Gustav Adolf von Götzen
Encyclopedia
Count Gustav Adolf von Götzen (12 May 1866 – 2 December 1910) was a German
explorer and Governor
of German East Africa
. He was the second European to set foot in Rwanda
, after Dr Oscar Baumann
, and later presided over the bloody quashing of the Maji Maji Rebellion
in what is now Tanzania
.
at the universities of Paris
, Berlin and Kiel between 1884 and 1887. He then joined the army, and became (in 1887) a Lieutenant
in the 2nd Garde-Ulanen regiment. Between 1890 and 1891 he was stationed in Rome
and it was from there that he made his first African trip, in a hunting expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro
.
In 1892, having been made an officer in the War academy, Götzen travelled to Asia Minor
with Major Walther von Diest.
had begun claiming areas of East Africa
for Germany. The Tanganyikan coast proved relatively easy, but conquest of the inland areas of the colony - right up to the Belgian Congo
- was more difficult as large parts were still unexplored. For this reason, Götzen led an expedition to claim these hinterlands. He took with him Georg von Prittwitz and Hermann Kersting.
The party set off from Pangani
, on the Tanganyikan coast, on 21 December 1893. After travelling through Maasai areas, they eventually arrived, on 2 May 1894, at Rusumo Falls
on the Kagera river. By crossing the river, they became the first Europeans to set foot in Rwanda since Dr Oscar Baumann
's 1892 expedition, at the time one of the most organised and centralised kingdoms in the region, but nominally already part of the German colony. They travelled right through Rwanda, meeting the mwami
(king) at his palace in Nyanza
, and eventually reaching Lake Kivu
, the western edge of the kingdom.
After encountering and climbing some of the Virunga Mountains
, Götzen decided to continue west through the Congolese jungle. With great effort, they managed to reach the Congo river
on 21 September, which they then followed downstream, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean
on 29 November. In January 1895, Götzen returned to Germany.
in Washington, D.C.
, and he served as an observer with Col. T. Roosevelt during the Cuba campaign. Afterwards joined the general staff of the army in Berlin, where he was promoted in 1900 to the rank of Captain.
There had already been rebellions by the native population in the 1880s and 1890s, and in 1905 Götzen was faced with outbreak of the Maji Maji Rebellion
, which quickly took over about half of the colony. This was similar in severity to the Herero Wars taking place in German South-West Africa
, but was noticed less by the German public. Götzen sent for reinforcements, and suppressed the rebellion by force. It is estimated that up to 300,000 Africans were killed, while the German side lost 15 Europeans and 389 African soldiers, according to official data compiled by Götzen.
In 1906, Götzen gave up the governor's post due to ill health.
.
He died on 2 December 1910 in Hamburg.
in World War I. She was scuttled in July 1916 off the mouth of the Malagarasi River
to prevent her falling into the hands of the Belgian troops. In 1924 on instructions from Winston Churchill
, salvage operations by the Royal Navy
succeeded in refloating the ship and in 1927 she returned to service as the M.V. Liemba and is still running today as a passenger cargo ferry.
Von Götzen is the great grandfather of the current Pretender to the Mexican Imperial Throne, Maximilian von Götzen-Itúrbide
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
explorer and Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
. He was the second European to set foot in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, after Dr Oscar Baumann
Oscar Baumann
Oscar Baumann was an Austrian cartographer with a keen interest in ethnography.He attended classes on natural history and geography at the University of Vienna, and in 1885 was part of an Austrian exploratory expedition of the Congo Basin headed by Oskar Lenz. However, he had to leave the...
, and later presided over the bloody quashing of the Maji Maji Rebellion
Maji Maji Rebellion
The Maji Maji Rebellion, sometimes called the Maji Maji War, was a violent African resistance to colonial rule in the German colony of Tanganyika, an uprising by several African indigenous communities in German East Africa against the German rule in response to a German policy designed to force...
in what is now Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
.
Early life
Götzen studied lawJurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
at the universities of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, Berlin and Kiel between 1884 and 1887. He then joined the army, and became (in 1887) a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the 2nd Garde-Ulanen regiment. Between 1890 and 1891 he was stationed in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and it was from there that he made his first African trip, in a hunting expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
.
In 1892, having been made an officer in the War academy, Götzen travelled to Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
with Major Walther von Diest.
The expedition of 1893/94
From 1885, Karl PetersKarl Peters
Karl Peters , was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author, the prime mover behind the foundation of the German colony of East Africa...
had begun claiming areas of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
for Germany. The Tanganyikan coast proved relatively easy, but conquest of the inland areas of the colony - right up to the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
- was more difficult as large parts were still unexplored. For this reason, Götzen led an expedition to claim these hinterlands. He took with him Georg von Prittwitz and Hermann Kersting.
The party set off from Pangani
Pangani
Pangani is one of the eight districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Muheza District, to the East by the Indian Ocean, to the South by the Pwani Region and to the West by the Handeni District.The center is Pangani....
, on the Tanganyikan coast, on 21 December 1893. After travelling through Maasai areas, they eventually arrived, on 2 May 1894, at Rusumo Falls
Rusumo Falls
Rusumo Falls is a waterfall located on the Kagera river on the border between Rwanda and Tanzania, part of the most distant headwaters of the river Nile...
on the Kagera river. By crossing the river, they became the first Europeans to set foot in Rwanda since Dr Oscar Baumann
Oscar Baumann
Oscar Baumann was an Austrian cartographer with a keen interest in ethnography.He attended classes on natural history and geography at the University of Vienna, and in 1885 was part of an Austrian exploratory expedition of the Congo Basin headed by Oskar Lenz. However, he had to leave the...
's 1892 expedition, at the time one of the most organised and centralised kingdoms in the region, but nominally already part of the German colony. They travelled right through Rwanda, meeting the mwami
Mwami
Mwami is the chiefly title in Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, the Congolese Nande and Bashi languages, Luhya in Kenya and various other Bantu languages, such as the Tonga language . The word is usually translated as king...
(king) at his palace in Nyanza
Nyanza
Nyanza may refer to:*Nyanza, Rwanda**Nyanza District, the district surrounding Nyanza, Rwanda*Nyanza Province, Kenya*Nyanza Lac, Burundi*Nyanza, the Bantu word for lake, in particular:**Lake Albert **Lake Edward...
, and eventually reaching Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika...
, the western edge of the kingdom.
After encountering and climbing some of the Virunga Mountains
Virunga Mountains
The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu...
, Götzen decided to continue west through the Congolese jungle. With great effort, they managed to reach the Congo river
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
on 21 September, which they then followed downstream, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
on 29 November. In January 1895, Götzen returned to Germany.
Turn of the century
Between 1896 and 1898 Götzen worked as an attachéAttaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and he served as an observer with Col. T. Roosevelt during the Cuba campaign. Afterwards joined the general staff of the army in Berlin, where he was promoted in 1900 to the rank of Captain.
Governorship and Maji Maji Rebellion
Due to his knowledge of local conditions, Götzen was appointed governor of German East Africa in March 1901, but soon had to deal with a huge crisis in the colony.There had already been rebellions by the native population in the 1880s and 1890s, and in 1905 Götzen was faced with outbreak of the Maji Maji Rebellion
Maji Maji Rebellion
The Maji Maji Rebellion, sometimes called the Maji Maji War, was a violent African resistance to colonial rule in the German colony of Tanganyika, an uprising by several African indigenous communities in German East Africa against the German rule in response to a German policy designed to force...
, which quickly took over about half of the colony. This was similar in severity to the Herero Wars taking place in German South-West Africa
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
, but was noticed less by the German public. Götzen sent for reinforcements, and suppressed the rebellion by force. It is estimated that up to 300,000 Africans were killed, while the German side lost 15 Europeans and 389 African soldiers, according to official data compiled by Götzen.
In 1906, Götzen gave up the governor's post due to ill health.
Later years
Götzen continued to be actively involved in furthering German colonial policy, in particular as a member of the German colonization and administration company for colonies. In 1908 he became the Prussian envoy in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
He died on 2 December 1910 in Hamburg.
Legacy
The German passenger ship Graf von Götzen was named after Götzen and used as part of Germany's war effort on Lake TanganyikaLake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
in World War I. She was scuttled in July 1916 off the mouth of the Malagarasi River
Malagarasi River
The Malagarasi River is Tanzania's second longest river. It empties into the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika about 25 miles south of Kigoma, and is one of the lake's primary inflows. The Malagarasi pre-dates Lake Tanganyika and was formerly a tributary of the Congo River to its west...
to prevent her falling into the hands of the Belgian troops. In 1924 on instructions from Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, salvage operations by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
succeeded in refloating the ship and in 1927 she returned to service as the M.V. Liemba and is still running today as a passenger cargo ferry.
Von Götzen is the great grandfather of the current Pretender to the Mexican Imperial Throne, Maximilian von Götzen-Itúrbide
Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide
Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide (born March 2, 1944 in Bistriţa, Romania (then Hungary), is the current head of the former Imperial House...
.
Further reading
- Reinhart Bindseil: Ruanda im Lebensbild des Offiziers, Afrikaforschers und Kaiserlichen Gouverneurs Gustav Adolf Graf von Götzen (1866–1910). Mit einem Abriss über die zeitgenössischen Forschungsreisenden Franz Stuhlmann, Oscar Baumann, Richard Kandt, Adolf Friedrich Herzog zu Mecklenburg und Hans Meyer. Berlin 1992. ISBN 3-496-00427-4