Germany in Central America : competitive imperialism, 1821-1929 / Thomas Schoonover.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schoonover, Thomas David, 1936-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

Central America--Foreign relations--Germany.

Central America.

Germany--Foreign relations--Central America.

Germany.

Central America--Economic conditions.

Economic conditions.

Germany--Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

xiii, 317 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, [1998]

Summary:

Using previously untapped resources including private collections, the records of cultural institutions, and federal and state government archives, Schoonover analyzes the German role in Central American domestic and international relations. Of the four countries most active in independent Central America-Britain, the United States, France, and Germany- historians know the least about the full extent of the involvement of the Germans. German colonial expansion was based on its position as an industrialized state seeking economic well-being and security in a growing world market. German leaders were quick to recognize that ties to the cheap labor of overseas countries could compensate for some of the costs and burdens of conceding material and social privileges to their domestic labor force. The Central American societies possessed limited resource bases; smaller and poorly educated populations; and less capital, communications, and technological development than Germany. They saw the borrowing of development as a key to their social, economic, and political progress. Wary Central American leaders also saw the influx of German industrialists as assurance against excessive U.S. presence in their political economies and cultures. Although the simplistic bargain to trade economic development for cheap labor appeared to succeed in the short term, complex issues of German domestic unemployment and social disorder filtered to Central American countries and added to their own burdens. By 1929, Germany had recovered most of its pre-World War I economic position.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Foundations of German Interest in Central America, 1820-1848 10

Chapter 2 Prussia and Commerce with the Pacific Basin, 1848-1851 21

Chapter 3 Franz Hugo Hesse's Mission to Central America, 1851-1858 34

Chapter 4 Bismarck and the Foundations of the German Empire, 1858-1871 55

Chapter 5 Defining Germany's Role in Central America, 1871-1885 67

Chapter 6 Aggressive Participation in the New World, 1885-1898 85

Chapter 7 Aggressive Penetration and National Honor, 1898-1906 112

Chapter 8 Apogee of German Power in Central America, 1906-1914 137

Chapter 9 U.S. Displacement of German Economic Power during World War I 154

Chapter 10 Reestablishing Germany's Role, 1920-1925 173

Chapter 11 A Revived German Presence in Central America, 1924-1929 190

Research Resources on Germany in Central America 287.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [295]-302) and index.

ISBN:

0817308865

OCLC:

36969649