Musterkolonie Kiatschou

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject History of Germany - 1848 Empire Imperialism grade: 1- The American Central University (Department of History) course: Empire in Comparative History language: English abstract: On November 14 1897 German marines seized the bay of Kiautshou a small territory on the North-Eastern province of China Shandong. It was a sudden coup conducted without any prior negotiations or warnings by the German side; however in the same way it was knocked off and taken away by Japanese troops in 1914. During the seventeen years of German occupation the German colonial administration under the guidance of the German Imperial Naval Office (Reichsmarineamt) spent huge sums of money and committed great personal efforts to transformed Kiautshou from a rural and underdeveloped area into a modern and prosperous German Model Colony (Musterkolonie). Kiautshou was not thought of to be a settler's colony but instead it was to become a naval base for Imperial Germany and an economic center for German industry and trade in East Asia. One of the main characteristics of Kiautshou was the idea of a model colony as a mean of representation and propaganda for Germany at home and abroad. The creation of a model colony was intended to demonstrate a specific German colonialism where careful planning professional execution and public supervision were an example for a modern and enlightened imperial policy in contrast to the private and commercial interest led Anglo-Saxon model of imperialism. Therefore the most advanced means and technologies of the time were applied to make Kiautshou a showcase to the world (Schaufenster zur Welt).Schools hospitals city planning railways and mines were established all according to German high standards at home. With time Qingdao the actual capital city of Kiautshou became the safest and cleanest city in whole East Asia with the sixth largest port in China. In this regard Imperial Germany created