Business and Labour in German Colonialism. An Introduction

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11943538
AutoresMona Rudolph (0009-0006-3995-0355, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), Nina Kleinöder (0000-0002-4587-3572, University of Bamberg, autor correspondente)
Ano2026
Volume54
Fascículo1
Páginas1-23
Data de publicação2026-01-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0308-6534 • E-ISSN: 1743-9329
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03086534.2025.2608271
OpenAlexW7125402856
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas65

This introduction surveys and critically reassesses the development of German colonial historiography over recent decades. It traces how a field long regarded as marginal within German historical scholarship has moved to the centre of academic and public debate since the early 2000s. The introduction reconstructs this historiographical shift by identifying key thematic, methodological and political impulses that have shaped research on German colonialism, including postcolonial critiques, debates on colonial violence and genocide, global-history perspectives, and renewed interest in continuities beyond 1918. A central aim is to show how questions of economy, business and labour have re-emerged as crucial analytical lenses. While earlier generations of scholars already examined the profitability of colonies, corporate actors and economic exploitation, these perspectives lost visibility during the cultural turn. However, in recent years business history and labour history have gained new momentum, driven by global-history approaches, microhistorical methods and heightened societal debates about colonial responsibility, restitution and inequality. The introduction argues that the combined use of business history and labour history offers a particularly productive approach to colonial history. Labour serves as a key connective category that links economic interests, corporate strategies and state power with everyday practices, migration regimes and the lived experiences of colonised societies. At the same time, it demonstrates how global and transimperial perspectives challenge national, temporal and spatial boundaries traditionally used in the study of German colonialism. In doing so, the introduction positions this special issue as a contribution to the renewed dialogue between global history, business history and labour history. It argues that their combination not only addresses long-standing research gaps but also provides a powerful framework for understanding German colonialism as an economic, social and political system whose legacies continue to shape present-day debates.

German · Labor relations · Subject (documents · Work (physics · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · European history and politics · German Colonialism and Identity Studies