passes by Africans, as well as their obligation to work and to be registered with the local administration. The actual ability of the colo- nial police force to exert control over the colonial territory was limited how- ever, as futile attempts to bring an end to cattle theft and other forms of ban- ditry were to demonstrate. Communication with the local population also proved to be a problem for these officers, with officials forced to refer to African interpreters whose reliability they questioned. In an attempt to cir- cumvent this issue, German policemen were requested to learn an African language. In this the colonial police force would encounter many problems however, with their attempts producing only meagre results. 1