Julius von Soden
Encyclopedia
Julius Freiherr von Soden (5 February 1846 - 2 February 1921) was a German colonial official and politician. He was Governor of the colonies of Kamerun
and German East Africa
, and later became Chef de Cabinet and Foreign Minister of the King of Württemberg.
, where his father was Lieutenant Colonel. He was a member of the Evangelical Church.
In 1849 the family moved to Stuttgart
.
His parents died early. His mother Marie, née von Neurath, died on 28 March 1849, and his father Julius on 13 April 1854.
Julius and his three older sisters were raised by his grandmother, Charlotte von Neurath.Charlotte von Neurath was the widow of the Wurtemberg Minister of Justice Constantin Franz Fürchtegott von Neurath and mother of Württemberg Minister Constantin Franz von Neurath.
He started school in Korntal, then went on to high school in Stuttgart
.
His temporary tutor Julius Klaiber and high school teachers inspired him with an interest in antiquity, and he aspired to become
a classical scholar. Throughout his life, Soden enjoyed classical authors especially Homer and Dante.
His view of the world was at first strongly influenced by David Friedrich Strauss, and then increasingly by Immanuel Kant
.
After graduating in 1864, Von Soden began the study of law at the University of Tübingen, where he joined the Corps Suevia Tübingen student society.
In the fourth semester, he moved to Göttingen
.
The Austro-Prussian War
of 1866 created an issue, since Von Soden was a reserve class officer and a strong supporter of Bismark
, while his family sympathized with Austria.
He avoided the problem by remaining in Göttingen on the basis that it was impossible to travel to the south in wartime, only returning to Tübingen for his examinations in 1869.
Von Soden then became a legal clerk in Heilbronn
, although he had more interest in jurisprudence.
When the Franco-Prussian War
broke out in 1870, von Soden was an enthusiastic volunteer, serving in the 4 Württemberg Cavalry.
He saw little action, and when peace returned left the military and returned to his legal studies, passing his second legal exam in the fall of 1871.
He heard that German consuls, who had usually been merchants, were being replaced by civil servants, often lawyers.
Von Soden took up a consular career, ready to go anywhere.
He first obtained a position as vice-consul in Bucharest
, then after half a year transferred to the newly established consulate in Algiers in 1872.
Von Soden loved to travel, and in the next few years made many long voyages.
After his first voyage from Marseilles to Algiers, in 1876 he was sent to Canton
and then Hong Kong
.
In 1879 he was assigned to Havana
.
From 1881 to 1882 in he was Resident Representative of the Minister to Lima
, and in 1884 he was Consul General to St. Petersburg.
In these positions, he came to the conclusion that promotion of trade contacts was a job for businessmen, not consuls.
He also began to take a broad view of the economic importance of developing German industry, shipping and trade.
In July 1884, he was appointed the first head commissioner of the German colony of Togoland
.
A year later, in March 1885, he was appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm I as the first governor of Kamerun
.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
had a negative attitude towards von Soden's colonial aspirations, and gave him few instructions.
Von Soden's job was made difficult by lack of resources to support a colonial empire and by lack of infrastructure.
Without a telegraph system, it was very difficult to simultaneously fulfill the offices of Chief Commissioner of Togoland and Consul General of the Gulf of Guinea.
In the circumstances, Von Soden emphasized a strategy of "peaceful" development of the "protected area", with the goal of maximizing the economic benefits of the colony. He envisioned a network of schools throughout the colony, with teachers to follow merchants, planters and officials. The schools would assist missionary activity as well as industrial and commercial enterprises.
Von Soden quickly realized the potential of Cameroon for plantations, and encouraged the Hamburg-based Land- und Plantagengesellschaft in their project in Man O' War Bay.
He established an advisory council under the governor, an arbitration court and an initial customs administration.
He brought the trade in spirits and arms under control.
He dealt with risings in 1886 and 1887 caused by attempts by the government to break the monopoly that the coastal tribes had over trade with the interior.
Although his policy was apparently succeeding, during a vacation at home from 13 May 1887 to January 17, 1888 he was invited by Bismark to Friedrichsruh
where he learned that there had been no increase in enthusiasm for German colonial policy. Bismark's fall from power in 1890 did not immediately relieve him of his difficulties.
asked for a study of the prospects for a new colony in East Africa.
Despite a sobering report. Von Soden was appointed governor of the colony on 1 January 1891.
In German East Africa
Soden was not only handicapped by infrastructure problems, but also by constant interference by the Foreign Office.
Without consulting him, the government appointed three commissioners with vague powers: Eduard Schnitzer, known as Emin Pasha, Carl Peters and Hermann von Wissmann, the two immediate predecessors of Sodens in the colonial administration.
Von Soden was handicapped in his main task of reorganizing the local security forces by being a civilian whose authority was not readily recognized by the military.
He found that the principles of colonial policy that he had formulated over years of experience were in conflict with the "global politics" of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Von Soden founded the first secular state school, the Tanga
school, against the wishes of the government.
His objective was to train Swahili
-speaking junior administrators who would help him in his policy of limiting administration to the coast and using the coastal people as his intermediaries in establishing trade links with the interior.
To overcome the distrust of a purely secular education by the upper-class Swahili families, a Koranic teacher waa employed - and swiftly dismissed after the missionary lobby caused an uproar in Germany.
In 1893, frustrated with the obstacles imposed by his government, Von Soden asked Chancellor Caprivi to allow him to retire.
He also traveled in Germany, coming into closer contact with a governments of the states, and continued to be involved in colonial affairs as a consultant.
In 1896, he became a member of the board of the Westafrikanische Pflanzungsgesellschaft, a plantation enterprise in Cameroon.
In 1899, von Soden was surprised to be offered the post of Chief of Cabinet at the court of King William II of Württemberg
. He accepted, and was successful in this very different role from his previous offices.
He was trusted and respected by the king and all with whom he came into contact as someone who would give clear and impartial opinions. His kind and always helpful nature and his sunny temperament was of great value.
On 1 September 1900, von Soden married Helene von Sick (b. 5 February 1856), daughter of Major-General Hermann von Sick of Ludwigsburg. Julius was 54 years old, ten years older than his bride. Their marriage was childless, probably due to their advanced age.
In November 1900, von Soden left the King's Cabinet and became foreign minister in the Württemberg State Government.
In this position, von Soden promoted improvements in the transport sector, driving forward the unification of the railroads and expanding the Württemberg branch lines.
He resigned from this post in 1906, and resumed his former post as royal cabinet chief, remaining in office until 1916.
He also accepted various honorary positions including chairman of the Swabian Schiller Society (1900 to 1902 and 1906 to 1917).
After the war and the November Revolution, von Soden decided to resume his studies.
In September 1920, aged 74, he returned to Tübingen where he attended lectures.
His chosen subjects were spiritual in nature, philosophy, philology and aesthetics.
His retirement was short.
A few months after the semester began in January 1921 he suffered a physical collapse, and after a 14-day illness, died on 2 February 1921, three days before his 75th Birthday.
|author=Deutsches Koloniallexikon
|chapter=Soden , Julius Freiherr von
|year=1920
|volume=3
|page=369}}
|title=Obituary (Nachruf auf Julius von Soden)
|journal=Schwäbischer Merkur
|volume=54
|date=4 February 1921}}
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
and German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
, and later became Chef de Cabinet and Foreign Minister of the King of Württemberg.
Youth and Education
Julius von Soden was born on 5 February 1846 in the barracks of the 7th Infantry Regiment in LudwigsburgLudwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
, where his father was Lieutenant Colonel. He was a member of the Evangelical Church.
In 1849 the family moved to Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
His parents died early. His mother Marie, née von Neurath, died on 28 March 1849, and his father Julius on 13 April 1854.
Julius and his three older sisters were raised by his grandmother, Charlotte von Neurath.Charlotte von Neurath was the widow of the Wurtemberg Minister of Justice Constantin Franz Fürchtegott von Neurath and mother of Württemberg Minister Constantin Franz von Neurath.
He started school in Korntal, then went on to high school in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
His temporary tutor Julius Klaiber and high school teachers inspired him with an interest in antiquity, and he aspired to become
a classical scholar. Throughout his life, Soden enjoyed classical authors especially Homer and Dante.
His view of the world was at first strongly influenced by David Friedrich Strauss, and then increasingly by Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
.
After graduating in 1864, Von Soden began the study of law at the University of Tübingen, where he joined the Corps Suevia Tübingen student society.
In the fourth semester, he moved to Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
.
The Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
of 1866 created an issue, since Von Soden was a reserve class officer and a strong supporter of Bismark
Bismark
Bismark is a town in the Stendal district, in the historic Altmark region of northern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. west of Stendal....
, while his family sympathized with Austria.
He avoided the problem by remaining in Göttingen on the basis that it was impossible to travel to the south in wartime, only returning to Tübingen for his examinations in 1869.
Von Soden then became a legal clerk in Heilbronn
Heilbronn
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
, although he had more interest in jurisprudence.
When the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
broke out in 1870, von Soden was an enthusiastic volunteer, serving in the 4 Württemberg Cavalry.
He saw little action, and when peace returned left the military and returned to his legal studies, passing his second legal exam in the fall of 1871.
Travel and consulates
Julius von Soden felt an urge to travel and see the world.He heard that German consuls, who had usually been merchants, were being replaced by civil servants, often lawyers.
Von Soden took up a consular career, ready to go anywhere.
He first obtained a position as vice-consul in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, then after half a year transferred to the newly established consulate in Algiers in 1872.
Von Soden loved to travel, and in the next few years made many long voyages.
After his first voyage from Marseilles to Algiers, in 1876 he was sent to Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and then Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
In 1879 he was assigned to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
.
From 1881 to 1882 in he was Resident Representative of the Minister to Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, and in 1884 he was Consul General to St. Petersburg.
In these positions, he came to the conclusion that promotion of trade contacts was a job for businessmen, not consuls.
He also began to take a broad view of the economic importance of developing German industry, shipping and trade.
West Africa
With the tentative start of German colonialism, von Sodens moved from a diplomatic to an administrative role.In July 1884, he was appointed the first head commissioner of the German colony of Togoland
Togoland
Togoland was a German protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa"...
.
A year later, in March 1885, he was appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm I as the first governor of Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
had a negative attitude towards von Soden's colonial aspirations, and gave him few instructions.
Von Soden's job was made difficult by lack of resources to support a colonial empire and by lack of infrastructure.
Without a telegraph system, it was very difficult to simultaneously fulfill the offices of Chief Commissioner of Togoland and Consul General of the Gulf of Guinea.
In the circumstances, Von Soden emphasized a strategy of "peaceful" development of the "protected area", with the goal of maximizing the economic benefits of the colony. He envisioned a network of schools throughout the colony, with teachers to follow merchants, planters and officials. The schools would assist missionary activity as well as industrial and commercial enterprises.
Von Soden quickly realized the potential of Cameroon for plantations, and encouraged the Hamburg-based Land- und Plantagengesellschaft in their project in Man O' War Bay.
He established an advisory council under the governor, an arbitration court and an initial customs administration.
He brought the trade in spirits and arms under control.
He dealt with risings in 1886 and 1887 caused by attempts by the government to break the monopoly that the coastal tribes had over trade with the interior.
Although his policy was apparently succeeding, during a vacation at home from 13 May 1887 to January 17, 1888 he was invited by Bismark to Friedrichsruh
Friedrichsruh
Friedrichsruh is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.- History :After the victory over France and the establishment, in 1871, of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck received the Sachsenwald as a present from Emperor William I...
where he learned that there had been no increase in enthusiasm for German colonial policy. Bismark's fall from power in 1890 did not immediately relieve him of his difficulties.
East Africa
In 1890, the new Chancellor Leo von CapriviLeo von Caprivi
Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprera de Montecuccoli was a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany...
asked for a study of the prospects for a new colony in East Africa.
Despite a sobering report. Von Soden was appointed governor of the colony on 1 January 1891.
In German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
Soden was not only handicapped by infrastructure problems, but also by constant interference by the Foreign Office.
Without consulting him, the government appointed three commissioners with vague powers: Eduard Schnitzer, known as Emin Pasha, Carl Peters and Hermann von Wissmann, the two immediate predecessors of Sodens in the colonial administration.
Von Soden was handicapped in his main task of reorganizing the local security forces by being a civilian whose authority was not readily recognized by the military.
He found that the principles of colonial policy that he had formulated over years of experience were in conflict with the "global politics" of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Von Soden founded the first secular state school, the Tanga
Tanga, Tanzania
Tanga is both the name of the most northerly seaport city of Tanzania, and the surrounding Tanga Region. It is the Regional Headquarters of the region.With a population of 243,580 in 2002, Tanga is one of the largest cities in the country...
school, against the wishes of the government.
His objective was to train Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
-speaking junior administrators who would help him in his policy of limiting administration to the coast and using the coastal people as his intermediaries in establishing trade links with the interior.
To overcome the distrust of a purely secular education by the upper-class Swahili families, a Koranic teacher waa employed - and swiftly dismissed after the missionary lobby caused an uproar in Germany.
In 1893, frustrated with the obstacles imposed by his government, Von Soden asked Chancellor Caprivi to allow him to retire.
Later career
For the next six years, Von Soden lived on his estate, for the first time undertaking the duties of a baron.He also traveled in Germany, coming into closer contact with a governments of the states, and continued to be involved in colonial affairs as a consultant.
In 1896, he became a member of the board of the Westafrikanische Pflanzungsgesellschaft, a plantation enterprise in Cameroon.
In 1899, von Soden was surprised to be offered the post of Chief of Cabinet at the court of King William II of Württemberg
William II of Württemberg
William II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...
. He accepted, and was successful in this very different role from his previous offices.
He was trusted and respected by the king and all with whom he came into contact as someone who would give clear and impartial opinions. His kind and always helpful nature and his sunny temperament was of great value.
On 1 September 1900, von Soden married Helene von Sick (b. 5 February 1856), daughter of Major-General Hermann von Sick of Ludwigsburg. Julius was 54 years old, ten years older than his bride. Their marriage was childless, probably due to their advanced age.
In November 1900, von Soden left the King's Cabinet and became foreign minister in the Württemberg State Government.
In this position, von Soden promoted improvements in the transport sector, driving forward the unification of the railroads and expanding the Württemberg branch lines.
He resigned from this post in 1906, and resumed his former post as royal cabinet chief, remaining in office until 1916.
He also accepted various honorary positions including chairman of the Swabian Schiller Society (1900 to 1902 and 1906 to 1917).
After the war and the November Revolution, von Soden decided to resume his studies.
In September 1920, aged 74, he returned to Tübingen where he attended lectures.
His chosen subjects were spiritual in nature, philosophy, philology and aesthetics.
His retirement was short.
A few months after the semester began in January 1921 he suffered a physical collapse, and after a 14-day illness, died on 2 February 1921, three days before his 75th Birthday.
Cited books
|url=http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankfurt.de/Bildprojekt/Lexikon/php/suche_db.php?suchname=Soden|author=Deutsches Koloniallexikon
|chapter=Soden , Julius Freiherr von
|year=1920
|volume=3
|page=369}}
|title=Obituary (Nachruf auf Julius von Soden)
|journal=Schwäbischer Merkur
|volume=54
|date=4 February 1921}}