Hey! So I have been interested in German colonialism and African Colonialism for some time now and I thought "Hey let me go to the local library (Largest in Durham) and get a book on 18th century colonialism!" So I go in to the history section and find little less than a bunch of books on WW1 from a Canadian point of view on the battles they fought. With my dreams crushed I search online for books on the topic but to again not much avail except for some general info books and a really expensive book that seems really in depth, but alas I am too poor for that! (only 16) So finally I thought about asking Reddit! So I have a few questions, What were some battles that were fought in the German colonies? What were the German policy's on exploiting the locals, in reference to how Belgium treated the Congo? Did the Germans ever bring colonists?, as it doesn't really seem that they left any sort of legacy in their colonies. Finally were German colonial efforts 'kinder to the natives' than the British, Belgian, Portugese, Spanish or French?
All the afore mentioned questions apply to not only Africa but China and Papua New Guinea and Polynesia!
Its past my bed time, so let me just suggest a few readings and then try to follow up tomorrow.
In terms of German action in Africa, I though Elizabeth Hull's overview of German actions against the Herero people to be fascinating and very readable.
In the Pacific I would recommend
Though the book is perhaps more about Tolai conceptions of the past, Neumann is looking at events that took place under the German colonial period, looking particularly at violence in some of the more remote plantations and German reprisals. I think this book has been put up for free by the publisher online- I don't see it immediately on google though, so maybe that was just for a limited time.
Meleisea is really looking at the entire colonial period in Samoa; so Germany is really only there until ~1914 and then the focus in on New Zealands role as a colonial power.
In addition to Hull's Absolute Destruction, which is a must read, I would suggest Sebastian Conrad's German Colonialism, which is a good overview of the current state of scholarship (well as of a few years ago, anyway) and, if you're interested in the gendered elements, Lora Wildenthal's German Women For Empire, both available through Amazon for not too much.