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Friedrich von Schele

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Freiherr
Friedrich von Schele
3rd Reichskommissar of German East Africa
In office
15 September 1893 – 25 April 1895
DeputyLothar von Trotha
Preceded byJulius von Soden
Succeeded byHermann Wissmann
Personal details
Born15 September 1847
Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
Died20 July 1904
Berlin, Prussia, German Empire
AwardsPour le Merite
Military service
AllegianceKingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Prussia (1863–1871)
German Empire German Empire (1871–1904)
Branch/service Prussian Army
Years of service1863–1904
RankGeneralleutnant
Battles/warsAustro-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
Wahehe rebellion

Friedrich Rabod Freiherr[a] von Schele (15 September 1847 – 20 July 1904) was a German military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of German East Africa from 1893 to 1895.

Early life and career

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Friedrich was born in Berlin to Werner Von Schele (1814-1869) and Marie Eichhorn (1822-1861).[1] He joined the officer corps of the Prussian Army in 1865 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Von Schele first saw combat during the Austro-Prussian War as an officer in the cavalry. During the Franco-Prussian War, von Schele was appointed Deputy Adjutant of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Brigade, and served as an orderly officer to Prince Albert of Prussia. In 1877, von Schele was promoted to Rittmeister of the 2nd Hanoverian Dragoons.[2]

By 1891, von Schele had attained the rank of major and was appointed head of the cavalry department in the Ministry of War.

Colonial service

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In 1892, von Schele was promoted to colonel, and was assigned commander of the Schutztruppe in German East Africa, beginning a gradual conquest of the East African interior. He crushed a revolt by the Nyamwezi under chief Isike,[3] before leading a campaign against Chaga king Mangi Meli, capturing the king's base at Moshi in Kilimanjaro.[4] In September 1893, Schele was appointed Reichskommissar of the colony.

Upon his appointment as governor, Schele quickly began a pacification campaign against the Mbunga tribe, which had been fighting a rebellion against German rule since 1889. Von Schele led the Schutztruppe in an expedition along the Rufiji River in search of Mbunga chieftain Lubiki-w-mtu, during which German troops torched and looted villages and killed around 250 Mbunga.[5] Lubiki-w-mtu was eventually captured and was hanged in front of his own subjects on 20 December 1893, after which von Schele declared that all the Mbunga were now subjects of Wilhelm II, and any further "marauding, plundering or slaving" by the Mbunga would be prohibited.[3][6]

In March 1894, Schele's troops suppressed an uprising led by slave trader Bwana Heri, who had previously rebelled against the Germans during the Abushiri revolt three years earlier.[7][8] In October of that year, von Schele initiated a new military campaign against the Hehe tribe and their leader, Chief Mkwawa. The Schutztruppe attacked and took Mkwawa's stone fortress at Kalenga on 28 October, though were unable to capture the chief, who had escaped during the attack.[4][9] Nonetheless, von Schele was awarded the Pour le Mérite, the highest order of merit in the Imperial German army, on 20 November 1894 for his successful suppression of the Hehe.[10]

Later life and death

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Despite his successes, Schele's brutal methods in quelling revolts were met with harsh criticism from the German government. Furthermore, Schele's policies and campaigns were often at odds with the Imperial Colonial Office, and as a result he often clashed with civilian administrators. Eventually, in April 1895, von Schele resigned from his post in protest.[3] Following his resignation, Schele returned to Berlin, where he became an aide-de-camp to Wilhelm II.[11][2] He then served as the military governor of Mainz before being discharged from the army for medical reasons in May 1904.

Schele was married to Emma Clothilde Wilhelmine von Hammerstein (1855-1918). They had one daughter, Marie Agnes. Schele died in Berlin on 20 July 1904, aged 56.[12]

Honours and awards

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Bibliography

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  • Heinrich Schnee (Hrsg.): Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon. Band 3, Leipzig 1920, S. 262.
  • Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser. 1939. 89. Jg. Justus Perthes, Gotha 1938. Zugleich Adelsmatrikel der Deutschen Adelsgenossenschaft.
  • Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Band 10, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, o. O. [Hamburg], o. J. [1942], DNB 986919810, S. 267–269, Nr. 3208.
  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs. Band 3: P–Z. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2011, ISBN 3-7648-2586-3, S. 195–197.

Notes

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  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as 'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

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  1. ^ "Friedrich Freiherr von Scheele (Schele) – Personen in Deutsch-Ostafrika". www.doa-pdb.de. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  2. ^ a b "Friedrich Freiherr von Schele". prussianmachine.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  3. ^ a b c Iliffe, John (1979-05-10). A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29611-3.
  4. ^ a b Beachey, R. W. (1996). A history of east africa, 1592-1902 (in Italian). Tauris Academic Studies.
  5. ^ "Boasblogs » Pompeii in Africa". Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  6. ^ Pizzo, David. ""To Devour the Land of Mkwawa": Colonial Violence and the German-Hehe War in East Africa c. 1884-1914".
  7. ^ Finke, Jens (2003). Tanzania. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-783-6.
  8. ^ Macke, Alberta (July 1970). "Colonialism in Africa, 1870–1960, Vol. I, The History and Politics of Colonialism, 1870–1914 edited by L. H. Gann and Peter Duignan Cambridge University Press. 1969. Pp. xi+532. 100s. $17.50". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 8 (2): 316–318. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00019789. ISSN 1469-7777. S2CID 154437983.
  9. ^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2023-04-24. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  10. ^ a b Boochs, Wolfgang (2021-03-24). Deutsche Kolonien in Afrika: Afrikaner unter deutscher Flagge (in German). Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7534-3256-4.
  11. ^ Röhl, John C. G. (2001). Wilhelm II: der Aufbau der persönlichen Monarchie, 1888-1900 (in German). C.H.Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-48229-8.
  12. ^ "Friedrich Richard Frhr. von Schele". geni_family_tree. 1847-09-15. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Militärisches Gefolge Seiner Majestät des Kaisers und Königs", Rangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee (in German), Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, 1904, p. 521 – via hathitrust.org
  14. ^ a b Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, pp. 455, 797 – via hathitrust.org
  15. ^ "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1895, p. 11, 16 – via hathitrust.org
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