Chapter 79
Chapter 79
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Herero War (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Pleased to meet you, Chieftain Maharero. I'm Baron Hans von Choi."
"...Samuel Maharero."
Samuel Maharero shook hands with Hans, who had come for peace talks, but he couldn't hide his astonishment at the boy before him.
When he first heard that the young man was coming to Waterberg, Maharero thought the inevitable had finally arrived.
Just as Governor Leutwein had warned, the German Empire had sent an army onto their lands in less than a few months.
And the number was a staggering ten thousand.
It was a force so massive that it left not only the gathered Herero people but even Samuel Maharero himself reeling in shock.
'They intend to wipe out every last Herero.'
Maharero was well aware that the German settlers were clamoring for bloody revenge against the Herero.
And it was obvious that the Germans back in Europe felt the same way.
If they truly desired peace as they claimed, they wouldn't have dispatched an army.
Samuel Maharero briefly wondered if his decision had been a mistake, but he quickly shook his head.
This had been a choice made freely by him and the Herero people, without any coercion.
They had chosen to die free rather than live like slaves.
Even if it meant dying here, he had no regrets.
He would simply struggle to the end.
With his resolve reaffirmed, Maharero was caught off guard when the German forces, contrary to his expectations, expressed a desire for talks.
He worried it might be a trap, but when he learned that the man appointed by the German Emperor himself as the suppression commander was coming directly to Waterberg, he accepted the proposal.
And so, Samuel Maharero came face-to-face with the noble who introduced himself as Baron Hans von Choi.
The baron, whose name was already the talk of the entire South West Africa colony, was astonishingly still a boy who looked like he needed two or three more years to even become a warrior.
Moreover, his skin tone was different from that of Governor Leutwein or the German officers who had accompanied him.
Not that he was Black, of course.
'Come to think of it, they say there's a distant eastern land where people with yellow skin live.'
This was Maharero's first time actually seeing someone of East Asian descent.
Perhaps because of that, the baron didn't hesitate to shake hands with him, unlike other whites.
Intrigued by the boy before him, Samuel Maharero spoke up.
"So, what brings you here today?"
"There's only one reason for the man in charge of suppressing the rebellion to seek out the enemy."
"You want us to surrender."
The Herero people murmured at Samuel Maharero's words.
Ignoring them, the baron sipped from a glass of brown liquid with ice and continued.
"I think it's a good time to lay down your arms."
"That's impossible without a promise to end discrimination against the Herero and improve our treatment."
"End discrimination? You know that's unrealistic. Sure, we could make it law, but changing deeply ingrained prejudices in people's minds isn't that simple. Even I, who has the Emperor's trust, still get called a 'yellow monkey' behind my back."
Maharero fell silent as the baron spoke with a wry smile.
It seemed even people with yellow skin faced discrimination from whites, just like Blacks.
Given Maharero's own experiences, it wasn't all that surprising.
"Still, I promise to do my utmost on the treatment issue. It's necessary for the colony's stability anyway."
"Hmm..."
Governor Leutwein backed the baron's words, plunging Samuel Maharero into thought.
He knew full well that victory against the German forces was unlikely.
That's why he had already steeled himself for death.
But if nothing changed, what good would surrendering do?
Besides, there was one more thing weighing on Maharero's mind.
"What about punishment for starting the rebellion?"
"You can't avoid responsibility entirely. German blood has already been spilled. But considering you protected women, children, and civilians, I promise to show the Herero utmost mercy. At the very least, no more blood will be shed."
"Maharero, this is an incredibly generous offer."
He knew that.
Normally, the ringleaders would all be hanged, and the tribesmen forced into labor in mines or plantations.
But Maharero couldn't decide rashly.
This was a matter for consultation with his people.
"Give me time to think."
"Will Samuel Maharero really accept surrender?"
"Who knows? We'll have to wait and see. Honestly, even I can't say for sure."
Riding back to Windhoek, I answered Captain Lettoforebeck's question from beside me.
Personally, I'd love for the Herero rebellion to end like this, but since when did things go my way?
As the old saying goes, you can know the depths of ten fathoms of water, but not a person's heart.
Even if Maharero wants to surrender, the Herero people might feel differently.
'A classic dilemma for rebel leaders.'
From Maharero's position, he couldn't ignore his tribesmen if they demanded to keep fighting the Germans.
Even Spartacus of ancient Rome, facing a dire situation where retreat was necessary during his rebellion, couldn't stop his men from charging toward death.
The Herero rebellion had ballooned this far partly because the Herero grew overconfident after a few victories against the Schutztruppe, so it was possible.
"We can't rule out the possibility of battle, then."
"Tell me. If you were the commander, how would you attack the Herero?"
I was curious.
What was the future famous general thinking?
Lettoforebeck pondered my question before responding.
"From what I've seen, Waterberg is backed by mountains and fronted by a river. Ideal defensive terrain. The best would be to trap the Herero there, cut their supplies, and starve them out. With civilians as well as warriors inside, it'd be effective, though it would take time."
"Berlin wouldn't like that."
"Haha, probably not. The Kaiser wants the rebellion crushed quickly."
Lettoforebeck let out a hollow laugh and continued.
"If we go on the offensive, we'd need to annihilate them in a single battle. Hit them from multiple directions to prevent escape from Waterberg. If they break out, guerrilla warfare would drag on the rebellion and make suppression harder. So personally, I'd consider scorched earth if necessary..."
Lettoforebeck trailed off, glancing at me.
He'd already sensed I wouldn't welcome the inevitable massacre that came with scorched earth.
"Clausewitz said in On War that war is the continuation of politics."
"Yes. Every German officer has read it at least once."
"I take that to mean war should be a means to achieve political ends, not an end itself. So what political gain does the Empire get from massacring the Herero? Satisfying the settlers?"
"Well..."
"Setting aside racism, massacre is politically the worst choice. It damages the Empire's diplomatic reputation and harms colonial stability and economy."
It wasn't for nothing that after World War II, Britain and other imperial powers granted independence to most colonies.
Colonies had terrible cost-benefit ratios.
Maintaining them and suppressing local resistance like the Herero War cost more than exploiting them yielded.
'That's why slavery ended too.'
Sure, moral arguments like "It's wrong to enslave people regardless of skin color!" played a role.
But the biggest reason was the Industrial Revolution making slavery economically inefficient.
Simply put, slaves are expensive to maintain.
They're people too, so you have to feed and house them to get work out of them.
And they're inefficient.
Slaves aren't stupid; they know hard work only benefits the master.
Abuse them for slacking, and if they get injured or die, it's the master's loss.
Post-Industrial Revolution, hiring wage laborers was cheaper, hastening slavery's abolition.
The American South was an ironic exception—cotton's value rose with industrialization, making slavery profitable.
But the industrial North, needing free labor, pushed abolition, leading to Southern secession and the Civil War.
Colonies were no different.
Trading was far more profitable economically than exploiting colonies.
Thus, 19th-century colonial expansion amid imperial frenzy was driven more by nationalism and distracting domestic discontent than economics.
'Even Britain only turned a profit in India; the rest bled money.'
Humanitarian voices grew with nationalism and changing times, but mostly, they couldn't afford the upkeep.
France clung desperately to theirs, like the neighbor wailing next door.
But everyone knows how those efforts ended.
'Honestly, economically subjugating without outright colonization and bleeding them dry long-term is better.'
Just my personal opinion, of course.
Plus, colonies were militarily disadvantageous.
They exponentially increased territories to defend beyond the homeland.
In World War I, Britain and France couldn't overpower Germany because their forces were spread worldwide guarding colonies.
Germany, with fewer, concentrated on the homeland.
Of course, suggesting colonial independence now would just make me look insane, so I kept it to myself.
Imperial fever still raged into the 20th century.
"Anyway, massacring the Herero isn't a good choice. It could turn other tribes against us."
"Huh. You have a point."
"Yes. Seeing the Herero slaughtered, they'll fear the same fate."
In fact, despite Trotha killing Herero on sight, the South West Africa war didn't end.
The Herero massacres drove Hendrik Witbooi and the Nama, former German allies, to rebellion in disgust.
'Even though the Nama and Herero weren't on good terms.'
Africa still sees frequent civil wars from tribal conflicts in the 21st century.
Early 20th century was no different.
Just years ago, Hendrik Witbooi's Nama rebelled against Germany and attacked the invading nomadic Herero.
Governor Leutwein of the South West Africa Schutztruppe and Samuel Maharero allied against the Nama.
Ironic now—Witbooi and Nama were German allies then, while Maharero and Herero fought with them; today, roles reversed.
"Anyway, no scorched earth unless it's the worst case. It benefits neither the Empire nor the colony."
"Then, breaking their will to fight and forcing negotiations is best."
"Yes. Ideally, end the rebellion without a fight."
But sadly, my hopes were dashed.
Days later, the reply from Samuel Maharero and the Herero was 'Nein'.
Surrender refused.