James Morenga

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jakob Morenga

Jacobus Morenga (or Jakobus , also Jacob or Jakob ; and also Marengo ; * around 1875 in South West Africa , today's Namibia ; † September 19, 1907 near Eenzamheid), known as the "black Napoleon", was one of the most important leaders in the Herero and Uprising Nama from 1904 to 1908.

The warfare of the Herero and Nama (or Witbooi ) differed fundamentally from one another: While the Herero sought open field battle , the Nama (and Orlam ) preferred covert fight from ambush and were thus able to inflict heavy losses on the German protection force . This led to a government crisis in Berlin and triggered a new election in the Reichstag - the so-called " Hottentot election " on January 25, 1907.

Morenga is considered one of the first modern guerrilla fighters . In the last years of his life he was a folk hero for the Southwest and South Africans and one of the main enemies of the German colonial power. Kaiser Wilhelm II personally offered his head a reward of 20,000 marks . Jakob Morenga died in 1907 fighting his British pursuers, who in this case collaborated with the German military.

Career

Morenga was the child of a Herero man and a Nama woman . It is said that a missionary took him to Europe for a year and a half. He was fluent in German, English and Afrikaans. His last job before his military career was in the Ookiep copper mines in the Cape Colony .

After his return to South West Africa, Morenga had appeared in the Bondelswart uprising in autumn 1903 and had made a name for himself as one of the main leaders as an imaginative tactician. In the Peace of Kalkfontein , Morenga was ostracized by the Germans. A reward of 1,000 marks was offered on his head. Morenga fled to the Karas Mountains and then to British territory.

At the beginning of July 1904 Morenga returned to German South West Africa and obtained weapons and food by raiding white settlers in the south. At first his troop consisted of 11 men. On August 30, there was a battle with a 30-man German force near Kouchanas , in the course of which their leader, Lieutenant von Stempel and two other soldiers, were killed. Morenga routed the Germans, and in the skirmishes that followed, he always remained victorious.

Morenga received steady inflows from both Nama and Herero, and by September they had 150 rifles. This constellation was exceptional as the Nama and Herero traditionally fought against each other rather than together. Morenga's political goal was a change from German to British colonial rule. State independence still seemed utopian at that time.

After the end of the Herero War, he became the central figure of the Namarebellion under Hendrik Witbooi from October 1904 , in which he led a guerrilla war of over 3 years in Namaland . One of the highlights for Morenga was the battle of Hartebeestmund in 1905 , in which his men ambushed the Germans, inflicting heavy losses on them and thus driving them to flight. From December 1905 to February 1906 the Germans had to stop fighting Morenga because they had supply problems. It was not until March 1906 that the Germans began a major offensive against Morenga.

Limit violations

Jakob Morenga fled to neutral British territory on May 1, 1906 and camped just 10 kilometers from the border at Van Rooisvley . His people did not expect the Germans to cross the border and were surprised by Captain Bech on May 4th. 23 Nama were killed, but the wounded Morenga escaped. Bech justified his illegal action by claiming that he only learned from a Cappolizist after the battle that they were on British territory. Governor Friedrich von Lindequist even complained to the British that they were not doing enough to maintain neutrality (and thus disarm the insurgents who had fled). At the same time he asserted the right to “self-help”.

In Berlin, however, they saw things differently and assured through the ambassador in London that such border violations would be sharply condemned and would not occur again. However, it turned out that the British were pursuing the same interest as the Germans and were looking for Morenga. Therefore, according to statements by the German Consul General in Cape Town, the British protest remained purely formal. In the meantime, the next day the Germans crossed the border again to attack Morenga again. But he was warned and was able to escape half an hour before the Germans arrived.

Capture

On May 7, 1906, Jakob Morenga and seven of his men surrendered to the Cappolizei and were then taken to Prieska , 300 km from the border. On the German side, they were relieved to have Morenga's capture and thus the elimination of one of the greatest enemies.

In Prieska Morenga was celebrated as a great hero by the population. He gave several interviews. He told the Cape Times that his arrest did not end the war, but would go on as long as "there is still an African in the field." He further reiterated his hope that South West Africa would pass to Great Britain and reaffirmed his confidence in fair treatment by the British.

Morenga asked the British for political asylum but was interned for almost a year. However, they rejected a request for extradition from Germany. At the end of 1906, when Morenga's early release became apparent, the commander of the protection troops, Berthold Deimling , telegraphed to Berlin: "Hold his release right now, as long as the Bondelzwarts are not yet fully collected in the locations, dangerous for the quiet of the protected area." The Germans were able to intervene successfully in London and postpone Morenga's release for another six months.

Release and escape

In June 1907, Morenga was finally released. The German consul general in Cape Town, Humboldt, offered Deimling to join the Bondelzwarts Agreement of December 1906, which he refused because he did not trust the Germans. Instead, Morenga went to Upington , where he was placed under police surveillance. One day he evaded the registration requirements and hid again in the German-British border region. The British Foreign Minister Sir Edward Gray assured the Germans that Morenga would no longer receive asylum, but would be driven back to German territory.

The residents of South West Africa were electrified by Morenga's appearance. Immediately he was able to gather supporters among the Bondelswart who were still in the Cape Colony. The Germans urged the British side to do everything possible to "remove Morenga from the border, alive or dead". Even Kaiser Wilhelm intervened: "Put the price on Morenga's head 20,000 marks, exterminate his gang without pardon."

The last battle

Article about Morenga's death from the German Colonial Newspaper of October 5, 1907

In cooperation with the English Cappolizei under Major Elliot and the German Schutztruppe , Morenga was tracked down on September 17, 1907. At that time his troop consisted of 30 men. Thanks to a detailed report from the German liaison officer von Hagen, we know quite well about Morenga's last few days. It is reported that the British initially wanted to meet with Morenga for negotiations in Longklippe . When Morenga did not appear on the agreed date, but apparently escaped in the direction of the German border, the British took up the chase on the same day. The order was given to shoot him.

Morenga was now on her way to the Kalahari to unite with Simon Kooper . He expected that his pursuers would not dare to ride through the waterless desert. Von Hagen calculated that Morenga would have to be caught by September 20th at the latest, otherwise the pursuers would have to turn back due to lack of water. Morenga had holed up in the heights there near Eenzaamheid .

At around 2 p.m. on September 19, 1907, he was correctly suspected there. In the battle that followed, it was initially not clear to the pursuers where Morenga was at all. Only after an hour did they recognize the main position. When the last gunshots stopped around 5 p.m., they discovered Morenga's body under a tree. Von Hagen writes: “He had three shots: one through the right temple and out behind the left ear; the second had torn the back of his head off; the third had entered through the heart and left the back. We also found 2 dead men, 4 dead women and one wounded. ”In addition, there were four other men killed. It died u. a. a brother, a brother-in-law and three nephews Morengas.

Reviews from the German side

Von Hagen draws the following summary:

"1. The attitude of the English troops during the persecution and the battle was good ...
2. According to the prisoners' statements, Morenga had sent messengers to Johannes Christian , the Bondel, with the request to fall away from the German government and join him ...
3. The cooperation of the German and English troops has become of great political importance:

a) It brought the German and English nations in South Africa closer together. After the battle there was great German-English fraternization in Upington: German flags were hoisted; at the various festivals enthusiastic speeches were given to His Majesty and the German troops, etc.
b) The native of South Africa will now say to himself that he is no longer fighting against the German or the English or the Dutch, etc., but that the white race is now united against the black
c) The main hero Morenga, on whom they put their hopes, has been taken from the blacks. "

Of course, the exuberant German-British fraternities quickly cooled off again.

Governor Bruno von Schuckmann writes about Morenga's death:

“There is no doubt that with Morenga's death the open danger is over and that it will contribute significantly to the reassurance of the Hottentots, especially the Bondelwart, because in their eyes there was a certain nimbus around him and many who were not satisfied with their lot with his appearance the hope for a better future. "

literature

  • Morengas Ende , in: Deutsches Kolonialblatt 19 (1908), pp. 1228–1233.
  • Horst Drechsler : "Jacob Morenga: A new kind of South-West African leader." In: Afrika-Studien , ed. by W. Markov, Leipzig 1967, pp. 95-105.
  • Horst Drechsler: Uprisings in South West Africa: the struggle of the Herero and Nama from 1904 to 1907 against German colonial rule . Berlin: Dietz, 1984. - 180 pp. ISBN 3320004174 (p. 100 ff., P. 114 ff., P. 119 ff.)
  • Uwe Timm : Morenga , Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 2010, 10th edition, ISBN 978-3-423-12725-7 .
  • Uwe Timm: Morenga. Uprising in South West Africa , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1981, ISBN 978-3499147050 .

Movie

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Drechsler 1984, p. 102
  2. ^ Friedrich von Lindequist to the Foreign Office, May 7, 1906
  3. ^ Foreign Office to the German Ambassador in London and the Consul General in Cape Town, May 9, 1906
  4. Consul General Humboldt in Cape Town to the Foreign Office, May 10, 1906
  5. Morenga interview in the Cape Times, May 29, 1906
  6. ^ Berthold Deimling to Bernhard Dernburg , December 29, 1906
  7. ^ Governor Bruno von Schuckmann to the Reich Chancellery, September 5, 1907
  8. ^ Kaiser Wilhelm II to Governor Bruno von Schuckmann, August 16, 1907
  9. Hauptmann von Hagen, October 2, 1907, quoted in Timm: Morenga 1978, pp. 362–368
  10. Schuckmann to the Reich Chancellery, September 27, 1907