Colonial Policy of German Empire in China and Oceania in the Last Third of XIX – Beginning of XX Century

Abstract

The relevance of the topic is determined by the historical significance of the problems that are raised in it. In the article the author discovers the methods and forms of Germany’s colonial policy in the last third part of the 19th – in the beginning of the 20th centuries in China and Oceania. The German Empire was the last from the world’s leading states that entered the path of colonial seizures. The author emphasizes that German politicians generally were satisfied with the development of the country after 1871. For a long time, the range of interests of an imperial chancellor O. von Bismarck (1871 – 1890), as a politician, was limited to the territory of Europe and those countries that were bound by it. Colonies were only interesting for him as an instrument for putting a pressure on the leading countries of the world to solve their European problems. Trying to avoid conflicts with the leading European powers, especially with the Great Britain, O. von Bismarck had been deliberately refraining from colonial expansion until the mid-80’s of the 19th century. In addition, indifference to colonialism at that time was being expressed by some representatives of the party elite and business. However, in the last third part of the 19th century, the country gets full freedom of action in colonial politics, and therefore it begins to occupy territories in various parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and Oceania. The interference of the Second Reich in the division of China was one of the reasons for the massive Yihetuan Movement, and in the future, the deployment of a large-scale conflict – the Russian-Japanese war of 1904 – 1905. All this certainly became a part of the complex of reasons for the First World War. Therefore studying of the reasons for and effects of the colonial policy of Germany in the last third part of the 19th – early 20th centuries is quite important and of considerable scientific interest. In addition, the author notes that most of the politicians in the business circles of Germany considered the colonization of China and Oceania as an important stage not only for economic development of the country, but also for the growth of international authority in the world.