Blood and Diamonds: Germany's Imperial Ambitions in Africa.

• Author: Ruiter, Brian de

Press, Steven. Blood and Diamonds: Germany's Imperial Ambitions in Africa. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 2021. 1-336 pages. Hardback, $35.00.

Blood and Diamonds: Germany's Imperial Ambitions in Africa is one of the latest books to investigate German imperialism in Southwest Africa as it centers on the importance of the diamond industry to the German colonial economy before and during World War One. Steven Press examines the development of Luderitz Bay, German policies towards Africans, stock markets, American consumption of diamonds, German use of Antwerp for cutting and distributing diamonds, smuggling, and the German competition against De Beers. Press seeks to challenge the notion that "German colonialism was brief and minimal" (p. 231) by centering on Germany's role in the diamond industry and arguing that it "shaped the German outlook on overseas imperialism and globalization before the First World War" (p. 9). Press recognizes that the issue of "how German violence unfolds" has been explored in previous academic studies, so he interrogates "why Germans pursued" such policies with a focus on diamonds and Southwest Africa (p. 9). Although not the primary focus of the book, Press also explores the connections between German colonization in Southwest Africa and Nazism and the Holocaust. This is done by examining German perpetration of colonial violence and manifestations of anti-Semitism that surfaced over concerns of smuggling and criticism directed at Bernhard Dernburg and others for their respective handling of the diamond industry.

One strength of Blood and Diamonds relates to its ability to chart the transnational nature of the diamond industry and some of the nuances of German colonial practices as frictions developed both within Germany and between the metropole and Southwest Africa. Press identifies the ways colonists were at odds with German colonial policies such as the development of the Regie and restricting access to a designated area known as the Forbidden Zone. Press demonstrates the changing perception of Luderitz Bay that came with "diamond fever" and subsequently shows how diamonds affected the dynamics of the settlement as it led to population growth and the development of infrastructure. He notes the racial and ethnic composition of the settlers consisted of many non-Germans and explains how reliant the colony was on Indigenous labor. This allows for an examination of discourses surrounding cultural...