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Chapter IV. The Military Advisors' Game

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Germany's Vision of Empire in Venezuela, 1871-1914
This chapter is in the book Germany's Vision of Empire in Venezuela, 1871-1914
CHAPTER IV THE MILITARY ADVISORS' GAME Nothing smacks more of classical imperialism than the dispatch of military advisors, instructors, or missions by a developed, modern state to a backward, underdeveloped state. The very mention of the term "military advisors" usually raises eyebrows or brings smirks to the corner of one's mouth during casual discussions. And not with­out cause: the role of Gurkhas and Cubans, Frenchmen and Ger­mans, Americans and Soviets over the last century around the globe has badly tarnished the image of such "advisors." Latin America was a good case in point for German soldiers of for­tune even before they could boast of a country of their own. Military adventurers came to South America as early as the Welser period: in 1527, Johann von Ampues arrived at Coro, the second oldest Span­ish settlement in the hemisphere, and one year later Ambrosius Dol-finger (also known as Ehinger) landed with 400 mercenaries and miners near Coro; soon thereafter, Dolfinger-Ehinger became Statt-halter of Coro and dominated the slave trade out of Maracaibo. His fellow "conquistadores" Georg Hohermuth (Jorge de Spira), Niko-Iaus Federmann, and Philipp von Hutten (Felipe de Urre) ventured as far inland as Bogota in search of treasure after they had been dis­appointed in the pearl beds at Cabo de la Vela.1 But these were largely individual undertakings, devoid of official backing, and the entire Welser project, as previously noted, ended in abject failure by the middle of the 1550s. Simon Bolivar also counted a German military presence among his followers. Friedrich Rauch, Johann von Uslar, and Otto Philipp 1 See Handbuch des Deutschtums im Auslande (Berlin, 1906), 323; Percy Ernst Schramm, Deutschland und Ubersee: Der Deutsche Handel mit anderen Kontinenten, insbesondere Afrika, von Karl V. bis Bismarck (Braunschweig/Berlin/Hamburg/Kiel, 1950), 21; Wilhelm Sievers, Zweite Reise in Venezuela in den Jahren 1892/93 (Ham­burg, 1896), 60.

CHAPTER IV THE MILITARY ADVISORS' GAME Nothing smacks more of classical imperialism than the dispatch of military advisors, instructors, or missions by a developed, modern state to a backward, underdeveloped state. The very mention of the term "military advisors" usually raises eyebrows or brings smirks to the corner of one's mouth during casual discussions. And not with­out cause: the role of Gurkhas and Cubans, Frenchmen and Ger­mans, Americans and Soviets over the last century around the globe has badly tarnished the image of such "advisors." Latin America was a good case in point for German soldiers of for­tune even before they could boast of a country of their own. Military adventurers came to South America as early as the Welser period: in 1527, Johann von Ampues arrived at Coro, the second oldest Span­ish settlement in the hemisphere, and one year later Ambrosius Dol-finger (also known as Ehinger) landed with 400 mercenaries and miners near Coro; soon thereafter, Dolfinger-Ehinger became Statt-halter of Coro and dominated the slave trade out of Maracaibo. His fellow "conquistadores" Georg Hohermuth (Jorge de Spira), Niko-Iaus Federmann, and Philipp von Hutten (Felipe de Urre) ventured as far inland as Bogota in search of treasure after they had been dis­appointed in the pearl beds at Cabo de la Vela.1 But these were largely individual undertakings, devoid of official backing, and the entire Welser project, as previously noted, ended in abject failure by the middle of the 1550s. Simon Bolivar also counted a German military presence among his followers. Friedrich Rauch, Johann von Uslar, and Otto Philipp 1 See Handbuch des Deutschtums im Auslande (Berlin, 1906), 323; Percy Ernst Schramm, Deutschland und Ubersee: Der Deutsche Handel mit anderen Kontinenten, insbesondere Afrika, von Karl V. bis Bismarck (Braunschweig/Berlin/Hamburg/Kiel, 1950), 21; Wilhelm Sievers, Zweite Reise in Venezuela in den Jahren 1892/93 (Ham­burg, 1896), 60.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Tables ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. Introduction 3
  6. Chapter I. From Coffee to Railroads: German Merchants and Investments 17
  7. Chapter II. The German Community: Deutschtum as a Trojan Horse? 47
  8. Chapter III. The Blockade 1902-1903: Motivation and Hesitation 80
  9. Chapter IV. The Military Advisors' Game 110
  10. Chapter V. Germany, Venezuela, and the Panama Canal: The Elusive Quest for Agerman Naval Base in South America 141
  11. Chapter VI. Venezuela and President James Monroe's "Insolent Dogma" 175
  12. Chapter VII. Parting of the Ways: Germany, Great Britain, And Venezuela Around 1900 209
  13. Conclusion: What Price Imperialism? 236
  14. Bibliography 247
  15. Index 273
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400858279.110

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Tables ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. Introduction 3
  6. Chapter I. From Coffee to Railroads: German Merchants and Investments 17
  7. Chapter II. The German Community: Deutschtum as a Trojan Horse? 47
  8. Chapter III. The Blockade 1902-1903: Motivation and Hesitation 80
  9. Chapter IV. The Military Advisors' Game 110
  10. Chapter V. Germany, Venezuela, and the Panama Canal: The Elusive Quest for Agerman Naval Base in South America 141
  11. Chapter VI. Venezuela and President James Monroe's "Insolent Dogma" 175
  12. Chapter VII. Parting of the Ways: Germany, Great Britain, And Venezuela Around 1900 209
  13. Conclusion: What Price Imperialism? 236
  14. Bibliography 247
  15. Index 273
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