“Samoa's Annexation” (1899)

Abstract

In 1900, the German Empire declared the island nation of Samoa a German protectorate and thus it became the colony of German Samoa. Due to its non-violent colonization, Samoa was regarded as a German “model colony”. This caricature by Ottmar Zieher accordingly depicts the process of colonization as the courtship of a gallant (male) empire personified as a diplomat for the exotic (female) Samoa.

Source

Source: Caricature postcard: “Samoas Einverleibung” [Samoa's Incorporation], 1899. Original: Sammlung Dieter Klein. Digital reproduction courtesy of Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich.

© Digital reproduction: Museum Fünf Kontinente. Original: Sammlung Dieter Klein. Reproductions only with permission by the collector and the “Museum Fünf Kontinente.”

“Samoa's Annexation” (1899), published in: German History Intersections, <https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/migration/ghis:image-110> [October 23, 2024].